Page 111 of Intrepid

I kicked and wriggled, clawing across the floor to get away.

Flames licked my belly as he yanked me backward, and I pivoted to face him, aiming my boot for his nuts.

Before I could make contact, he leapt on top of me, pressing all two-hundred-some pounds onto my small frame, crushing my lungs beneath his weight.

“Get off!” I screamed, my voice turning raspy with the lack of breath.

“Oh, I plan on it, sweetheart. In fact, I was thinking maybe we’d send the video to your boyfriend.”

A flash in my periphery gave no warning before the cold hard crack smarted my jaw. Stars exploded behind my shuttered lids, and I rolled my head on the floor in a piss poor attempt to regain focus.

“That’s for stabbing me with the fucking scissors, but I’ll save the real retaliation for your little boyfriend.”

Jaw throbbing, I shook my head, the bitter smile on my face failing to reflect the rage pulsing through me. “Dane, believe me when I tell you, you’re fucking with the wrong wolf.” A choked laugh punched through my chest, feeling like an explosion against the pressure weighing down on me. “You’re undoubtedly crazy, but Ty? He’s bat-shit with a side of schizo, and if you want to remain in one piece, I suggest you get the hell out of here right now.”

“I’m shaking. Really. How ‘bout if, instead of me running away like a pussy, we find a nice quiet place to film ourselves.” He lifted a rag from somewhere beyond my view and covered my mouth. “And then you’re going to tell me where you put that ledger.”

“You’re dead, Dane. So … fu …ka … deah.”

His face blurred, widened, like looking at him through a glass, where the edges slowly filtered in from the sides. Too quickly, he shrank to nothing but a pinprick.

36

Ty

A man who feared nothing had either never stared into the black void of his future, or had and accepted what he saw there. For every risk I’d taken in life, I’d always accepted the consequences, the unknowns that most sought to avoid. They’d rather live in the safe corners, where fear was nothing more than a news report, or a dark room. A channel they could change in one click, with the urge to flick on the light and never have to think about it again.

For some of us, fear simply wasn’t an option, because every day was unknown. Like being locked inside a room with no light switch. Every day brought us one step closer to death. And when the body became accustomed to surviving, fear simply no longer had a purpose. I’d reached the intoxicating pinnacle of fear, staring miles down into the blackness with a smile on my face, knowing damned well whatever lay at the bottom was fated to be my end.

For the first time in my life, though, I dreaded the future. Without Sera there, I couldn’t stand to look beyond, to peer into that void without the shuddering reality that she would never belong to me.

I had no choice but to let her go.

As if my body was pulled by strings, I moved like a puppet, no feeling, no emotion, no desire anymore. On X-ray, my insides would probably show up as one big, vacuous hole—no heart, no lungs. Just hollow.

I set my pack on the bed, not surprised that my whole fucking life fit into one bag.

Three things I’d learned while living with my Uncle Hank—pack light, don’t get attached, and clean up your mess afterward. Yet, for being completely dead inside, I found myself struggling with the last two.

Living with him had taught me that, once you started a life on the run, you couldn’t sit still for any great length of time. Sera didn’t strike me as the type of woman who’d be content always running from place to place. She’d never leave Jo—that much I’d gathered just from watching her care for Eli’s mom.

I shoved bottles of whiskey, a couple waters, and some granola bars into the hiking backpack. Once I’d eliminated the last name from my list, I’d hide out until things settled. Maybe after, I’d reclaim the plans for Dubai and travel that part of the globe for a while.

Clutching the pack, I blew out a harsh breath and shook my head. Anger, like molten steel, crawled through my veins, and I threw the pack against the wall, watching the contents explode onto the floor.

I wanted Sera. I wanted her more than anything. More than watching that fat prick’s face twist in pain. More than my fury and the insatiable craving for revenge. I wanted her more than the fucked up life that awaited me—the blackness on the horizon promising death.

It wasn’t about her beauty, her smarts, her body, although those had certainly left their mark on me. I was drawn to her light. Her purity and innocence, as if I’d been buried alive in a cold dark tomb for too long, before being given one breath, one moment of warmth on my skin. I craved her as much as the air and the heat I needed to feel alive again.

A high-pitched screech ripped through my eardrum, rattling my spine, and I spun around to see the boy, mouth gaping. Eyes black as death watched me fall to my knees, my hands vised to my ears to block the screams that only seemed to grow louder, more intense.

“She’s mine!” I shouted, trembling at the piercing stabs that bounced over my eardrum.

The screams went silent.

I opened my eyes, lowering my hands to the chime of my phone.

The boy had disappeared, but I glanced around to be sure, then focused on the text popped up on my screen.