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“Lina, can you come to your father’s quarters?”
“Yes…of course. What’s—”
“Your father has collapsed, Lina. You need to come right away.”
Her heart in her throat, Eve rushed from her apartment. She reminded herself in the nick of time that she needed to use the hidden hallway. What had Jacques meant that her father had collapsed? Had he had a heart attack? A stroke? Had someone hurt him?
Her mind racing with worry, she was halfway through the passageway when the lights went out. Startled, she skidded to a stop in total darkness, and then pain exploded as a massive fist slammed into her face.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Roaring with outrage, Eve went on the defensive. Fists swiped at her. She dodged, returned the hits with maximum force. Without light, things were made a little more difficult, but she was trained to fight in total darkness. There were different skills to employ, different senses to engage. Listening for harsh breathing, grunts, and curses was a great way to locate your opponent.
Her hearing acute, she knew another massive fist was headed her way an instant before she ducked, whirled, and kicked. Her foot connected with a hard, muscled abdomen. Kicking with her recently healed broken leg had been risky, but she’d had no choice. She had to take this bastard down.
She barely felt the disturbance of air, alerting her that another man had joined the party, when large hands wrapped around her neck from the back. Massive fingers closed around her windpipe, and she struggled to breathe as she continued to fight the attacker in front of her. Using her elbow, she punched the guy choking her, pleased to hear an “oof” of air. The hands loosened slightly, allowing her to inhale much-needed oxygen.
She kicked the man in front of her, whirled, and then punched the man behind her, kicked, then punched again.
The man who’d choked her barked, “You bitch!”
The voice set off all sorts of alarms inside her, but she couldn’t let herself get distracted. She had to take these two bastards down, or she was a dead woman. Determining the guy who’d first attacked her was the strongest, and therefore bigger, threat, she went all out for him.
Punch, double kick, punch, punch.
She heard shouts of outrage, and the man behind her tried to grab her arms. She took a half second, turned, and gave him a one-two kick, then turned back to the other man. Except he was no longer there. She whirled, ready to face the second man, and realized he was gone, too.
An urgent voice inside her head told her to get out of the passageway, that they might come back. That voice unfortunately did not control her body. With a low groan of pain, Eve slid down the wall and dropped to her butt on the floor. Panting slightly, she assessed her injuries as best she could. Ache in her cheekbone, bruised but not broken. Sore neck from being choked, but she could breathe, and swallowing was only slightly painful. Possible bruised ribs, pounding headache, and a throbbing hand. All in all, she knew she had fared better than her attackers had. Not only had she given them some major pain, but they’d also run away. She didn’t know if their intent had been to kill or capture her, but they had failed at both, so she was calling that a win for Team Eve.
Anxiety spiked when she remembered why she’d been in the hallway in the first place. Her father had collapsed. She had to get to him.
Using the wall as a brace, she pushed herself to her feet. Even though every instinct was telling her to hurry, she knew her body well. If she rushed, she’d fall back down, and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get back up on her own.
She took a couple of steps forward and then stopped at the sound of approaching footsteps. Since it was still midnight dark in the passageway, she had no idea if the person was friend or foe. Gideon should be headed back this way, but it could just as easily be her attackers returning, possibly with reinforcements. She held herself still, preparing.
Light appeared above her head, illuminating the hallway. Gideon stepped around the corner. When he spotted her, he raced toward her, his eyes filled with concern.
“Eve? What the hell happened?”
More grateful to see him than she could ever express, she fell into his arms. “You missed quite the show.”
“Who hurt you?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll tell you on the way.”
“On the way where? Where are you going?”
“My uncle called. He said my father has collapsed and wanted me to come to his apartment.”
“Like a heart attack or stroke?”
“I don’t know. I ran out of my apartment, and within a minute of entering the passageway, the lights went out, and two men attacked me.”
“Okay. Let’s get you to your father, and then we’ll see what we’re dealing with. You need me to carry you?”
“No. I’m fine. Just a little shaky.”
Concern darkening his face, Gideon wrapped his arm around her, giving her support.
