Page 136 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
With Maisy fighting, Everett wasn’t paying attention to me.
Maybe together we could stop Everett long enough to make a run for it. We just had to get to a phone. That’s all we needed. One phone call, and Jess would save us.
Silently, I leaned against the wall and used it to stand myself up. My plan was crazy but it was all I could think of. I backed up a few steps and squared my shoulders. Then, bending my knees, I prepared for my attack. All I had was my body. It wasn’t much but with enough force, maybe I could ram into Everett and throw him off Maisy.
Jess had spent months teaching me about football, the strategy, the rules . . . and how the players landed those body-slamming tackles. How a smaller player could take out a larger opponent.
So, I took a deep breath and then I went for it.
I sprinted the short distance between me and Everett. Ducking my head into one shoulder, I slammed into his waist with the other.
The impact sent us both spiraling to the floor. I landed with a hard thud, Everett just inches away. It took him a second to realize what had happened but by then I was frantically scrambling to get back onto my feet.
“Gigi!” Maisy screamed.
“Run, Maisy! Run!” I yelled.
She jumped off the table as Everett regained his balance. He turned to me, now on my feet, and raised his fist. A split second later, my face erupted, his fist moving too fast to see.
Blinding pain radiated through my cheek and eye. My knees collapsed and cracked against the cement floor.
Everett was seething, his body looming over me while I stayed on my knees, trying to clear the white spots from my vision. “You stupid bitch. I’ll fucking rip your heart out for that.”
From the corner of my good eye, I saw Maisy frantically searching the shelves by the bed. Everett’s back was to her as he shouted in my face. Something in a box must have caught her attention because she immediately went for it.
“Fuck you! Fuck you, Everett! You’ll pay for this,” I shouted to give Maisy a few more seconds for whatever she was doing.
Everett’s lip curled. He raised his fist again and my eyes darted to Maisy behind him. In her hand was a scalpel still in its sterile wrapping. She was clutching it in her fist so hard her knuckles were white.
Everett noticed my eyes wander and he started to turn. But just as he did, Maisy jammed the scalpel into Everett’s throat.
Blood sprayed from his neck as he screamed, frantically clutching the scalpel that was choking him. I didn’t know where she had hit him but if it wasn’t deep enough or
if he managed to pull out the scalpel, he could come after us.
Maisy was standing frozen behind Everett, her eyes wide. Her face and hand were splattered with his blood.
“Maisy!” I yelled, standing. “Maisy, let’s go!”
She took a big step back, still watching Everett, but then her wide eyes found mine.
“Run!” I shouted again.
She shook off the shock and we both took off through the storage room, running as fast as we could. My arms tied behind my back were slowing me down but I just kept moving. Maisy tried her best to keep me from falling to the floor as we ran. Down the long hallway. Up the stairs. Through the door.
With every step, I prayed Everett Carlson wasn’t just a step behind.
Jess
I met Silas and Sam at the ER entrance and marched right past them, straight through the glass doors to the stairs to find Scottie Pierce. I rounded the railing but before my foot could hit the first step, a door by the staircase burst open.
Georgia came flying out, Maisy hot on her heels.
“Georgia!” I lunged forward to catch her as she tripped.
She collapsed into my arms, her hands tied behind her back. One side of her face was fucked up. A puffy red welt covered her cheek and her eye was nearly swollen shut.
Maisy hit me next. She clung to my shirt, trying not to fall to her knees. Her face was covered in blood.
