The Midnight Hour - Brenda Jackson [113]
Running hard, he kept his gaze in front of him as more bullets flew past his head, some hitting nearby pine trees. He had to get to Tori. When he saw a clearing up ahead he knew he would become a sitting duck if he didn't take the two men chasing him out. He slowed down running and entered the safety of the tall pine trees. He waited. He didn't have to wait long and with two accurate shots he made direct hits.
He quickly pulled out his remote to contact Trevor and Ashton. "I'm on my way back to the house. Cross plans to torch it and I have to get Tori out."
He began running hard again, refusing to think he would not reach her in time. Suddenly he felt something graze his temple and he tripped and fell. He rolled and tried to get back on his feet but pain and dizziness set in. When he rolled again and tried making another attempt at standing, he glanced up and looked into the cold, dark eyes of Solomon Cross who stood only a few feet away, and the man had a pistol aimed directly at his head.
Trying to breathe through tightened lips, Tori aimed her pistol and shot the man who was coming at Trevor from behind while his attention was focused elsewhere, as he tangled on the ground with one of the cutthroats. The sharp sound of the gunshot so close to him made Trevor lose concentration, almost giving his opponent the upper hand until Trevor gave the man a hard blow to the face, knocking him unconscious.
He shook his head when Tori scrambled from out of the thicket of pine trees. He looked at the man she had just wasted and then shifted his attention to the still-smoking gun she held in her hand. "I see you haven't lost your touch," he said, smiling.
She returned his smile and glanced around. "Where's Ashton?"
"I talked to him a few minutes ago on the remote and he's holding his own, although I think I need to go check and make sure." He then frowned when something suddenly occurred to him. "How the hell did you get out of that locked basement?"
She shrugged. "A woman has her ways."
A flicker of amusement lightened Trevor's dark eyes. "Evidently. But Drake needs to know you're all right. He sent a message to Ash and me a few minutes ago mat Cross was going to torch his house. He was trying to get back there to save you."
Tori immediately knew that something was wrong. "You go and check on Ashton and I'll find Drake."
Drake tried to ignore the pain that raced through his head. The wound he'd received was superficial but he was having a hell of a headache. The evening sun was peeking through the top of the trees, its rays hitting the metal of the gun still
aimed at him.
He hissed a curse as he looked into Solomon Cross's face. The man was wearing an expensive double-breasted Italian silk suit and looked totally out of place in his surroundings. He was a muscular man and evidently in good physical shape since he hadn't worked up a sweat. And he had the audacity to smile as if he already tasted victory.
"We meet again, Warren. Over the past five years I've had several opportunities to kill you, but decided to let you live. I wanted you to go through each day knowing how it felt to have someone you loved brutally taken away from
you."
Drake shook his head as he pulled himself up in a sitting position, fully aware that Cross had tightened his grip on the pistol when he reached up to touch his aching head. "You're a sick bastard, Cross."
"Yes, and you're going to find out just how sick I am. I don't like being made a fool of. So tell me, where is she? Only a cat has nine lives and she isn't one. This time I'm going to make sure she dies and you'll have the pleasure of watching."
Drake frowned. "Tori's not here. I sent her off the mountain before you arrived." He knew he had to keep die man talking while he tried working the bowie knife out of his shoe. Then he would take pleasure in cutting Cross's throat.
"I don't believe