Page 47 of Forged in the Fire
A cold dread slithered beneath the surface of my skin.
Kill.
Panic shot through me faster than a bullet.
I had to get out of there.
Warn Dereck and protect myself.
Stop whatever was about to happen because whatever it was, I was sure it was bad.
I certainly didn’t mean for my elbow to smack against the door when I whirled away, but it made agonizing contact against the wood.
Pain streaked up my arm and nearly dropped me to my knees.
But the real problem was the bang of the impact reverberated as loud as a gong in the echoey corridor.
No question, they heard because the voices clipped off.
And I was running.
Running down the hall as fast as my boots could carry me.
Breaths raking from my lungs as I fled.
The walls blurred around me as I pushed myself as fast as I could go.
Whizzing by the doors, then the long window that overlooked the mess hall where Elena likely still remained.
Did she know? Did she know who these people really were? Did she know what they planned to do?
I wasn’t about to wait around for an answer.
Finally, the swinging door at the opposite end of the hall came into view, and I put my hands out, busting through it without slowing.
Because I could feel explosive energy behind me. A gathering of severity that blistered through the air.
Without looking back, I flew out into the bar.
The lights were low and the music was loud and people were everywhere.
So many bikers in every direction that it made me dizzy.
The air clogged with viscous, sticky fog.
I weaved through, sidestepping as much as I could to remain out of their reach, my eyes narrowed on one thing.
Escape.
I made it to the main swinging doors, and I burst out into the tacky night.
For one beat, I froze at the horde of bikers at the fire, wondering if they could smell my terror, before I shot into action, cutting right, hoping to duck into the cover of the forest on that side.
Praying I could make it to the property line. My mind calculated, wondering how the hell I’d make it over a twelve-foot wall, but people did miraculous things when their lives depended on it.
I would fight it out, but there were far too many of these assholes to take them down.
I would have to run.
