by Anna Blakely
Speak of the devil.
“Time’s up.” Bukhari stormed toward her.
“What?” Kat shook her head, doing her best not to run for the compound. She had to add the final chemical in order for it to work, but if he suspected she was up to something, he’d most likely beat her again. Or worse.
“Y-you said I had until tomorrow.” She continued walking casually to where she needed to be.
“Close enough.” He eyed the vials on the back counter. “Is this it?” His dark eyes lit up. “Is it complete?”
“Mostly.” Kat nodded. “I’d still like to run a few tests. Make sure it works like it’s supposed to.”
“Agreed,” Bukhari nodded. He picked up one of the vials before removing a syringe from his pocket. This one complete with a needle. He flicked off the plastic tip and began filling the small tube with the fake serum.
Kat’s heart raced wildly in her chest. Her mind raced with so many questions. How would he test it? Who would he test it on?
If he purposely injured himself, he’d realize almost instantly it wasn’t the real thing. He’d kill her for sure.
Bukhari walked over to her with the syringe.
“Y-you shouldn’t test it on yourself. There could be side-effects we aren’t aware of. Everyone’s system is different, and your body’s DNA makeup could reject—”
Bukhari’s laugh interrupted her rambling thoughts. “Oh, I’m not going to test it on myself.” He nodded to someone behind her and Kat whipped her head around to see Walker had entered the lab.
With an apologetic shrug, he wrapped an arm around her chest, pulling her back flush with his front. Kat screamed and tried to get free, but once again, the man’s strength overpowered hers.
Moving her forward, closer to the man in charge, he spun her around, pushing her body against the hard, metal table in the center of the room. Pressing himself against her, Walker forced her to arch her back until her upper body was lying flat on the top of the table.
Holding her arms above her head to keep her immobile, Kat was unable to do anything but lie there and scream.
Using his body to keep her in place, Walker continued to hold her down at her wrists while Bukhari examined the veins on the inside of her left arm. Pressure from Walker’s weight sent a sharp, burning pain through her already-injured ribs,
“There.” He pressed against one of the larger ones. “I think this one will do nicely.”
“You’re crazy!” She ground out, still trying futilely to break free.
Kat winced as Bukhari pressed the tip of the sharp needle into her skin. A cool, burning sensation began spreading up her arm, and she watched with horror as he slowly plunged the remaining liquid into her vein.
“I don’t know what has you so concerned. This is harmless to the human body. Yes?”
He pulled the needle free and let her go, silently instructing Walker to do the same.
The second Walker lifted himself off her, Kat sucked in deep breath. The action caused the pain in her side to ignite once more, but at least she was no longer being held down.
Angry, for so many reasons, Kat pushed against Walker’s chest as she made her way past the two men.
“Yes. The serum itself is harmless.” She walked backward, putting as much space between herself and the two men as possible. “But—”
“Then what are you afraid of?” Bukhari cut her off, pulling a pistol from the holster at his hip.
Oh, I don’t know. A bullet traveling at over six hundred miles an hour as it rips through my flesh seems to come to mind.
Kat’s legs went weak, and she felt as though she were going to throw up.
“This is crazy, Bukhari.” Walker put himself between her and the potential bullet. “You hurt her, and the serum doesn’t work, you’re back to square one.”
“How else will I know it works, if we don’t test it?”
“Then go get one of your fucking lackeys. Not the doc I’ve worked my ass off to bring to you.”
“The rest of your money was already transferred, so why do you care what happens to her?”
It was a valid question, and one Kat wouldn’t mind knowing the answer to, but right now she had bigger things to worry about.
While the two men continued to argue, Kat inched herself away, closer to the explosive concoction she’d made. She’d barely made it when she heard Bukhari give Walker a final warning.
“Either get out of the way, or I’ll shoot you first. And I won’t bother giving you the damn serum.”
Kat watched Walker closely, praying he’d have a sudden change of heart and take Bukhari down before he could hurt her or anyone else.
Instead, the man shook his head and said, “You’re making a mistake.” He then turned and started walking for the door.
“Wait!” Kat hollered for him as he passed by. She knew it was crazy to think this man, the same man who’d murdered her father in cold blood would actually help her, but she’d seen something behind his eyes.
A spec of compassion and humanity when he’d stitched her up. He’d come to her aid when Bukhari had been kicking her in the hallway, and he’d tried to prevent the bastard from shooting her.
There had to be some bit of decency in there, somewhere. There had to be.
But as he made his way to the door, he simply turned and said, “I’m sorry, Katherine. I truly am.” And then he left her. Alone…with a killer.
“P-please,” Kat begged Bukhari. “Don’t do this.”
“Why not? You said the serum works, correct?”
“Y-yes, but it won’t heal me.”
The older man smiled the coldest sneer she’d ever seen. “I don’t need it to heal you. I only need to how well it works on your pain. See if it slows the bleeding, as Anderson claimed. What more efficient way to cause pain and bleeding, than a bullet?”
Kat knew the second he decided to pull the trigger. It was the same second she moved to grab the glass beaker.
There was a loud bang before the bullet struck. At the exact same moment, Kat screamed as she threw the beaker as hard as she could, aiming directly where Bukhari was standing.
