Page 58 of Salvation

“Go!”

Every instinct told her to help this woman, but Emmett was slowly swaying to his feet.

“You bitch,” he said in a pained growl.

“Run!”

The young woman’s words spurred Anna into motion. She sprinted down the footpath around the boulder, desperately calculating her next moves. She’d left the truck unlocked. The key was in her pocket. She had to get in and lock the doors manually, then pull out the key.

Emmett cursed behind her. His boots thudded over rock.

She hammered as fast over the ground as she could. She’d get the key out and drive like a banshee. Then she’d try the phone until she got a hold of someone to come help. Some helpful hikers, maybe, or the police. Then—

She leaned into the bend, shot around the boulder, and screeched to a sudden stop.

Six men formed a wall in front of her, daring her to break through.

Help!She wanted to grab their arms and gesture behind her.There’s a crazy man who’s tied up a woman. He wants to kill me and—

Part of her mind continued composing the plea for help, but a sinking sensation in her gut told her there was no use. Those men were not hikers, and they were certainly not the police.

She sidestepped, putting her back to the story-high boulder as Emmett came teetering into view.

“Get her,” Emmett barked, and they all closed in.

She backed up, panting wildly. Jesus, Emmett had a whole band of thugs to back him up. How could she get away? Could she scramble up the rocks? Swing again and hope for a miracle? Drop to her knees and plead?

“But don’t kill her,” Emmett added. “Yet.”

Her stomach lurched.

“I need to teach her a lesson first,” he finished, flashing a toothy grin.

She scratched the idea of dropping to her knees. Which left climbing the rock or trying to take down six men — seven, counting Emmett — with one golf club. A glance over her shoulder showed a smooth sheet of rock that stretched over her head. No way to get a foothold.

Fight. You have to stand and fight.

She tightened her hands on the club and tried to think of some other way out. Short of flying, however, she couldn’t come up with anything.

She scooted two steps right to where the boulder curved inward, giving her some protection from the sides. But Jesus, it wasn’t going to be enough. Even if she could fight these men one at a time, all they had to do was tire her out and grab their chance.

“Purity. Purity.” The men started chanting as they closed in on her.

Her throat went dry, imagining her own death. A slow, painful one at the hands of lunatics. What would happen to the other woman? Would they kill her, too?

One of the men stepped forward, and she shoved everything from her mind except the image of little Teddy. Somehow, she had to hold out until help came. If she died here, these lunatics could lure the others out the way they’d tricked her and kill them one by one.

“Purity,” the closest man chanted. His eyes darted around, looking for an opening in her defense.

She swung the golf club right. Just the move he was looking for, because he reached to intercept the shaft.

“Wrong,” she murmured, changing direction and swung the club high, then brought it crashing down toward his head.

The man threw his arms that way fast enough to deflect the blow from his head to his shoulder, but the club still connected with a heavy thump.

He grunted and fell back, clutching his shoulder.

“You idiot,” Emmett barked. “How hard can it be?”

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