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The broken twig jolted him back to the present. And thank fuck for that. Surging from his position, he located the second man, standing in a small clearing. He aimed and shot.
Three bullets to the chest and he went down.
Toth lowered his weapon. The familiar buzz of waning adrenaline filled his ears. He approached the first body, then the second, confirming both men were dead. Then he followed the trail to the crash site.
The pickup truck that had sent them over the mountain was parked on the road. No other vehicles around. Using the light on his phone, he lit the inside of the vehicle to search for clues as to how many people had been inside. A coat lay on the seat behind the driver’s. And behind the passenger’s seat was another coat.
Fuck.If there’d been four people in the car, one was unaccounted for. The muscles in his throat cinched his windpipe.
Savannah.
***
No more shotshad been fired after the last three. But was that a good thing or a bad thing? There was a fifty percent chance Toth had killed Red Eyez’ men, but there was also a fifty percent chance he’d been taken out.
Savannah pinched her temples between her thumb and forefinger.Please, don’t die because of me. The silent prayer circled through her mind. She stomped it out before she could analyze why she was so worried about Toth. She was Danny Carrington’s daughter. Heartless bitch of Seattle’s downtown core. No one expected her to care about another human being.
She sighed. She didn’t care about him, per se, but about how his outcome affected hers... maybe. Or maybe she just didn’t want someone to die trying to save her. No shame in that.
He couldn’t be dead. He was too annoying for her to be rid of him so easily.
With that fact firmly in mind, she slid off the rock, gun in hand. The wind picked up and she pulled her cardigan tighter around her body. Toth had been gone for over half an hour. He’d surely be back soon.
She trailed away from the rock, heading for the nearby stream. Stopping inches from the rush of water, she watched the current lap over the stones. This close to the gentle symphony, she couldn’t hear the rest of the forest noises. The moon shimmered off the swell of water as it moved over and around the rocks, instantly softening the hum of her nervous system, which was still wired from the crash. But a little ball of anxiety sat heavily in her chest. Worry. The sensation was worry. Worry for Toth.
Ridiculous. Once again, she shoved the irritating emotions aside.
The creek was wider than it was deep, and the water moved swiftly. She knelt, balancing the weapon on her lap, and stuck her hand in the icy liquid. A rush of movement sounded behind her. The ball of tension unwound.He’s back, thank god.
She shook the water off her hand and stood. “Took ya long—”
Whack!
A fist connected with her cheek. Pain exploded across her face and she stumbled backward. She shrieked as her foot caught a rock and she landed in the creek. The freezing water instantly soaked her clothes. Panicked, she scrambled to her knees, but her attacker kicked her in the back of the thigh and she went down.
The gun.
She spun around. It had fallen near the shore.
Rough hands grabbed her waist. It’d been years since she’d practiced self-defense, but her training kicked into gear. She turned, swinging her elbow with the movement, and caught the man in the jaw. His head snapped back but he didn’t go down.
“Bitch,” he hissed. The moonlight caught his face, illuminating a deep scar across his cheek and dark, soulless eyes that glittered with vengeance. His head was covered with a black knit cap, and a brown sweater covered his upper body.
She pulled back her fist and jabbed him in the nose. He let out another curse as blood ran over his lips. Jutting out his hand, he clamped his fingers around her neck and forced her onto her back.
“No!” she screamed, kicking and flailing as he pushed her under the current. Water rushed into her nose and mouth, its frigidness shocking her senses. The back of her head connected roughly with the rocks. Stars twinkled behind her closed lids.
She grappled with his wrists, digging her nails into his flesh. Her chest contracted. Her lungs burned, begging for air. A light fog rolled over her consciousness, threatening to pull her into oblivion.
I’m going to die.
No. She had to do something. She couldn’t die like this, at the hands of a gang member. Plunging her hand under the water, she seized a rock. Her fingers ran over the flat, jagged stone. Gripping it, she jammed the pointed end into the man’s calf. His leg buckled but didn’t give out. Simultaneously, the pressure holding her underwater released. She surged up and gasped. Air rushed into her lungs faster than she could inhale, her body greedy for oxygen.
In that instant, her attacker regained his bearings. With his hold still on her neck, he pushed her toward the water. Not again. She wasn’t going back under. She twisted, keeping one elbow on the streambed so he couldn’t resubmerge her.
She had to do something quickly. Had to get out of this goddamn creek.
He bent over her, bringing his face inches from hers. “You’re going to die tonight, bitch.” He reached his free hand behind his back. The moonlight caught the sheen of a blade and all the moisture left her mouth.