She flew back from the force of the bullet, landing on the floor as the entire room filled with a rush of incinerating heat. Her ears filled with a deafening ringing, making it impossible for her to hear anything but.
Overwhelming pain filled her entire left side. Its long, sharp nails digging their way through her abdomen, taking with them her ability to breathe.
Tempted to close her eyes and let the pain sweep her away, Kat’s memory wouldn’t allow it. A flash of the syringe she’d hidden in the toilet flew through her mind, and she knew if she had any hopes of surviving, she had to get to it.
Unable to hold back her groan, Kat pushed to her side, nearly losing consciousness from the trauma she’d just endured. She tried to keep her breaths even, but smoke filled her lungs every time she inhaled.
Coughing—which only exacerbated the pain—Kat miraculously made her way to her feet. Stumbling back, she fought against the spinning room to try and see where Bukhari had landed.
Through flames and dark smoke, she finally found him lying in a heap on the floor near the back. She could tell he was bleeding, though she wasn’t sure of the source. And he wasn’t moving.
At least I hurt the bastard.
Expecting his men to come rushing in at any second, Kat ignored the flames licking at her skin as she stumbled over the half-open door. The force of the blast had almost blown it off its hinges, and somewhere in the back of her muddled mind, Kat understood her falling backward from being shot may very well have saved her life.
Irony’s an even bigger bitch than Fate.
Shaking her head to clear the useless thoughts, and the incessant ringing, Kat kept a hand pressed tightly against her wound while using the other to support herself while walking along the hallway wall.
Warm blood oozed from between her fingers, and though she had no way of knowing exactly w
hat damage the bullet had done, Kat knew if she didn’t slow the bleeding, she’d be dead before she ever got the chance to escape.
The serum. I have to make it to the serum.
Several muffled voices broke through the ringing. They sounded as if they were coming from behind her, but Kat refused to stop and check.
She thought she heard Bukhari’s strained voice barking orders but didn’t risk slowing down to see if he was coming after her.
“There!” Kat hear the muted voice from behind her. “She’s down there!”
“I’ll take care of her,” Bukhari shouted. “You gather what you can and get out. I’ll meet you at the estate.”
Someone said something she couldn’t make out, followed by Bukhari’s very clear, “I said the bitch is mine!”
With a quick look back, Kat was opening the bathroom door when she saw Bukhari fall as he tried climbing over the rubble at the lab’s entrance. Their eyes met, and he pointed the gun at her again.
Kat screamed as a bullet hit the bathroom’s doorframe as she slammed it shut. Locking it—which was a ridiculous waste of time given that the door was made of wood and the man had bullets—she stumbled over to the toilet.
Hands slick with blood, Kat grunted from pain as she lifted the heavy lid off and let it fall to the floor. The white ceramic broke instantly, splintering into two, jagged pieces.
She spotted the syringe and reached for it, her wet and bloody fingers fumbling to get the plastic end unscrewed. After dropping it twice, Kat lifted her soaked and sticky scrub top, exposing where she’d been shot.
With no needle, she couldn’t inject herself with the serum the way it was meant to be treated. Instead, she chose the next best thing.
Praying this worked, she bit her lip, took a deep breath, and pushed the end of the plastic tube directly into the wound in hopes of introducing it into her bloodstream more quickly. Kat was unable to hold back guttural sound as she growled against the pain.
The stinging she’d felt earlier when Bukhari had injected her was nothing compared to what she felt now. An enraged wildfire spread through the wound, taking over her entire internal core to the point she was sure she was dying.
But then, the impossible happened.
Within seconds, the burning began to subside. Her heart rate slowed back to normal, and Kat no longer felt the pain as she had before.
Am I dying?
She thought maybe she was. Until suddenly, miraculously, she began to feel stronger. Steadier.
Almost frantically, she lifted her shirt to inspect the wound, shocked to see her bleeding had damn near stopped.
Holy shit. It works! Tears of joy mixed with the ones caused from the pain.
Kat had already known from the tests they’d run before that it had positive effects when administered through the venous system, but she wasn’t sure what would happen when she’d saturated the wound directly. To actually feel the drug working inside her body was almost indescribable.
Knowing her renewed sense of strength wouldn’t last forever, she bent down and picked up one of the two ceramic halves. Then, squeezing herself into the corner between the small vanity and door, she held the chunk of lid high in the air and waited.
Bukhari kicked the door in, and Kat had to flinch back against the wall to keep from getting struck. His momentary lapse from not seeing her like he’d expected gave her all the time she needed.
With as much strength as she could gather, Kat roared as she brought the toilet lid half down on to the man’s extended arm. The gun flew from his hand, clattering on the floor as he cried out in pain. Taking advantage of the moment, Kat swung the lid upward, the edge catching the bastard’s chin.
Bukhari’s head flew backward, and the rest of his body followed. Landing with a thud, the unconscious man lay half in and half out of the bathroom’s doorway.
Loud pops like gunshots rang out from somewhere in the building. The ringing was still present—something her scientist-trained brain made a mental note of—so it was still challenging to make out specific sounds.
