Page 14 of Savage Assassin

I hardly have that thought before I hear a door slamming from above and more footsteps.

“Bladya!”Levin curses in Russian, and something about the harsh bite of it sends that spark flickering through me again, in the instant before he leaps down to the ground in front of me, turning that cool blue stare onto me and making a shiver ripple down my spine.

“Run, Elena.”

His tone is flat and emotionless, and somehow that makes it worse. I try to swallow past the lump in my throat as I turn and run headlong down the long, underground hallway, fighting back tears of panic as I do. I’ve never been so terrified in all my life. I can hear footsteps, what sounds like more than just Levin’s, but I don’t dare look back.

I hear shouts, cursing in Spanish, and I grit my teeth, forcing myself to keep going. I want to burst into sobs, crumple to the ground, and give up, but I can’t.I can’t. If I stop now–

A rough hand grabs me, spinning me around as I gasp. I see a tall man in fatigues leaning over me, lifting me up as he throws me over one shoulder, heading back the way I came. I can still hear the sounds of fighting, and I kick and scream, punching him in the back as I try to kick for his gut, his balls, his thighs, anything I can reach.

“Mierda!”The man curses as he tightens his hold on me, jabbing me in the side with the butt of his gun as he strides forward. “I can explain away a few bruises,princesa. Stop struggling, or I’ll find an explanation for the boss as to why you’re black and blue.”

I’m not entirely sure I believe him–I don’t think Diego Gonzalez is the type of man to pause to listen as to whether the bearer of bad news was the cause of it or not–but I’m also not sure that I want to test that theory. And in a moment, it doesn’t matter, because as the man strides closer to the ladder, passing the fighting in the hall as I squirm in his grasp, I see Levin engaged in hand-to-hand combat with three other men.

“Elena!” He barks out my name, twisting sideways as he punches one of the men squarely in the nose, sending him down in a gout of blood. “Bladya,Elena!”

I’m no longer concerned with the beating I might receive. I kick and punch, twisting to try to bite the man holding me as Levin tries to disengage from the fight he’s in, but he can’t quite get away. I hear him cursing, see him wheel on the two men that are left, and I realize with a sudden, sickening certainty that he’s not going to get to me in time.

The man tosses me down from his shoulder in front of him like a sack of potatoes, driving the muzzle of his gun sharply into my back. “Climb the ladder,princesa,” he says sharply, and I whip my head around to glare at him.

“Or what? You can’t kill me.”

The man grins, the expression spreading across his face toothily until I feel sick. “No, I can’t. But I can make you hurt. I can think of a few creative ways that the boss might not even know about. And I’ll do it right here while you watch your Russian friend get beaten to death. Or, you can climb the ladder like a good girl, and you’ll be in the comfort of your new home all the sooner, with far fewer bruises.”

I doubt that Diego’s home will offer me many comforts, at least until we’re married. But I also don’t believe that the threats are idle. I look back at Levin, who is grappling one man as another lunges at him from behind, and utter a brief, whispered prayer that I’m making the right choice.

I don’t know what other choice I have, really.

If he makes it out of this, without a distraction from me, he’ll come after me. Surely he will.

I swallow hard, nodding as I start to ascend the ladder. I want nothing more than to squeeze my eyes tightly shut, to cover my ears with my hands so that I don’t have to hear the sickening sounds of the fight, but I need both my eyes and my hands to get out of here.

I’m no sooner back up on the cellar floor than the man hoists himself up behind me, scooping me up and throwing me over his shoulder again. “I canwalk!” I snap, driving my knee into his ribs, and I’m rewarded with a swift jab of his hand in mine.

“Sure you can,princesa. But this way, I know for sure that I don’t have to chase you.” He glances towards three more men walking towards the trapdoor, guns in hand. “The Russian is still down there. Finish him off.”

“No!” I scream, but a moment later, I see someone else coming towards me, another of the men in fatigues, a smirk on his face and a syringe in his hand.

I know what’s going to happen before the needle even moves toward my neck. I scream, twisting in the grasp of my captor, but the man holding the drugs grabs my hair, twisting my head to one side as he slides the needle into my neck.

“Good night,princesa,” he taunts, still smirking as I blink, my mouth turning to cotton.

And then everything goes dark.

Levin

This entire place has gone to fucking hell.

I’ve fought worse odds in my life than two-on-one, but when the other three men start making their way down the ladder, I begin to get a little fucking nervous.

Not just for myself, but for Elena.

I’m furious that one of them managed to get past me, furious that one of them managed to take her, and worried that I won’t be able to put an end to the fight until she’s already gone. I still think I can win it and get out of here with my life, but even that starts to look a little dicey when I see that all three of them are already aiming.

I duck as the first bullet flies, driving my fist up into the gut of the man in front of me. The one to my right dives in to grab me, but I manage to wrestle the other man’s gun free of his hand as he doubles over, driving a second punch right after the first to keep him that way as I pivot to one side, aiming the gun at his head and hoping against fucking hope that there are enough bullets left to do what I need to do.

He drops when I shoot, and I swing around, feinting away from the gunshots coming from the three men at the base of the ladder. I’ve got a loaded gun again, and as long as that holds out, I’ve got a fucking chance of getting out of here.

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