The loud sounds from below assured her both Species were firing weapons. Something struck the top of the mirror over the dresser, breaking the glass. She turned her head to glance back, seeing holes in it and at the top of the wall. It took her a second to realize someone had shot back at her. She ducked.
Heart racing, she leaned back up over the chest and opened fire. Her arms hurt from the strength it took to keep the muzzle down and the gun deafened her but she managed to keep it trained at the forest. She turned the barrel, spraying bullets in a wide arc, not even sure what she was firing at. It didn’t matter. The enemy was out there and the people she cared about were inside. The weapon began to click instead of sending out bullets. It was empty.
She threw it aside and grabbed one that was just a little smaller. Fear no longer hindered her. There was no time to think. Bullets were tearing apart the cabin—most of them had to be aimed at Shadow since she could hear the damage being done directly below where she knelt. She opened fire again, wildly shooting into the woods.
Breeze shouted something but the words were lost to Beauty. It was chaos. She didn’t understand why help hadn’t arrived. The noise from the gun battle had to have been heard for miles. There were officers posted all over the place at Homeland.
The weapon stopped spitting out bullets and she dumped it, grabbing another. She didn’t know how to reload, hating the concept of running out of guns but knowing she’d fight as long as she was able.
It came as a shock when brutal hands suddenly gripped her shoulders and she was thrown sideways. The gun was knocked from her grip when she hit the floor with enough force to cause pain along her right side. A big body suddenly slammed down on top of her. She was wrenched onto her back and pinned down flat. A human face, smeared with black paint, was all she could see as she struggled to breathe under the weight crushing her chest.
His eyes appeared dead, chilling as they stared into hers. He shifted and pain exploded in the side of her face when he clocked her with his fist. It came as a shock and blackness threatened to take her but she’d been hit plenty of times before by angry guards. She fought the urge to escape into unconsciousness.
He grunted in satisfaction as he used the hand he’d hit her with retrieve and then speak into a radio. “I’ve got the bitch. She was the one on the second level. Clear me a path.”
He rolled off her but Beauty couldn’t move, still reeling from the blow he’d dealt. She felt sick, as if she’d throw up, and spots blinded her while she continued to struggle to avoid passing out. Her cheek felt broken, throbbed in agony, and her neck hurt too from being hit so hard.
Rough hands dug under her and she was hoisted up then shifted. He tossed her effortlessly over his shoulder. She hung there limply while an arm hooked behind her thighs. As he walked, the swaying motion made everything worse. She saw guns strapped to his thighs but her hands refused to grab them when her mind urged them to do just that. Instead her arms hung uselessly.
He entered Shadow’s room and another voice spoke. “Eyes got it right. Good thing he caught sight of her with his scope and we didn’t level the second floor the way we thought we’d have to.”
“You want to take her down, or me?”
“You. She’s not big, is she?”
“Nope. Doesn’t weigh shit either.” He stepped up and turned. “Follow me.”
Beauty stared down, realizing the man holding her stood on the windowsill of Shadow’s bedroom. It was a long drop to the ground below. She felt a flash of fear as he released the back of her thighs. Would he just let her fall? It was a horrifying concept.
Instead both his arms rose, trapping her hips between his neck and biceps on one side. He jumped. They fell about five feet, but then his boots hit the side of the cabin when their momentum slowed. He rappelled the rest of the way down with two more jumps until he roughly hit the ground. Gunfire was loud, the battle still raging. He hesitated a moment while the second man left the cabin and then the arm hooked back around her thighs. He ran into the woods, carrying her with him.
“No!” She tried to scream but it came out more of a ragged hiss.
“Shut the fuck up,” he panted. “You’re a lot of trouble but you’re worth a hell of a lot of money, Mud.”
No. NO! Her mind yelled when her voice refused. They were going to return her to Master and the life she’d once led. He kept running, taking her farther away from the cabin.
The gunfire suddenly ceased and another fear struck. Did that mean Shadow and Breeze were dead? She couldn’t hear anything but the panting of the men as they ran.
“She was more trouble than I thought she’d be.”
“Yup,” the one holding her replied.
“She doesn’t look like a million bucks to me.”
“The customer is always right.” He slowed to a fast walk. “When is our helicopter coming?”
“Three minutes out. We have to make the clearing. You want me to take her yet?”
“Nope. She is fine and we’re close.”
Once they got her into a helicopter, it was over. She’d disappear. There was a chance the NSO would locate her again but she didn’t believe in luck. Being freed once had been a miracle. She licked her lips and closed her eyes, trying to get control of her body. She was hurt but she was Species. Tough. Her jaw clenched and she opened her eyes.
The guns on the man’s thighs were unsecured for easy access and the holster straps flopped with every step. She stared at one and clenched her hands. It had to be done fast. Keeping her body limp was key to making him think she wasn’t a threat.
The guy next to them moved slightly ahead and some bushes separated them a little. It was probably the only opportunity she’d have. She lunged and grabbed at the butt of the weapon. Her finger somehow found the trigger and she squeezed as she twisted it slightly. The gun went off, loud, and then the one holding her cried out.
He staggered, blood pouring from the wound where she’d shot him. He went down, crashing to his knees. She managed to tear the gun from the holster as she was thrown away from him. Her back hit the grass but she was prepared to have the air knocked out of her lungs this time.
She lifted the gun and fired at the other man. He threw his body to the side, falling into a bush to avoid the bullet. She was already twisting, struggling to get to her feet.
“Fuck!”
She swayed on her feet but ran. It didn’t matter where she went, she just had to get away. Shadow and Breeze needed help too. She might be able to find some of those Wild Zone residents.
Something crashed after her and she knew the other guy chased her. She didn’t dare glance at him, afraid of running into a tree or tripping on something in her path.
Run! She urged her legs to move faster. If there was one instinct she was familiar with, it was terror. She let it take her, submerged all her thoughts and only focused on survival.
Chapter Seventeen
Shadow shoved up from the floor where he’d dived to avoid the last splatter of bullets that had ripped open more of the walls. He saw Breeze crawl away from the fireplace. He could smell blood but wasn’t sure whose it was since they were both suffering from cuts from flying debris. The walls were destroyed from the massive amount of bullets that had ripped them apart.
He raised his arm, just firing blindly from behind the two thick log end tables he’d sandwiched together on their sides to make them thicker. It wasn’t safe anymore to try to target the enemy by searching for them. That would mean revealing his face, something a sniper would hit.
“Shit,” Breeze growled. “What is holding up the cabin?”
He didn’t have an answer. Enough sunlight poured through all the holes that they might as well have been outside. The enemy had massive firepower and, in his estimation, the only thing that had saved them was the rock trim along the outside. It was low to the ground so it had probably kept them from being shot as they were driven to the floor every time the enemy opened fire.