Page 45 of The Quiet Witness

Running off had briefly flashed across her mind, but that would be fooli—

A hand clasped over her mouth, muffling her squeal. Not just a hand, a handkerchief.

The smell. As if someone had poured alcohol into her nose.

No, no, no. Not again.

She threw her head back. Unlike Lucien, the person behind her did not see it coming.

Blood spurted across her neck. The hand released her. Her nostrils flared, sucking in the fresh air. Eyes watering.

“Hija de puta!” The man screamed behind her. Spanish?

A foot connected with her back, harshly pushing her to the snow. She collapsed. Ice biting in her cheeks. Pressing against the tiny healing scabs.

Kate didn’t waste a second, pushing up on trembling hands and feet. Only to slip down again, ice thick beneath her boots. She turned on her bottom to face them.

Three figures surrounded her. All shrouded in camouflaged winter jackets, hats over their heads, cloths shielding their faces. Nothing to see but their cold, empty eyes.

The injured one kept shouting while holding onto his bleeding nose. Another man slapped him across the cheek. A raspy voice shot out. “Shut up! That howling will attract attention. I said quick and quiet!”

Kate clawed over the ice, fighting to get a grip. The tallest one approached her. There was no emotion on his face, no glee, no malice. Only a grim determination lining his eyes.

She scooted backwards. Desperate to keep space from them.

He was on her in a flash. Hands pushing her into the ground. Legs straddling hers, his weight grating down on her. “Get off me!” She pushed his hands away from her neck, only to receive a harsh slap to the face. She kicked out, thrashing in the snow. “What do you want from me?!”

Her blood ran as cold as the floor she was writhing on. A gun. He had a gun on his hip. She threw her weight forward, hand grasping for the hilt. Another slap had her seeing stars, rattling her teeth.

His weight pinned her down completely, straddling her abdomen.

She froze. The gun forgotten.

Icy raw fingers locked around her throat. Silhouette encompassing her in the rapidly fading light.

Barely a scratch.

“Don’t even try to scream. No one will hear you.”

That’s where he was wrong.

Lucien. Where is he?

Maybe her big mouth had finally paid off. And he’d left her to her own devices.

“Lucien! Help me!”

She screamed and screamed until the man’s hands pressed down on her throat. The forest darkening around her. She clawed at her neck. Her voice turning into the squeaking of a rat. A rat caught in a corner.

No air, there was no air.

“Just pass out already.” The voice grumbled above her. No space for mercy, no space.

She kicked out with her legs only to meet air.

Do something, Kate!

There was nothing she could do. Everything became… darker.