Even so, everything that had happened to her these last few days, Kat was certain of one thing.
I know what a gunshot sounds like.
Dropping the lid somewhere behind her, Kat scrambled to pick up the gun. Her hand shook as she got into what she thought was the correct stance.
Bukhari’s men had come back for him, after all. They’d see what she’d done to their boss, and that she was still alive. And they’d kill her.
I’ll shoot as many as I can before that happens.
In her mind, she began praying as she waited to give the final fight of her life.
Chapter 18
Matt felt as though his heart would explode the second he and his team headed for the blown-out wall. Ghost and the others had divided up, half circling around front, the others heading to the back.
The flames were hot and high, but Matt pressed on. Nothing was going to keep him from finding his woman.
With his gun steady, he held up his hand in a fist, signaling the others to stop. Giving Gabe a tip of his head, he motioned to where at least four men were rummaging through the debris.
Even from here, he could tell they were armed, but with their heads down and their hands full, their guns were hanging loosely at their sides.
Idiots. They were so busy trying to save what they could from the lab, they’d made themselves sitting fucking ducks.
Something else occurred to him. If they were trying to save what they could from the lab, did that mean Kat was gone? Had she been taken somewhere else, or…
No! He could not fucking go there now.
Using hand signals they could sign in their sleep, Gabe divvied up the tangoes among the team. As they made their way across the remaining distance to the damaged building, each man knew which target was theirs to take out.
Like a well-choreographed dance, the four men each took aim. Pulling the trigger on his HK-MP5, Matt shot simultaneously with his team.
The unsuspecting tangoes fell instantly. Still, Matt and the others didn’t let their guard down. They’d counted ten warm bodies minutes before, which meant there were still six left somewhere in the building.
And one of those was Katherine.
Keeping his head focused and in the game, Matt quickly swept the burning lab in search of her. But he saw no sign of her or Bukhari.
With no immediate threat in sight, the team made their way across the room. They were careful to avoid the flames, while at the same time, watching their footing.
Matt had no more made his way over the broken door and into the hallway when two of Bukhari’s men came running around the corner to his right.
With rapid succession shots, he took the first man out. Several bullets penetrated the asshole’s chest as they hit center mass. Behind him, Gabe’s gun let loose with the same, tight shots, killing the tango before the man could even reach his trigger.
“Thanks, brother.” Matt gave his team leader a nod.
With a friendly tap to Matt’s helmet, Gabe said, “Come on. Let’s go find your girl.”
At last count, that was six tangoes down, three to go, and one amazing woman to save. But when Matt’s team headed down the hallway to his left, he saw the bastard responsible for it all.
Rajif Bukhari was standing in a doorway. The son of a bitch was yards away, not paying attention to them in the least. His focus was on something else entirely.
Matt saw red as a primal, murderous rage from everything this man had caused seeped through his pores.
The deaths of Thomas Marsh and Detective Holloway. Nearly killing Zade. And—for Matt, at least—the worst of it all…
Bukhari had tried to have Kat killed before ordering her kidnapping. Who knows what the bastard had done to her since?
As much as he wanted to toss down his rifle and kill the bastard with his bare hands, his training wouldn’t allow it. Instead, he went for the next best thing.
Burn in hell,
asshole.
Matt put the fucker in his sights and slid his finger to the trigger. He’d barely started to squeeze when he saw something that made his head spin.
Bukhari bent forward, howling out in pain before flying backward, as if someone had clocked him. They must have done a hell of a job, too, because the son of a bitch was out cold.
“What the hell?”
From behind him, Derek’s words mimicked Matt’s thoughts exactly.
“Your girl?” Kole asked.
God, he hoped so. If Kat had done that to Bukhari, it had to mean she was okay. Right?
Keeping an eye on the unconscious man, Matt picked up the pace. Covering the distance to the open doorway, Bukhari’s still form was now blocking, he held his breath and sent up a quick prayer before peeking into the small room.
The whirl of a bullet flew past his head before slamming into the wall behind him.
“Shit!” Matt jerked his head back. It took his brain a couple seconds to catch up to what he’d seen.
Putting his hand out to signal his team to stand down, he kept his head back and hollered into the room.
“Katherine! Baby, it’s me. It’s Matt. I need you to put the gun down.”
There was a beat of silence before he heard her quivering voice. “M-Matt?”
“Yeah, sweetheart. It’s me. Can you put the gun down?”
Matt knew in his heart she would never intentionally hurt him or any of the other guys, but fear and adrenaline played all sorts of nasty tricks on the mind. After what she’d been through, he needed to do this by the book.
Otherwise, she may do something she didn’t mean. If that happened, she’d be forced to live with it for the rest of her life.
“O-okay.” The telltale clang of a gun hitting concrete sounded from inside the room. “I-I dropped it. I dropped the gun.”
With a cautionary glance, Matt stepped over Bukhari and rushed into the room.
“Holy fuck.” He hauled her into his arms. “Oh, thank God. I thought I’d lost you.”
“You’re here.” She began to sob against his chest. “You’re really here. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
“I’m here, baby.” He squeezed her against him before pulling back slightly.
