Total pages in book: 163
Estimated words: 150878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 754(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 754(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
There was another road behind a parking lot at the rear of the building that ran parallel to the main road. And there were two horses pointed in the other direction, each hitched to a buggy. The buggies appeared to be more compartments than the typical riding carts, perhaps used to transfer business materials. But because of that, I couldn’t see what—or who—was inside.
I peeked out farther and saw one of the men with his back to me peeing at the side of the lot. I considered whether to take advantage of his position, but I didn’t have a visual on the second man and didn’t want to risk getting shot in the back of the head.
At the thought, the second man exited one of the buggies and jumped down. “Hurry up!” he yelled to his partner, who then turned and jogged over to the other buggy and climbed up into the driver’s seat. Emily and Charlie were nowhere in sight, so I could only assume they were in the compartments and if the men were leaving them back there, they had to be either incapacitated or tied up.
“Shit,” I murmured, heart speeding as my mind flew from one rescue possibility to another. My best bet was to ambush them once they’d begun to move. Surprise was my best weapon at the moment as they didn’t yet know I existed.
I turned and ran back around the front of the diner, past another business next door and moved along the side. I could already hear the clop clop of the hooves moving closer on the road behind where I was and listened intently, knowing timing was going to be everything and hoping that the man with the firearm had put it away to handle the reins of the horse.
I waited, holding my breath, muscles tensed as the sound of the horses drew closer. The horse’s face appeared next to where I hid, then its shoulders, and I let out a gust of breath as I darted from behind the brick. I raced for the buggy, ducking low, and then grabbing onto the side of the seat and hopping up. The man holding the reins let out a short yell of surprise, reaching for what I was sure was his gun. My heart slammed against my ribs as I drew in a quick breath and kicked him hard in his shoulder. He jerked to the side, recovering quickly as he too came to his feet on the seat, the gun he’d managed to retrieve firing in the air right before he dropped it.
The horses let out shrieks of fear, the one in front of me rearing up and sending both me and the man slamming into the wall of the compartment behind us. The horse let out another shriek, and the man and I both grabbed on to what we could as the horse’s hooves hit the pavement, jarring me so that my teeth clacked together and my ears rang.
A scream sounded from inside and though it was muffled, I could tell who it was. Charlie.
As I began to turn, I spotted the gun the man had dropped on a small ledge near the wheel. Holy shit. I attempted to go low and reach for the weapon, but the man grabbed the back of my jacket and yanked me up, spinning me around and flipping me so that now we were on opposite sides of the seat, and I was farther from the gun. Mother fuck!
From the corner of my eye, I saw movement from the other buggy where the horse was exhibiting equal fear, shaking its head and emitting ear-piercing shrieks as the driver tried to get it under control. Then Emily appeared, eyes wide, mouth open, a switchblade clutched in her fist and ropes hanging from her wrists. I gaped, and that momentary pause caused the man I was fighting to get his bearings and lunge at me, his fist connecting to my jaw with a crack.
Emily climbed around the buggy as the man at the helm gained control of the horse, but then she let out an ear-piercing shriek as she lunged forward and lodged the knife in the side of the man’s neck and then just as quickly pulled it out, ducking away from the sudden spurt of blood. I let out another jolt, my stomach dropping and my focus on Emily allowing the man I was struggling with to get in another solid whack on my cheekbone. Fuck!
The man Emily had stabbed let go of the reins and brought his hand to his gushing wound as the horse took off running.
It all happened in less than thirty seconds.
I pitched forward with the man I was fighting as we both grunted with the effort of the struggle while simultaneously attempting to stay on the small seat of the buggy. From my peripheral vision, I saw the man Emily stabbed jerk back and lose his balance. I turned my head in time to see him crash into Emily, each of them tumbling off the buggy on opposite sides.