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Someone broke in, she thought inanely.
Fear burst through her that someone might have taken her most treasured possession.
A man dressed in black jeans, a black leather jacket, gloves, and a ski mask stepped out of her bedroom, his bulk filling the short hallway. He rushed her, grabbed her by the arms, dragged her inside, and shook her. “Where is it?”
Stunned, she simply stared at him, confused and dumbfounded.
Marcus brushed past her, hooked his hands on one of the guy’s arms, and tried to pull the man off her.
The intruder stood at least four inches taller than Marcus and had about twenty pounds of muscle on him. He released one hand from her, planted it on Marcus’s chest, and shoved him away. Marcus landed on his back on her coffee table so hard the legs on one side broke out from under it, sending Marcus up into a sitting position, his ass on the floor now.
The guy grabbed the front of her blouse, picked her up off her feet, and shoved her into the wall. Her head cracked on a hanging picture of her and her family. The glass cracked, the wood frame broke into a sharp point that cut her scalp. Blood oozed down the back of her head and neck.
The guy got right in her face. “Tell me where you hid it.”
Marcus scrambled up and grabbed the guy by the shoulders again. “Let her go.”
The guy released her.
She dropped back to her feet, the wood cutting her head even more, the bottom of the frame scraping and bruising her back. She put her hand to the back of her scalp and felt the warm wetness as she reached into her purse with her other hand, trying to find her phone.
Marcus and the guy grappled with each other, crunching and smashing all the things that had been dumped on her floor under their feet. The guy shoved Marcus back.
Nine-one-one answered her call, but before she could spit out any words, the guy looked over and made a grab for the phone. She dropped it, her purse fell off her arm, and she screamed when he planted his hand on her chest and shoved her back into the wall with a thump. She used the wall as leverage and shoved the guy away from her. He slipped and stumbled on a magazine that slid on the floor under his foot.
Marcus bent low, rushed him, and shoved his shoulder into the guy’s midsection. Out of nowhere the guy pulled a knife. He held it up, ready to plunge it into Marcus.
Adrenaline sent her leaping forward onto his back, her arms around his neck, but she couldn’t stop him from stabbing Marcus in the back. Once. Twice. Three times.
Marcus dropped to his belly on the floor and didn’t move.
Kenna screamed his name.
The guy shoved her back into the wall so hard her teeth rattled, his body pushing against hers. She sawstars and lost her grip on him, but came away with the mask he’d had over his head as he pulled his body away from hers. Her legs gave out and she landed on her ass on the floor, her knees bent.
Someone yelled her name from outside. It sounded like her neighbor Carolyn, but it was hard to hear with the sirens so close, her head pounding, and her heartbeat echoing in her ears.
The guy snatched the mask back, pulled it on, then got right up in her face. “Fucking bitch. I know you. Now you know me. This isn’t over.” He rushed out of her place, leaving her on her knees beside Marcus, crying, her phone forgotten on the floor as she pressed her hands to Marcus’s back, trying to stop the blood.
She leaned down to his ear, saying over and over again, “You’re going to be okay.”
She didn’t know how long it took for the cops to arrive and find her hunched over Marcus, her cheek pressed to his. “Wake up. Wake up. Wake up,” she pleaded with him, knowing he was gone.
Someone touched her shoulder. “Kenna. Kenna, honey, look at me.”
She knew that voice. It was so close to the Wilde she’d lost. But not the same at all. Through her blurry vision she looked up and saw Hunt. Officer Wilde. Max’s brother.
His eyes filled with concern and compassion.
“He won’t wake up.” Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. She hugged Marcus harder, hoping this wasn’treal. It wasn’t true. This never happened. “Wake up,” she pleaded again.
Hunt put his hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her upright. “Kenna, honey, I need you to let him go and come with me.”
She stared down at Marcus’s bloody back and the blood all over her hands. “He won’t wake up.”
“No, honey, he’s gone. Let me take you out of here.”
“He tried to save me.”
