My skull rattled, black spots dancing in my vision.
Fuck.
He grinned, knowing he’d stunned me, and reared back for another hit. Big mistake.
I dropped low, ignoring the fire in my ribs and shoulder, and sliced my dagger across his thigh deep.
He bellowed in pain, staggering.
That was all I needed. I shot up, driving my elbow into his nose, feeling the crunch of cartilage beneath my weight. Blood spurted as he stumbled back.
I followed, gripping his head and twisting—fast, brutal.
His body hit the floor.
Silence.
Father taught me how to snap someone’s neck fast and efficiently.
‘You won’t always have a weapon, so you have to become one’ was his mantra during my training.
My breath came in sharp pants, pain pulsing through my ribs, shoulder, and arm. That was too close.
But I wasn’t done.
The scream of the girl I couldn’t leave behind was still ringing in my foggy mind.
I stepped over the bodies, grabbing the gun from the man whose wrist I’d broken. A Glock. Good. I checked the mag—half full. It would have to do.
I moved down the hall, following the faint, shuddering cries. A locked door.
I didn’t hesitate—I kicked it in.
Inside was a girl close to my age.
She was small for her age of what I assumed was twenty. Bruised, dirty, terrified, shaking.
Her wide eyes locked onto me, filled with fear.
I lowered my daggers. “Hey,” I said, my voice rough but steady. “I’m going to get us out of here.”
She whimpered but didn’t move.
I stepped closer, slow, careful. “What’s your name?”
Her lips trembled. “K-Katherine.”
“Katherine, I need you to listen to me, okay?” I held her gaze. “We don’t have much time. More men will be coming. But we have to move now if we want to get out.”
She swallowed hard, then—a nod.
Smart girl.
I took one of my daggers and cut the zip ties around her wrists, her skin raw and red beneath them.
The moment she was free, she threw herself into my arms.
Shit. I wasn’t good at this part. But I allowed her to hug me, just for a second.
