Page 83 of Love Bleeds Red
“Run!” I yell to Polly, as I stand to my full height and sprint behind her, warm blood coating my hands. I don’t chance looking back, I know he’s not able to chase us. We bolt deeper into the woods, but his shouts echo behind us.Shit, the radio.
“Escapees heading northeast! They fucking stabbed me. Need backup!”
We run and run, for what feels like miles but surely isn’t. Through trees, almost tripping on exposed roots and fallen logs. Then I see flashlight beams, and something inside me breaks, if there’s even anything whole left.
“Stop right there!” A bright light shines in my face, temporarily blinding me. We freeze, and I raise my hands on instinct. I want to cry, to scream, to run.
“Polly?” I whisper. She’ll know what to do… She has to have planned for this.
Two guards step into the clearing, their gear making them look like soldiers. The one with the flashlight keeps it trained on us while the other speaks into his radio.
“We’ve got them. The two females. Heading back to the house now.”
“Let’s go!” The first guard moves toward me, closing his hand around my upper arm painfully.
Polly fights back, pulling away from the second guard. “No, please! You don’t understand?—”
“Back to the house!” the guard barks, yanking her forward.
That’s when I hear a sound come from behind them. They’re too focused on us to notice, but something moves in the shadows. I try to stay calm, to figure out a way out of this, but fear has me frozen.
I catch movement in the shadows again, and the guard holding Polly suddenly goes rigid. His eyes roll back, a wordless grunt escaping his lips, as a jacketed arm squeezes his throat from behind. It’s so quiet, so efficient, so terrifying. The guard drops like a fallen tree, probably unconscious before he even hits the ground.
“What the—” The other guard spins around, dropping his flashlight and holding his weapon up.
We’re plunged into darkness again, but I swear I catch glimpses of familiar faces.
I must be seeing things…
It can’t be.
Leon.
Jasper.
Damon.
How? No. It’s the shadows playing tricks. My mind conjuring the ones I’d always hoped would save me.
My eyes dart back to the bellowing guard. His arm is swinging around, searching the darkness for the culprit.
He fires a single gunshot, loud enough to wake the dead.
Polly cries out, falling to her knees. She’s clutching her abdomen… and oh God, I don’t have to see the deep red liquid seeping through her dress to know.
“Polly!” I lunge toward her, but she waves me off before she’s within my reach.
“It’s okay.” She coughs, her voice straining.
“Oh my God,” I cry. “You shot her! Help, please… somebody!”
The guard is breathing hard, sweeping his weapon back and forth across the open air, completely ignoring my pleas for help. “Show yourselves! I know you’re out there!”
Then a voice cuts through the night. Low, controlled, so familiar.
“Drop your weapon.”
The guard spins toward the sound, and that’s when I see him step into the sliver of pale moonlight filtering through the canopy. Short dark hair, smooth tan skin, thick brows framing eyes that promise violence.
