Page 51 of Darkest Game

I rush to the car and watch as Liam heads into the woods.

My heart is pounding and my legs are twitching as I wait for him to come back. I know Elaine had a gun herself. What if she manages to shoot Liam?

A car pulls up behind me.

I gasp, only to see that it’s Mikhail and Nico who get out of the car. What are they doing here?

It doesn’t matter. It only matters if I’m safe.

I get out of the car and they instantly raise their guns only to see that it’s me. They both lower their guns and rush to my side.

“Irina?” Nico asks. I sob as I grab his shirt and burrow myself against him.

“Take me home,” I cry.

Nico awkwardly pats me on the back. “Of course.”

“Where’s Liam?” Mikhail asks.

“Why?”

“So I can kill him,” he says point blank.

I back away from Nico and stare at Mikhail in horror. “No. He saved my life. You can’t kill him, I promised him I would convince you to not kill him.”

“I’m sorry, Irina, but I don’t care about any promises you made. Liam is responsible for all of this. He needs to die. Where is he?”

“He’s not here,” I lie.

“Then how are you in his car?” Nico asks. “And why are there two dead bodies and a man screaming his head off inside a kennel?”

The kennel. The dogs.

I run back to the kennels while Nico and Mikhail follow me. “Let them out,” I say, pointing at the dogs. “Shoot the lock. They’re coming with me.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Mikhail growls. “Where is Liam?”

“I-I’ll tell you if you let these dogs out. Please.”

With a sigh, Mikhail shoots the lock and it falls to the ground. The poor dogs whine and back away from the door as I open it.

“It’s ok,” I tell them, holding out my hand. “It’s ok.”

Slowly, they both come to me and I grab their collars and lead them to Mikhail and Nico’s car. “Get inside.” I help them into the backseat.

“That’s fine Italian leather,” Nico grumbles.

“I need to save them. Please.”

“Fine,” Mikhail says. “We gave you the dogs. Now where is Liam?”

“Just take me home. Please. I’m scared and tired. I’ve been almost raped three times in the past day and a half. Just take me home. Please.”

Mikhail and Nico exchange a worried look before they both nod.

“Ok,” Mikhail says. “Get inside. We’ll take you home.”

I slump in relief. After the past few days I had, I never thought I would be safe again. Though, Liam was the only one to provide me a sense of security.