The Big Guns. HelenKay Dimon

much and now it paid off. She could identify one of the men fighting over her. She just hoped she lived long enough to turn Zach’s name over to the police. Let him explain what he was doing with Johnnie. So long as she was safe, she didn’t care.

      But stray thoughts kept hitting her even as she made her exit. Having Zach show up tonight made her wonder if he was one of the good guys or if he was with them. She didn’t even know who “them” was or why they wanted her, but she wasn’t stupid. Her employer, Orion Industries, specialized in threat management. They provided intelligence and paramilitary personnel to foreign governments and international corporations. Working for the owner made her a target.

      Those awful rumors about her being more than an employee only made things worse. She hadn’t understood that until she got hit in the head and kidnapped.

      She couldn’t afford to stick around now and try to put the pieces together. She certainly couldn’t be sure Zach would win this round. At six-foot-something, he had the advantage over the guy Johnnie. The sleek muscles peeking out under Zach’s black T-shirt also tilted the fight in his direction, but she wasn’t taking the chance that his broad chest and lethal reputation guaranteed a win. And she most definitely couldn’t be sure if he did win, he wouldn’t harm her. No, there were too many risks for her to trust anyone in that cabin.

      When her ankle twisted, she reached out to catch her balance and scraped her palm against rough bark. Half hiding, half leaning, she pressed her back against a tree and tried to get her bearings. She needed to find her internal compass. Figure out which way was north, or south, or any other direction that led out of there.

      A sharp smack echoed through the woods as the cabin door slammed open. A dark figure filled the entrance, but the light behind him plunged his face into shadows.

      She didn’t wait for another sign. Her brain flashed a message to her legs to move. She ran toward the dark lump in the distance, hoping it was a car or anything she could hide in. Twigs snagged her already ruined stockings and branches scraped against her forearms as she tried to protect her face.

      She ignored everything around her—all the sounds of shifting and moving coming from the dark woods—except the path beneath her feet. She absolutely had to stay on her feet.

      As soon as the thought entered her mind her right foot slid out from under her. Her upper body went into free fall. She put out her arms to lessen the impact and landed on all fours on the hard ground. Her kneecap suffered the brunt of the blow.

      She heard crunching and harsh breathing behind her and looked up in time to see the branches behind her shift to the side.

      “Sela, don’t move!” The harsh whisper echoed around her.

      Zach.

      She couldn’t see him, but she sensed him. Heard him. Short brown hair and a lean body that proved he had not gone soft since his days in the military. He’d found her.

      She tried to climb to her feet, but he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up as if she weighed little more than a kitchen towel. She kicked out her legs and fought him anyway.

      “Stop,” he ordered.

      That was never going to happen. The fear pumping through her had her keyed up and ready for battle. She called him every name she could think of.

      He coughed when she landed a heel in his shin. “I have parents.”

      She stilled. “What?”

      “They’re likely sitting on a sofa in Pennsylvania.”

      “I don’t—”

      “So that particular nickname you just called me doesn’t apply.”

      “You’re joking? Now?” Did he think it would calm her down? Because it did and the realization made her furious.

      “Do you have a better strategy?” he asked.

      “Yeah, we get out of here before Johnnie finds us.” Hope skipped through her. “Unless you killed him.”

      “First, keep your voice down.” Zach’s grip loosened but not enough for her to slip away. “Second, he’s very much alive. Bleeding and dumb as a stick, but alive.”

      For some reason, that struck her as the wrong answer. “Why?”

      Zach pressed a finger against his lips. “Quiet.”

      She batted away his hand. “Answer me. Why didn’t you just kill him and be done with it?”

      “Bloodthirsty little thing, aren’t you?”

      “I have no idea why you showed up when you did, but I’ve got to get out of here.” She lowered her voice when Zach scowled. “You can either help me or not, but I’m going.”

      When she started squirming again, he clamped her feet between his legs and trapped her arms by her sides. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

      “I’m going to hurt you.” She clenched her teeth together and strained her neck. She tried to lift her arms but his iron hold settled around her again.

      “Probably, but then you won’t have any way out of here. Now, stop.” Zach whispered his harsh command against her ear.

      She froze this time. No movement at all.

      “Are we leaving?”

      “I’m not sure yet.”

      Wrong answer. “When will you be?”

      “I’m still deciding the best way to proceed, but I can think of better places to spend an evening than with that guy.” Zach’s voice softened, but his grip sure didn’t.

      “What are you talking about?”

      “In case you didn’t notice, the creature in that cabin wants you dead or, at the very least, plans to take you to someone who does.”

      “Do you know who?”

      “No. I made up the boss thing to get entrance and buy some time.”

      So he wasn’t one of them. She relaxed a bit, until she felt a tug on her skirt. When Zach bent over and tunneled a hand up her hemline, she froze. “If you’re not one of the bad guys, what are you doing?”

      “Just a sec.” He kept working, his fingers pulling and twisting. “I have to take care of it now.”

      “What is the ‘it’ exactly?” The staccato sound of her breathing filled her ears. She hovered right on the edge of panic. If she could keep her wits, she might be able to land a kick on the side of his head. But she had to stop shaking first.

      “This.”

      She thought he pointed to her thigh. “You’ve seen a woman’s legs before.”

      “Once or twice.” His hand kept moving then he looked up. “Why are you humming?”

      The buzzing sound in her ears stopped. “Am I?”

      “You did that in the garage, too. Must be a nervous habit.”

      Rage swelled in her brain. “You were there and didn’t stop that creature from taking me?”

      “There was no time.”

      Fury flooded through her, wiping out the shakes and every other feeling except anger. “You could have shot him.”

      “I like the way you think.”

      “Why didn’t you?”

      “Stay still.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. With a click, a blade appeared.

      So he was a bad guy, after all.

      No way would she be a victim. Not anymore.

      She smacked her fists against his shoulders. “I won’t let you hurt me.”

      “Not one for the obvious, are you?”