Page 279 of The Reluctant Hero

“Fuck this,” he mutters and makes a run for it.

He runs to the door and gets out with a scrabble of his hand, dropping the knife. I could chase him, but it would be a lot of effort for a stressful workout.

60

Custer

Mikael

I can’t tear my eyes away from her. The swelling, bruising, and blood. Her hair dangling over her face to hide it all from us.

She’s so small. Delicate and plush in the most perfect ways.

They want to take her away from us.

I begin to spiral, flashing back to a time when I was tied to a chair, much like she is now. The feeling of helplessness and crushing defeat followed by agony.

I can see the man’s mouth moving as he threatens her. My pulse is so loud in my ears I can’t understand him. All I can see is how her eyes move down to her foot and how pale she gets.

“Amanda, breathe. Just breathe,rakas,” I beg her. I can’t recognize my own voice. It’s so weak and shaky.

We’re all stuck staring. Gabe is frozen up, his eyes reflecting the shattering of his control inside while his body refuses to move. Cade is muttering curses under his breath, panicking.

Owen leans forward, mouth open to add a comment. Cade shuts it down with a fist to the side of his head. Teeth bared in a feral snarl.

“I’m going to fuckingdestroyyou,” he mutters and shoves Owen back into his seat.

“Hey,” a man’s voice says warily from the other side of the connection.

Amanda moves.

The sure movement as she stands, along with her menacing determination, jolts me into action.

I’m across the awkward space separating me from Owen in a blink. My left hand wraps just above Owen’s knee, the other cupping his heel. Then, I bend until the satisfying crack of bones can be heard.

Owen’s scream pierces the air, covering up the noise coming from the screen. Cade is yelling at Amanda to run. I crush Owen’s ankle, practically ripping his foot off. It sags as if I did. The only thing holding him together is his skin.

I catch a flash of red hair on the monitor and roar at her to keep fighting. Cade insists that she run.

They won’t let her go. There might be hundreds of places to hide, but they won’t stop until they have her. I know it as well as anyone else here.

I want her to kill them all without any hesitation.

Owen tries to punch me, a weak hit muffled by my adrenaline. My face slowly turns to take him in. The undivided attention makes him piss himself.

A hand reaches past me and grips Owen’s throat in a tight hold.

Silence falls in the car as Gabe leans closer to the agonized face of the man.

“Where is she?”

His voice is so blank and frigid that a chill runs down my spine.

“Fuck. You,” Owen spits back as tears trail down his cheeks.

I grab the feeble hand that punched me and squeeze until things begin to pop. Owen watches, his mouth open in a silent scream.

“Try again,” Gabe leans closer.

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