Page 118 of Silent Vendetta (Vendetta Duet)

I tried to get up, to make a run for it, but he shoved me back, and the wooden planks slammed against my chest. I turned over.

“You hired Franco,” I accused.

I kicked his wrist, savoring a rush of triumph at the pain flashing across his face.

Alexander was a cold-blooded murderer. But what was his plan in coming here today? He had to know that if he killed me, even if he was arrogant enough to think he could miraculously evade prosecution by police, Hunter would never stop hunting until he found the man that ended my life. Just as he never gave up on finding his father’s killer.

Alexander was risking everything.

Unless…

“You’re going to kill Hunter,” I realized with a sickening dread skating across my bones.

Alexander managed to grab my ankle this time, and when he dragged me closer to him, the grain of the wood scraped against my spine.

“Why?” I demanded. “Why are you going to kill your nephew?!”

“I have no choice.”

I kicked him in the thigh with my left foot. I was aiming for his crotch, but he turned before I made contact.

“Help!” I shouted. “He—”

Another punch to my jaw stopped my words.

“They’ll never hear you from in here,” Alexander taunted.

We were deep in the bowels of the mansion now. I wanted him to be wrong, but I didn’t hear the cavalry coming in, either.

He dragged me like an animal down the hallway, but when we passed a doorway, I gripped the frame with both hands.

Alexander tried yanking me away from it by my ankles. When that didn’t work, he kicked me in the ribs. My body jolted, and I lost my grip, wrapping my arms around my rib cage as I groaned through the sharp pain.

The pain sent a fresh wave of adrenaline through my muscles. I kicked my ankles, landing a blow to Alexander’s hips. He fell to the ground, giving me a moment to jump to my feet.

But he was blocking my path to the front door.

Still holding my pained ribs, I ran down the hallway in the opposite direction, finding a back stairwell.

Alexander’s footsteps sounded behind me as I ran up the staircase.

I launched myself up each step, my thigh muscles burning as I charged faster and faster. But suddenly, something locked my right ankle.

I kicked it wildly backward, like a horse bucking, and when it connected with Alexander’s forehead, he fell backward down the staircase with a series of thumps and groans.

As I ran up again, I risked a quick glance over my shoulder.

His rage-filled gaze locked on me, and his teeth clenched as he launched himself up.

When I reached the top, it took me a moment to get my bearings.

Bedrooms. I’m near the bedrooms.

Specifically, near Hunter’s.

His words echoed in my mind.

“In the unlikely event anything happens and all those fail-safes don’t work, I want you to sneak into the weapons room. Close the closet door behind you. And hide there until I retrieve you. You understand?”

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