Page 72 of Emma's Element

Marcus threw the knife. It landed in Stretch’s shoulder. Unfortunately, now he was unarmed against Shorty, who grinned at him and snickered.

“You’re out of options, Titan,” he sneered. “Where are your superpowers now?” The Nighthawks burst into the room from every angle. Finch charged Shorty, knocking him to the ground. The others incapacitated Stretch.

Marcus stood over Shorty. “My superpower is my friends,” he taunted.

“Damn straight,” Finch agreed. The guys laughed as they restrained the minions. Marcus yanked Emma’s knife out of Stretch’s shoulder, smiling when the guy groaned. He wiped the blood off on the guy’s sleeve.

“Did you seriously bring a knife to a gunfight?” Finch teased. Marcus flipped him the bird as the other Nighthawks laughed.

“Where’s Emma?” Graham asked.

“Leading my father on a wild goose chase.” Marcus snorted a laugh as soon as the words left his mouth. Goose. As in goose feathers. The feathers he hoped would help him track Emma. “I have to go after her.”

“Your father? What the fuck?” Finch asked.

“Yeah. I’ll explain later.” Marcus made for the door, anxious to find Emma.

“Marcus, wait,” Graham insisted. “Let us fix that arm. You’ll be no use to Emma if you are too weak from blood loss.”

“Fine. Make it quick.”

“Tell us what happened,” Graham said, pulling out his med-pack. Graham was a paramedic so he cleaned out the wound as Marcus told them the whole story. Once it was bandaged, Marcus was on his feet again.

“David, Finch and Evan, stay here and watch over our guests,” Graham ordered as he reached into the still open gun safe for more weapons. Marcus grabbed the Glock from the floor and checked to make sure it was still loaded. “The rest of you, load up.”

Jude, Logan, and Tin Man grabbed what weapons they could and headed outside. Marcus followed. He’d forgotten how cold it was as he shivered in his t-shirt. Graham threw a parka at him. “Thought you could use this.”

“Thanks.” He put it on and started to follow Emma’s tracks.

Graham stopped him again. “Over there,” he said, indicating a small garage structure. “Snowmobiles.”

“Too loud. They’ll hear us coming,” Marcus stated.

“We’ll go a few miles to close the distance.” Marcus nodded and helped to pull the snowmobiles out. Then they were off following the overtly obvious trail Emma had left for them.

Emmawasgrowingtired,and the cold wasn’t helping. She wished, not for the first time that winter would release its grasp in the UP. She tried to place her feet where Charlie did but ended up slipping and sliding over the snow that the sun hadn’t quite melted yet. It was exhausting.

They were walking along a ridge; if she slipped here, it would not be good. She was picking her way carefully across when Colleen cried out. She turned to look over her shoulder for her and saw she was sliding down the embankment. Harrison watched her fall, mouth agape. Now was her chance. Colleen had caused just the distraction she needed.

“Perez, go get her,” Harrison ordered the minion. Even better, now it was just her and Harrison.

She let the tent stake slide out from her sleeve into her palm and turned to face the worst father of the year. He was still watching Colleen’s slide and didn’t see Emma approach. She snuck up behind him and raised the stake over her head. She brought it down swiftly, but he moved slightly. The stake stabbed him through the shoulder. He cried out and turned, backhanding her across the face knocking her to the ground.

Fire erupted across her cheek in the same spot as the previous strikes, and she tasted blood in her mouth. Harrison grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to her feet. She grasped his hand, trying to ease the pain in her scalp. Once on her feet, she kicked out at him, striking him in the knee. She heard a satisfying crunch, and he fell, dragging her down with him.

She landed on her back; the wind knocked out of her. “You bitch!” he yelled. He straddled her thighs, pinning her to the frozen ground. Then his hands were wrapped around her neck, squeezing hard, his thumbs digging in. She clawed at his hands, lashed out at his face, bucked against him, all to try to loosen his hold on her before he killed her. But nothing she did slackened his grip. She tried bucking him off again, but he was too heavy.

“You think you’re so smart, don’t you, bitch. Poking all those holes in my plan. Now you’ll pay,” promised Harrison, tightening his grip around her throat.

She reached over his shoulder and grabbed the stake trying to pull it out to stab him again. He howled and punched her. Stars erupted as agony spiked through her skull. Her hands fell to her side, momentarily dazed. Harrison put his hands around her throat again and squeezed harder. Darkness closed in around the edges of her vision; she was losing the battle for her life. She made one last feeble attempt to push him off but was too weak, her efforts sluggish. Marcus’s face flashed in her mind, empowering her. She would keep fighting . . . for him.

Using her remaining strength, she slipped her hands in between his arms and quickly pushed outward at his wrists, the weakest points. She managed to break his hold. Before he could recover, she jabbed her fingers into his jugular notch. He choked and sputtered, his remaining hand loosening. She drove her fingers in again, this time curling them down behind the top of his sternum into the sensitive nerves. His face scrunched up, his pain evident as he gasped for air.

Emma attempted to wiggle out from under him. Harrison roared and punched her again, the blow so intense it blinded her. Dizziness assailed her, and her strength was too depleted to break away.

Chapter twenty-six

Thefirstfeatherfloatedtowards him five minutes into their ride, the little white lifeline fluttering in the wind. He smiled.Attagirl. Though she had left a fairly easy trail to follow, the feathers gave him an added comfort. They offered him hope. A message to him that she was alive and still fighting.

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