Page 46 of Fully Loaded

Anna Bella’s small cries penetrated Dani’s consciousness, and she gave her a squeeze. “It’s okay, honey. It’s okay. Shh. Please don’t cry, okay?” She whispered the plea next to the girl’s ear, praying the darkness would somehow hide them from the second shooter’s view.

Anna Bella nodded, and a tiny loop of relief loosened some of the terror. Footsteps moved purposefully across the field littered with dead and injured bodies.

Maybe the shooter will think we’re already dead . . .

“Get up and we won’t shoot the kid.” The deep voice popped her bubble of hope. A vise clenched Dani’s heart.

They were after her. The shooters. All these people had died because of her.

She straightened, still keeping her body in front of Anna Bella’s, and turned to her pursuer.

“If you hurt her, I won’t cooperate with you.”

The man’s hard stare didn’t change. Light from the Eiffel Tower behind her illuminated his scowl. His thick nose met the hard, round planes of his face.

“Get up.” He jerked his weapon, motioning for her to stand.

Anna Bella clutched her arms. “Don’t leave!”

Dani stopped to give her a hug. “It’s okay. You’re going to be fine. I want you to stand up and run to the policemen over there—they’re coming toward us. Raise your hands and wave at them.”

As if he just noticed the cops’ fast approach, the man gripped her hair and hauled her backward. “Get up!” he bellowed, lifting her to her toes.

The strands threatened to rip from her head and her scalp screamed in protest. She held her body forward to prevent being thrown backward. Anna Bella reached for her and Dani kept her face as neutral as possible despite the pain searing through her skull.

“Run, Anna Bella!”

The girl pushed to her feet and ran, her corkscrew curls bouncing on her head as she faded into the darkness. Rough hands clamped onto Dani’s arms, and the man propelled her off the field and into the trees.

No, no, no!

She had to stop him. The spikes of her high heels caught on the uneven terrain, making her footing clumsy. Her knee buckled, but he pushed her forward before she could fall.

“Go!” A van waited at the road. Fear seized the air in her lungs. She dug her feet into the grass and fought against the current of his weight behind her.

Anna Bella was safely out of sight. The paralyzing ice coating her veins morphed to liquid fire. If he got her inside the van, she’d die. Using all her strength, she dug her feet into the ground and shoulder checked him in the side. He teetered off balance and his hand flailed for her. She dodged his grasp and raced for the field. If she could get close enough for the cops to see her, she might have a chance.

Her attacker cursed behind her, and she forced the muscles in her legs to sprint. She lifted her dress and her toe caught a tree root. She went down, and her knees connected with the bark that had tripped her.

“Fucking bitch!”

She surged to her feet, panic coursing through her. There were movements on the field a hundred feet away. Hope spread in her chest.

“Hel—”

His hand clamped over her mouth and he wrestled her back in the direction of the van. With one arm looped around her midsection, he carried her with ease. She bucked and twisted, but he didn’t falter. The open van door loomed before her, and fresh terror singed her esophagus. She chomped her teeth on the meaty part of his fingers and he howled. His hand jerked out of her mouth and the tinny taste of blood hit her tongue. She threw her head back and opened her mouth on a scream?—

Bang!

Something hard bashed into her skull. Her head snapped to the side and her vision flickered. Her body turned weightless but her consciousness screamed at her to stay focused, to fight back, to do something . . .

He lifted her into his arms and her eyes lolled back to stare at the twisting sky overhead. Then he flung her in the air and her back bounced hard against the bottom of the van’s steel floor. Her head smacked into something sharp and blackness collapsed around her.

Chapter

Seventeen

Brock sprinted through the trees and away from the cops who’d been too distracted by the second shooter to notice his escape. He dodged branches and leaped over roots—she had to be here. Where the fuck was the tree he’d left her at? Had she run? God, he hoped she’d gotten in a cab.