Page 37 of Savage Assassin

“Well, I think this is a conversation worth having elsewhere,” Diego says, stepping forward. “Gentlemen–”

“I have places to be,” Levin says sharply. “And no time to deal with nonsense like this. I’ll be leaving now–”

“No, you won’t,” Diego snaps. “This can be settled, but I’m not going to let you leave with Elena Santiago to take her back to her father, if you are Volkov. My guards will watch her until we’re finished with our conversation.”

I see the moment Levin’s face hardens, when he realizes there’s no way out of this. It’s the moment that two of Diego’s men step toward him, and three more towards me, and his hand moves so fast that, for an instant, it’s nothing but a blur.

“Don’t fucking move,” he snarls, the gun pointed directly at Diego. “Elena, get outside.”

“Don’t let her go!” Diego snaps, and Levin’s finger twitches against the trigger.

“Grab her, and I shoot. You can have your men kill me, but you’ll be dead before I hit the floor. If you know my name, then you know who I am, and you know that’s the truth. So back the fuck up and get your men off of her.” He doesn’t flinch, his gaze fixed on Diego’s face. “Elena,go!”

I don’t hesitate. I believe him. I don’t know what he means about who he is, exactly, but he survived the attack on my home, and he made it here to buy me from the auction, and right now, there’s no one else in the world I’m more likely to trust with my life.

So I turn and run for the door, certain that at any moment I’ll feel hands grabbing me, dragging me backward.

But they don’t. I burst out into the courtyard, only to see more of Diego’s men around the waiting cars, looking at me with instant suspicion. And why wouldn’t they? It looks, for all intents and purposes, as if one of the auctioned girls is making a run for it, and I suppose, in a way, I am.

“To your right! The motorcycle. Go, Elena!”

I hear Levin’s voice behind me, and then a gunshot, and another, as I make a run for it, darting towards the motorcycle that I see parked near the end of where the cars are waiting. I hear footsteps behind me, and I hope to god they’re Levin’s as I rush towards the waiting bike.

“Get on behind me!” Levin is on the bike in an instant, starting it as he turns sharply, shooting to my right. A bullet whizzes past me, and I scream as he grabs my arm, helping me up onto the back of the bike.

“Hold onto my waist and don’t let go!” he shouts, and then the engine is roaring, and he throws it into gear.

I’ve never been on a motorcycle before. I cling to Levin’s waist for dear life, exactly as he’d said, my cheek pressed to his back as he speeds across the compound, dust flying in a thick, choking cloud around us. I hear Diego shouting from somewhere and hear more gunshots, but the dust helps make us a harder target to hit as Levin speeds toward the compound gates.

They’re starting to close. He hits the gas, holding on with one hand as he aims at the guards closing the gate with the other. Two shots, and they’re both dead, dropping into the dirt as we fly through the closing gap, and I hear the sound of it shutting behind us.

“We’re not home free yet!” Levin shouts above the engine. “Keep your head down! They’ll send someone after us.”

It becomes evident just how right he is in a matter of minutes. We haven’t even reached the main road before I hear the roar of engines behind us. I twist my head around to see two cars and three motorcycles coming down the road behind us, dust swirling around them.

“There’s too many!” I yell at Levin, panic filling my voice, and I feel the rumble of his laughter as, somehow, he pushes the bike even faster.

“I’ve had worse odds!” he shouts, and then he leans forward too, and I’m lost in the mingled terror and thrill as he goes sideways onto the main road, driving the motorcycle forward at top speed in an effort to keep out of range of Diego’s men following us.

How is this happening?This was never supposed to be my life. I feel like I must have died in the attack. Everything over the past few days, everything happening now, is some sort of strange, fevered, last-minute activity of my brain, making up an adventure that could never happen in real life.

Until more shots come whizzing past us, and I’m suddenly very convinced all over again that this is, in fact, real.

“Can you go faster?” I shout at Levin, but I don’t think he can hear me. I’m also not sure that hecan.The motorcycle is flying at a speed that I find absolutely terrifying, and I’m certain at any moment that we might go down. If we do, I know we won’t survive it. I can imagine what will happen if my skin hits the asphalt at this speed, and it’s too horrifying to contemplate for very long.

They’re gaining on us. I can hear the sounds getting closer, the bullets coming faster, and I press my face against Levin’s back, waiting for the moment when I feel the impact of one hitting me. He’s weaving on the bike, moving back and forth, and as the road turns into a curve, he tilts it so far to one side that I think I’m going to throw up from how close the road is to us.

But it’s worth it because, in my periphery, I see two of the other motorcycles spin out as they try to take the tight turn, crashing to the asphalt as the cars and the remaining bike try to avoid it.

Another rattle of gunfire, and I close my eyes tightly, clinging to Levin. I try to focus on anything other than what’s happening, the fear chilling me to the bone, the very real possibility that I could die at any second. I focus on the way his shirt feels under my cheek, the scent of his skin and his cologne, the burn of the wind whipping across my face. Anything not to think about how close we are to absolute obliteration.

“I’m going to try to lose them!” Levin shouts, his voice barely making it to my ears as the wind whips it past. As I see a canyon coming into view next to us, he suddenly veers off of the road, flying down the rocky dirt.

I’m sure that we’re going to crash. I stifle a scream as the motorcycle sways, and I hear the roar of the one remaining bike from Diego’s coming after us, and the sound of more gunshots, and I feel faint from terror.

This isn’t how I imagined this morning going at all.

We’re almost at the end of the canyon when I hear Levin shout, “Leandown, Elena!”

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