Page 133 of Savior

“You little bitch,” he growled, yanking me up by the hair. Instead of dealing another blow, he stuffed the material back into my mouth with such force that part of it ended up in my throat.

Jeremy flipped me over and thrust my face into the dirt as I choked around the gag, my eyes streaming with tears.

I heard his zipper coming down, felt him against my back. His fingers dug into the skin around my hips, and I sucked in a pained breath, filling my lungs with dust.

With the last of my strength, I tried lifting my head, but he brought a hand down against the back of my head, filling my nostrils with dirt. I was being buried alive.

He was going to kill me just like he’d killed that girl.

There was an explosion that reverberated through the dirt like an earthquake and then the weight was gone. My body jerked violently against the ground as I tried to expel the gag.

“Katy!” A deep voice shouted as someone cut through the rope around my arms, pulling me up.

“She’s choking! Fuck, she’s choking!” The second voice was different, sounding almost like Nate’s brother, Garrett.

I had to be dreaming.

The gag was yanked free, and I turned my head to vomit up a small amount of liquid before taking in as much oxygen as I could get. My limbs trembled from exhaustion, and I wanted nothing more than to sleep for days, but I let my rescuer slip his jacket around my shoulders.

I snuggled into the warmth and relaxed, only to be jolted back to reality amid the sounds of a struggle. The tears I’d been holding back fell freely when I opened my eyes and took in the scene in front of me. Nate had a knee on Jeremy’s chest, and his hands locked around his throat in a death grip.

“Nate?” I rasped.

“I got you, babe,” he growled, panting from the exertion. His eyes met mine and his jaw tightened. “Did he?”

He couldn’t finish the question.

My dry tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, making it hard to talk, but I shook my head. My head screamed in agony from the movement. Had they been just a few seconds later, he would’ve raped me.

Jeremy continued struggling, not putting up as much of a fight as he had with me. The crimson stain on his shirt might’ve had something to do with that.

“You shot him?”

“Well, technically, I did.” Garrett stood in the doorway, holding the rifle across his body. “Took first place every year in the county’s 4-H field-shooting contest. Just maimed him for Nate, really. What are brothers for, right?”

He rambled when he was nervous or worried, something that only ever seemed to occur in situations involving his son, Daniel.

“I’m… okay,” I whispered before letting my head fall back against a solid chest.

“Shit’s about to hit the fan in a big way,” solid chest man said in a low voice. “Got a vehicle across the lake. Take it and get as far away from the cabin as possible.”

Jeremy gave a final jerk in Nate’s arms before going still. It was over. He would never hurt anyone again. I looked away and tipped my chin up to see who was holding me.

“But you’re dead,” I croaked.

He grinned. “Not yet, Counselor. Figure I still got a little fight in me. Now, let’s get you some goddamn clothes.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Mike

Istood frozen outside the storage building, trying to pinpoint what felt different. There was nothing. The woods had gone deathly quiet around me.

The cabin sat over a half-mile away, hidden behind a multitude of evergreens. Shaking my head, I took one last look at Jeremy’s body before turning away.

“See you in Hell, motherfucker,” I bit out.

“We’ve got a problem—”

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