Page 49 of Poisoned Promise
I push my trapped wrist forward, ignoring the pain, and wrench the rope away from my throat with a loud, desperate gasp.
Grabbing it with both hands, I rip it free while throwing myself out of the tub.
I hit the floor and a second later, he lands on top of me.
His weight forces all that precious air out of my lungs so I throw my elbow back again and catch him in the face.
He grunts and jerks backward. I roll over, lunge upward and follow his fall backward until I’m on top of him.
His fist collides with my aching jaw and my head snaps to the side.
I punch him in the face, crushing his nose under that ridiculous balaclava.
He grunts and grabs my arm.
I slam my fist into his throat.
He chokes, rolling to the side and I crawl up and over him like a spider monkey until my legs are hooked around his head.
Then I tighten my thighs.
The angle forces him onto his stomach to try and escape me, dragging me above him until I’m sitting on the back of his head with his neck locked in my thighs.
His hands scrabble at the floor and he throws one arm back, catching me on the hip.
I squeeze tightly and grab the side of my bath, then jerk my legs together and back.
His neck snaps with a satisfying crack, and his body falls limp while I cling to the bath, panting.
Fucking. Hell.
Only once I’m certain he won’t move do I climb to my feet and grab a bottle of painkillers from the medical kit.
Stumbling out of the bathroom, I make it halfway down the hall when the floorboards creak behind me and a chill shoots down my spine.
The second assailant lunges forward, so I drop to the floor and catch his ankle with the edge of my foot.
He trips and stumbles into the wall. I sprint upward, drop the pills, and grab the lamp from the side table, then smash it over his head.
He goes down and I follow, but he’s fast, catching me off guard with a punch to the ribs.
I crash to the floor with a yelp of pain and suddenly he’s over me and pinning me with his body weight as he sits on my stomach.
“The bounty is for you alive,” croaks the stranger as two meaty fists seal around my throat. “But you’re a fucking animal so I think I’ll just take back your head instead. Caterina won’t care either way.”
Caterina?
I spare her a brief thought as the man chokes me hard and violently, picking me up by the throat and slamming my head back down onto the floor.
Stars burst across my vision as pain blooms at the back of my skull.
I slam my fist into his ribs but he doesn’t budge.
I punch his elbows to loosen his grip but it doesn’t weaken him.
I can’t breathe.
My tongue feels like it’s swelling in my mouth and burning, wretched urge to cough rises through me as my body fights desperately for air.
