Page 16 of My Crazy Killers
“You know the drill,” I tell them. “Keep our exit clear.”
Pete steps inside, and Dex climbs into the back of the truck with his back pressed to the side. I’m surprised they aren’t throwing jabs around or making jokes, but I appreciate their seriousness when it’s needed most.
Dressed in the guards' uniforms, Sly walks behind me as I head down the hall and pull my phone out of my pocket. My tracker app is already up on the screen. The blinking dot shows her still in the same room, one floor above us. I nod to Sly, to let him know there’s no change, and we head out of the service corridor and into the main hallway that connects several large rooms to the front foyer. I head in that direction, knowing that’s where the stairs will be.
I keep my pace steady and unremarkable as two guards exit a side room as we approach, speaking with the casual entitlement of men who feel safe. I keep my chin even and my stride exact. One glances my way, but his eyes skim over the uniform before returning to his conversation. I don’t feel relief, not yet. Not until we’re all out of here safely.
The stairs appear, grand and curved, leading up to thesecond floor. My hands tighten on the strap of my gun hanging at my side as I walk to them with purpose.
As we near the top, I know this is going to be one of the hardest parts. I glance to my left and see a guard stationed outside a door halfway down. That must be Jagger’s room. To my right, about the same distance away, is another guard.
Wren is right behind that door.The only thing separating us is that man. His back rests against the doorframe, his eyes half-focused on nothing. He’s not alert, but complacency does not make him less dangerous.
I catalogue his posture, the tilt of his chin, the way his arms hang at his sides. One quick strike to the throat, one twist of the wrist to disarm him, and he will be on the ground before he understands what is happening. But the other guard will see it happen.
Sly and I have to split up. I start to turn my head to tell him so, but stop when I see Wren’s guard lift his radio to his ear. His expression sharpens instantly as he listens, eyes widening and shoulders tensing. He almost drops the radio in his haste to turn around and open the door with sudden urgency.
I take a step in that direction, unsure what’s going on but wondering if his being inside that room is my chance to act. Then the guard shouts in a burst of raw panic, Russian spilling out in frantic waves.“She’s gone!”
He rushes into the hallway again and, upon spotting us, yells in Russian, “Search her room for clues!” He gestures back to her door as he runs toward Jagger’s room. We watch in confusion as they shove it open and yell that he’s escaped, too.
My eyes meet Sly’s as I whisper, “Escaped?” Not wanting to get caught standing there, we hustle into her room andshut the door. Sly starts searching everywhere while I pull up the app.
“Shit!” I hiss when I see her red dot moving through the backyard. I run to the open window and peek out, holding my phone up to try to figure out where she is.
“She went out the window,” Sly says, his voice a mix of surprise and awe.
“I think they both did,” I tell him, my eyes scanning the app. “Wait, she’s turning around.” I look out at the yard, trying to figure out where she is, then I see the sudden movement as two figures dart behind one of the small outbuildings. “There!” I point at where I just saw them, my mind racing to come up with a plan.
“We need to let them know we’re here, and to head for the side entrance,” I say in frustration.
“Why are they coming back this way?” Sly asks when they move closer again.
“I don’t know. But standing here, we can’t do anything. She won’t be able to tell it’s us from here.”
“And if we yell out to them, everyone will know where they are and that we are here,” Sly adds.
“Come on,” I say, turning back to the door. “We need to get out there.”
We didn’t come this far to lose her now. If I had to shoot every man in this place to get to her, I would do it. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.
CHAPTER NINE
WREN
The cameras around the perimeter left us no choice but to move back to the center of the compound. There could be cameras here, too, but so far, no one has been searching for us here, so I’m hoping the surveillance is only on the fence line and not inside.
Although there is some snow on the ground, there are footprints everywhere, so nobody should be able to track us that way.
I’m not sure how they figured out we escaped, but men are running around outside the house, and there's a lot of yelling, though I can’t quite understand what they are saying. It seems clear they are searching for someone, though.
Jagger turns me to face him and quickly signs,“Let’s head for the drive, maybe there’s a vehicle I can hotwire.”
I nod, knowing we’ll get caught if we stay put. Grabbing his hand, I turn and peek around the edge of the small building. When the coast looks clear, I slowly step out, and when I have a better view and don’t see anyone, I run, pulling Jaggerwith me, to the next building. We quickly flatten ourselves against the back wall, despite the pain from our lashings, as we breathe heavily and listen for any yelling that indicates someone saw us.
When it seems we made it unscathed, I move to the edge and peek out again. Two guards are moving toward us, checking each building as they go.
I pull back with a muttered curse as I sign to Jagger that we need to go the other way. He looks out from his side, but quickly pulls back, saying there are three guards over there. Pressing our shoulders to the wall, we stare at each other silently, wondering where we can hide.
