Page 53 of Sentinel's Kiss

“I don’t know.

“Best guess.”

“Usually there’s two guys for each girl plus two for me.”

“Eight.”

Beverly nodded.

He texted Evil. Infirmary. 8 to 1 odds. 1 rescue. Extreme prejudice. Scorched earth.

That would tell his friends where he was if he didn’t make it, what the SOBs would be up against, and that Ryder couldn’t nuke the place from orbit, or whatever she did, because there was Beverly to consider. But aside from that, all eight had to go and the rest of the hunting club was forfeit as well. If he failed, the SOBs would clean up the mess.

Sentinel put his hand on the doorknob and listened. The music was still loud. He pulled open the door. Behind the bar was one man. He was in the act of pouring a drink when he looked up and Sentinel shot him. Stepping into the room, he took out Leslie’s two men. Leslie’s scream cut off when he shot her as well. The other two men had time to yell and pull away from the redhead. Sentinel shot them next and then Jen as she backed away crying. He swung his pistol and swept the room, but he didn’t see the last man.

Shit.

There were another two rooms with their doors closed. He couldn’t possibly have not heard the racket. Even with the silencer, the gunshots had made a cracking noise. And the screams and yells didn’t sound like pleasure. Hugging the wall, Sentinel was very cognizant that he was at a hunting lodge. There could be a shotgun facing each closed door. But Sentinel was patient. He had been a sniper.

Unfortunately, Beverly was not.

“Hey! Don’t leave me! Help!”

Cursing, Sentinel was going to return to her when the door on the left flew open.

“Shut the hell—” the man had time to say before Sentinel shot him.

Moving quickly into the room, he scanned it but there was no one else there. It was a large bathroom, and from the look of things that man had been taking a shower.

“One minute,” Sentinel said. “I have to find the keys. Be quiet.”

Jen and Leslie weren’t wearing anything, so the keys had to be in here somewhere. He flung open the other door, making sure he wasn’t in front of it, just in case. But there wasn’t anyone in that room either. It looked like a typical break room with cubbyholes and an armoire filled with costumes and sex toys.

He found a set of keys hanging from the back wall and returned to Beverly to unlock her.

“I need clothes,” she said, shivering.

“Stay here. I’ll get you something to wear and some shoes.”

But apparently Beverly didn’t listen too well, and while he was rummaging for a decent pair of pants and a shirt, she started screaming. Sentinel lunged back out, but no one else had come in.

It took him a minute to realize she was cowering from the carnage. Right, normal people didn’t see dead bodies like this. Normal people didn’t expect one guy to kill eight people as if he was ordering a sandwich. To him, it was simple: Bad guy? Dead guy.

“Come here,” he said. “Don’t step in the blood.”

That didn’t seem to calm her down any. He took her by the arm and as gently as he could pulled her into the break room and started throwing clothes at her.

“You killed them,” she whispered. “All of them.”

“I said I was going to.”

“Are you going to kill me now too?”

“Did you rape and imprison anyone?” he asked.

“What? No!” she said. “I’m the victim here.”

“And I’m the judge, the jury, and the executioner. Get dressed. Unless you want to stay here.”