Page 74 of Triple Protection

The light beeps green and I shout, pulling the doorknob. Except the door swings inwards, not outwards, and there's a semi-conscious man in the way. Panic sets in as I swing the door open, hitting Marshal in the shoulder, but it's not enough to slide through. I wedge my right leg and arm through as far as it will go, grabbing the side of the door and pushing as hard as I can against Marshal, whose groans are getting louder.

Whimpering and crying, I push the door and squeeze an inch of my body more through the opening, before repeating my push-squeeze desperately. The latch scrapes painfully against my bare stomach, but I don't care. Every second that passes, he's closer to being awake and I'm farther from my family and my freedom.

In a final burst of frantic energy, I manage to squeeze through the doorway and take off running into the woods. The sun is just setting, and the winter air is getting chilly. In just my bra and yoga pants, I tear through the woods surrounding the cabin blindly. Branches and pricker bushes tear at my skin and hair, ripping the fabric of my leggings, but I run. I have to run. I don't care the direction as long as it's away from that psychopath.

Breathless, I pause behind a large tree, trying to catch my breath and remember anything about the drive up, hoping it might give me a clue in which direction to run, but I was knocked out for the entire drive. We could be an hour from a town or four. He said I'd been out for 8 hours. That would put me at about 6pm. What had happened to Liam? Were the boys anywhere close to me? Surely, they would know by now it was Marshal? Unless Liam had died before telling the others. Painful sobs threaten to tear me apart before I hear a crashing noise in the woods behind me.

I take off again as fast as I can. No matter how much I had weightlifted with Alex or run with Liam, nothing had prepared me for being drugged, beaten and running for my life. My legsshake every stride, but Marshal's shouting behind me and the sound of him crashing through the woods spurs me on.

Suddenly, the forest gives way to an embankment that I stumble down. I hit the gravel road with my bare feet, stumbling before tripping and sprawling painfully in the gravel on my side. In the darkened light, however, I see that I am drenched in light. I look up, panicked, to see I'd fallen just in front of a car. The car skids to a stop before all four doors open.

I sigh a breath of relief, praying that whoever is in the car will help me. Suddenly, voices are shouting above me before strong arms that I know so well wrap around me and pull me against a hard body.

I look up at him, but his face is backlit by the headlights and hard to make out. "Brick?"

He doesn't answer me, but he growls, and I can see he's not looking at me.

A gunshot rings out and I jump harder into Brick's arms. Spinning, I see Marshal, gun drawn and pointed at us. I look down, checking Brick and I for a wound, my hands frantically checking his body, his arms, his face, before I hear a thump and turn back around to see Marshal, face down in the ditch on the side of the road.

Alex comes around the side of the car, gun still pointing at Marshal.

I gasp. He killed a man for me.

"Alex!" I shout, wanting to run to him, to comfort him, to make sure he's okay. They may have taken lives before but it's different when it's in a war zone. But I'm not sure I can stand at this point.

Brick shouts for someone to call an ambulance. Alex checks Marshal's pulse before climbing out of the ditch and walking towards us. His dark eyes swim with pain, despair, and desperation. He clenches his jaw tight, making the muscle on the side tick, before he looks down and away from me.

I sob, the rejection more painful than anything physical I'd ever encountered. I bury my face in Brick's chest, letting the tears flow. I pour out my entire heart onto Brick's shirt. Seven months of fear and anxiety, of falling in love, of losing...

"Just give him time, Babygirl. He blames himself."

"Liam?" I gasp, gripping Brick's shirt tightly.

"He's fine. A clean through-and-though. I'd FaceTime him with you, Babygirl, but..."

I look down at myself, covered in blood and bruises. I'm sure I'm a horrible sight.

"Give me your phone?" I ask him. He hands me his phone and I call Liam's number.

"Brick! Where is she? Tell me you've got her!" Liam's panicked voice answers. I snort out an ungraceful laugh-sob.

"Angel!?"

"Hey, baby," I say through tears and sobs. "I'm alright. They found me in time." I can hear the sirens approaching. "They're taking me to the hospital. You're there, right? I'll see you soon?"

"Yes, Angel. I'm here." Relief is palpable in his tone. "I'll be waiting for you here."

"I love you, Liam."

"I love you too, Angel." He replies, his voice deep and thick with emotion.

Chapter fifty-two

Alex

Alex

I'm officially a coward. I couldn't even look at Angela, my Princess. I couldn't watch as they loaded her into the ambulance. And Brick rode in the ambulance with her.