Page 105 of Erik's Salvation
That was intentional.
The woods… Marco had taken her through the fucking woods.
Erik was moving before the thought had fully formed in his head. Outside, the soft ground sank beneath his feet, and wind slapped his face as he ran. He ignored it all, focusing on one thing.Her. If Marco had harmed a fucking hair on Hannah’s head, he was going to tear the asshole apart piece by piece.
Erik knew these woods. He’d grown up in these woods. If they were here, he’d find them.
CHAPTER31
Hannah’s fingers tightened around the insulin pen. It was covered in blood, and that blood ran down her arm, making her want to be sick. A choked sob tried to break free from her chest. A sob at the bullets she’d heard in the distance. Three. Had they been for Erik?
Her foot caught on a rock and she almost stumbled, barely righting herself.
She pushed down the emotions. The dread and anxiety that tried to drown her. She couldn’t think about that right now. She had to believe that Erik was okay. That he’d spotted the shooter and got him first.
The water grew louder. Usually, the sound would make her break out in a cold sweat, but right now she welcomed it. Beelined toward it. Because the sound of running water was loud in the quiet night. And she needed loud so that any noise she made would be drowned out.
But that wasn’t the only reason she was heading for the water. This is where Erik had given her that stone. She just had to pray he’d find it and make the connection.
Her foot caught on another rock, and again, she barely caught herself.
Everything in her had screamed to run back home to Erik, but that would have left her open, an easy target for a bullet. This was the safest plan. The trees were the best cover.
She worked hard to control her breathing. How much time had passed? Five minutes? Ten?
Suddenly, she heard the faint sound of footsteps. Then his voice.
“Get the hell out here, you fucking bitch, or I start shooting!”
Another stumble. This time she caught herself on a tree, skirting behind it so she stood almost on the water’s bank. There was anger in Marco’s voice, but also pain. And he sounded close. So much closer than she’d been hoping.
“I can’t believe you stabbed me in the fucking eye!” he shouted.
Yesterday, she wouldn’t have believed it either, but drive a person to desperation and there was a lot they could do.
“You know I’m going to find you, right?” His breaths were short and loud. “And I’m going to make sure you suffer for this.”
She closed her eyes, begging her shaking limbs to still.
More rustling of wet leaves sounded, then a thud, almost as if he’d tripped. “When you die at Angelo’s hand,” Marco continued, “if Erik lives through the night, he’ll be a wreck. He’ll have no idea I was part of this, and he’ll come running back to his old friend Marco with a fuck-the-government attitude.”
Her hands fisted. The asshole was underestimating Erik. If she died, he’d find every person responsible and make sure they paid.
Her heart nearly seized when he passed her tree. For a handful of seconds, she held her breath, afraid even the subtle sound of air moving through her lungs was too loud.
But it didn’t matter, because Marco whipped around and pointed a gun at her head.
Out of reflex, she threw her hand forward to stab him with the pen a second time, but he grabbed her wrist, his fingers tightening to the point she cried out and the syringe dropped.
He spun her around so her back was against his chest, the muzzle of the pistol pressed to her skull. “I should just fucking kill you now for being a bitch.”
His chest was moving fast against her back, and when he stepped forward, he stumbled. Her heart skipped a beat. What if he accidentally pulled the trigger?
He took two more steps, then stopped—but this time, it was for a different reason. A noise in the distance. A quiet scuffling of footsteps.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Erik.
