Page 107 of Steinbeck
Igor practically pushed Emberly down the stairs, and she stumbled, hitting the wall with her injured shoulder.Then he grabbed her up and pushed her the next flight down.She kept her feet, scrambled ahead of him, breathing hard.
“Keep your head.”
Mystique, in her brain, clearing it.
“Don’t think of Steinbeck.Broken.Bleeding...Dead.”
She hit the landing, spotted Britta and Madeline below.Madeline struggled in her captor’s hold, her red hair out of its twist, her blue eyes flashing as she kicked at the man.
He slammed her against the wall, leaned in, and snarled something.
Madeline spat at him.
Oh boy.
Britta had taken a different route.Simply dropped, unmoving on the floor, her body a knot as the man tried to dislodge her.
He grabbed her hair and pulled.She screamed, fell to her back, kicking him, but he finally forced her up.
Madeline bore a welt on her face.
Now Emberly joined them at the bottom of the stairs, near the building’s loading dock.
Madeline’s captor shoved her against the concrete wall, grabbing her hands.She fought him, twisting, leaving a scrape of blood on the wall, but he managed to get zip ties onto her.
Britta tried to hard-jaw her tears, but she lowered her head, sobbing as her captor secured her wrists too.
“Leave her alone!”Emberly rushed him, pushed him hard, and he slammed against the door.
“Grab her!”This to Igor, who cuffed Emberly on her shoulder blade.
She grunted, fell, and tucked his stolen pepper spray into her vest.
Then she turned, and before Igor could hit her again, she put her wrists together, side to side.“Just calm down.No need to get rough.”
Igor snapped on the flexicuffs.
“We should leave her,” said Boris, finally down the stairs.“Shoot her here.”
“No.We can use her.”The voice jerked her, turned her hollow.
Tomas stepped into the area, dressed in a suit, a tie.He looked at Emberly, smiled.“This just gets more interesting.”
Then he jerked his head, motioning them out the door.
The loading area held a few pallets, a forklift, and a delivery truck parked near the far door.Emberly did the math.If the men got them inside the truck, they would be in the wind.
Not.Happening.
She bumped up against Madeline as the men herded them down the stairs.
“Get ready to run.”
Madeline shot her a look as Emberly caught up to Britta.“Be brave.”
Britta looked up at her, horror in her eyes.
That’s when Emberly tripped her.
