Page 11 of The Ozar Triad

Part of the wall moved, and she stood transfixed as the metal seemed to dissolve, then horror reared through her when large figures appeared where the metal once was. The air caught in her lungs. It was the three men who had been tracking her, and, judging by the way they stared at her, she was in deep shit.

She held her hand out. It shook, much to her disgust. She was too well-trained to have a shaking hand, so she opted for pointing at them.

“Stay right where you are,” she said, voice steady.

To her amazement, they stopped, but the intense way they looked at her told her it probably wasn’t going to be for long. The slightly larger one with thick dreads that ran halfway down his back spoke to her in a deep, growling language.

“I have no idea what the fuck you just said, but let’s just hope you didn’t ask for sex,” She said, but even in her confused state, she thought that sex with him might be an agreeable enough suggestion.For god’s sake, brain. Keep it in your pants.

Her gaze dropped to his package, and then shifted over all their packages that filled out the front of their leathers. Her eyes lingered until her brain started working again. Confused at her reaction, she forced her attention back to their faces. The one with the fine raven-black hair and close-cropped beard smirked. He hadn’t missed where she’d looked. Asshat.

Dreads stepped towards her, palms raised in a universal gesture of “I’m not going to hurt you.” Last time she’d fallen for that, she’d received twenty stitches on her thigh when she’d come too close to the hidden knife the teen wielded.

She snatched an object on a close-by tray, waving it in front of her. The long object was cool to the touch and felt like plastic, but the material glowed with a blue light like nothing else she’d ever seen.

Dreads growled again, making the mistake of coming closer to her. Too close for her comfort.

“Not happening, bud.” She lashed out, catching the end of the object on his arm. There was a beep and a flash of blue.

He growled as his arm hung limp at his side. He moved back, but not far enough for her liking.

“That’s interesting,” she said. She waved it at all of them in an attempt to keep them away. “There’s more where that came from, so just stay back like good boys or you’ll end up like your friend here.”

Dreads pinned her with a look from beneath lowered brows. Her insides quivered, and not just in an I’m-in-deep-shit kind of way, which she chose to ignore. He uttered a snarl and the two other behemoths stalked towards her. She tried to swallow, but it was hard with a mouth that suddenly went as dry as the Sahara. Panic fluttered like a living thing in her chest.

First lesson being a captive: don’t go down without a fight. Her body responded automatically. She bent her knees and held the device towards them, calculating her options.

Kisser was the closest. So be it. She waited until he was close enough and lunged at him. He leaned back just as quickly, and she thrust the end of the device harmlessly through the air.

“You’re quick for such a Neanderthal.”

Usually the more muscled a man, the slower they were. In this case, that wasn’t true.

Beard lunged at her, coming around the end of the narrow cot. She wasn’t going to be able to beat them in a fight. The only option she had was to run.

She catapulted over the cot, but Beard was faster than she anticipated. He caught her ankle. She belly-flopped onto the cot, lashing out with her other foot. It caught him square in the jaw. She noted a flash of surprise on his face before both she and the cot tumbled to the floor.

Her shoulder throbbed, stealing her breath for a moment, and she felt the fresh wash of warm blood seeping through the wounds. She tried to scramble to her feet, but a heavy weight landed on her. Her breath whooshed out… and stayed out. The damned man was using his weight to pin her down. Her lungs constricted further, burning with the need to breathe. Her vision faded at the edges. She was going to pass out if she didn’t get any oxygen.

She forced her body to relax, despite her heart trying to pummel its way out of her chest. His weight lifted, and while she was busy sucking in a deep breath of air, he turned her on her back. He dropped over her splayed form, although it was just enough to secure her, not to make it hard to breathe.

She looked up into the face of the man towering down at her. Even one-armed, Beard looked like a man she would think twice about fighting. She found her breath caught in her throat, but for an entirely different reason.

This close, Beard was absolutely gorgeous. His eyes were so dark—the pupils nearly indiscernible—set beneath brows that slanted ever so slightly beneath a faintly lined forehead. His lips were set in a firm line, yet were still pillowed enough for her to wonder what they’d feel like if he kissed her, like Kisser had done.

She was immobilized with the intensity of his stare when she realized she just lay there, like an offering. Her breath hitched and she punched him on his arm. He didn’t even notice and she knew how to hit.

“I’ll keep on punching the longer you keep on lying on me,” she said with a growl.

He barked out a short command, and Beard knelt next to her. He gripped her wrists and pinned her arms above her head with his one working hand. She struggled even more, realizing her breasts were right beneath Dread’s face. They could do anything to her and she wouldn’t stand a chance. She screeched as panic gripped her.

Kisser came the other side of her. He held the device that had rendered Dread’s arm lifeless. He pointed the end towards her. She couldn’t move to get away.

“You don’t have to do that, Kisser. I’ll behave.” Her voice caught as her breath hitched. She hated showing any weakness, but three men surrounding her naked butt was cause for her to thrash as though her life depended on it.

It most probably did.

She didn’t miss the look of concern that passed over Kisser’s face. However, he still lined up the end of the device with her neck. She thrashed her head from side to side. If she wasn’t still, he couldn’t inject her with whatever the fuck that was.

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