Page 6 of Dust and Ashes

Kenna couldn’t allow herself to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the task of getting them both out of here. She just had to take it one problem at a time, like finding bolt cutters in the corner and struggling to break the chain.

She squeezed the handles closer to each other.

She wasn’t strong enough.

Kenna shook her head against that thought and poured every ounce of strength she had into squeezing the handles so they met at her wrists. She broke one link. The weight of Jax’s limp body bent the broken halves open, but he didn’t fall.

She cried out her frustration.

An ominous chuckle came to her from the corner of the room, and a man stepped out of the shadows. “Figured you would come here first.”

“Where else would I be?”

Kart chuckled again. “I know where I’d like you to be, but we all have our roles to play. We all have orders that keep us alive…and obligations to uphold.”

“Like the imperative that says if you kill him, then I kill you?”

His teeth flashed in the dim light. “I’d like to see you try when you don’t even seem able to lift your arms. Though, it will be interesting watching you struggle.”

It figured a man with no desire to assist his friends in safeguarding his home would take satisfaction from someone else’s pain. That was who guys like him were. Predators. This man was close to being an apex predator. At least in this part of the world.

The building rocked. One wall exploded inward sending rubble across the room. She moved to protect Jax from the flying debris, his skin far too slick to keep hold of him under the onslaught. Finally, the chain gave in, rattling through the ring hanging from the ceiling, and he started to fall. She had no strength to catch him, and the two of them collapsed.

Kenna’s leg bent awkwardly between her and the floor. Jax lay across her lap, unconscious.

“Tell you what.” Kart strode over to them. “If you can get him out of here, I’ll let you save him from being buried under this building when it collapses.”

He disappeared back into the shadows, leaving her to do this on her own.

Kenna lifted Jax’s bound hands over her head so they hung around her neck. She used her hands and feet—but mostly her feet—to scoot back across the slick floor toward the front door, dragging him with her.

She spotted the prick of stars in the sky overhead, trying to focus on them as she made it on to the stoop. She would have to go down the steps and then up into the truck.

A truck that now had flat tires.

Kenna let out a scream of frustration. Jax stirred. He moaned and shifted against her. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, running her hand down the back of his head. They had come into this situation together, and she was determined they would leave it together—one way or another. If he lost hope and lost his life…she would just have to find a way to end hers as well.

She was going to repeat the past that had nearly destroyed her the first time.

But she wasn’t going to be alone.

No way would she survive living when the person with her died. Not when it happened all over again and she had to walk away the sole survivor of a dangerous man who was determined to take lives and steal hope.

Nope. Not happening.

Another explosion rocked the building behind her. The truck shifted as well at the force of the blast.

Kart appeared again. “We can’t let the merchandise get damaged.”

Did he mean Jax, or her? Whichever it was, he scooped them both up. Squeezing with massive arms, cutting off her air. She held on to Jax as Kart dragged them across the dirt to a building, kicked the door in, and laid Jax on the hallway floor.

Kenna turned to look at him in the light, that white glow from overhead. Before she could start her assessment, Kart dragged her to her feet.

Kenna gasped. “What are you—”

“I don’t have time for your rambling. So keep your mouth shut.”

She felt his breath hot against her cheek. Kenna struggled against his grip, but he didn’t ease even an ounce of pressure on her arm. Just above her elbow. Tight enough hot sparks flashed down to her fingertips. She screamed out the pain and frustration of not knowing if Jax even still had a pulse.

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