Page 128 of Fatal Intent

Rayne sighed. This was bad. She could die at Gino’s hands or Donovan’s. Either outcome was unacceptable to her and terrible for Grant. She didn’t want him to live with her death on his conscience.

She also didn’t want to die, period. Her long-range plans didn’t include dying. Time to decide. Did she take her chances outside or stay in this room, awaiting whatever Gino and his pals planned to dish out?

Simple decision. Take her chances outside.

She crouched in front of the frame and tried to raise the window.

Not happening. The window was locked or painted shut decades ago. The paint was peeling in places and had faded from a blue color to a dull gray.

Rayne reached up, turned the lock, and tried to raise the window again. It moved about an inch, then stopped. She pushed harder. The window moved half an inch and stopped again.

She growled softly and finally faced the truth. The only way to raise this window enough to escape was to stand up and shove. The problem? That put her in full view of anyone who was watching the window.

Praying she wouldn’t take a bullet, Rayne stood, gathered her strength, and shoved hard. The window frame squealed in protest but finally gave way.

Wonderful. How soon would Gino and his buddies come running?

Heavy-booted feet pounded up the stairs.

She sighed. That answered her question. Time to move out or she’d find herself trussed up like a turkey.

Rayne slipped her leg over the windowsill, leaned to the right, and grasped the thick tree limb waiting for her to use it in her escape.

The rough bark scratched her hands, but she’d take it over a smooth, slippery grip any day. She eased off the sill and let the limb take her weight. The wood creaked slightly, but nothing like the racket from the window.

Rayne inched hand over hand to the trunk, then began the climb down to the ground. Seconds later, she let go of the tree and covered the last two feet in a jump to the dirt.

After landing in a crouch, she sprinted across the open terrain at the back of the building, which turned out to be an old farmhouse.

Before she went over two hundred feet, someone tackled her from behind. Rayne landed with a hard thud, her breath leaving her lungs. Man, whoever had tackled her weighed a ton.

She fought to escape, using every trick in her arsenal. Failed. She lost steam and quickly found herself yanked to her feet with an unbreakable grip on her arm. Rayne faced a furious Ellis Lindsey.

He glared down at her. “Where do you think you’re going, Rayne?”

“Out for a stroll. It’s such a pleasant night I wanted to get some air.”

“I knew we should have done more to restrain you, but Gino wouldn’t allow me the freedom to do what I knew would work.”

His wording puzzled her. “What did you want to do?”

“Strip you to the skin and tie you spread-eagle to the bed.” A wintry smile curved his mouth. “Gino is a wuss, though.” His gaze raked across her body. “Too bad. I would have enjoyedlooking my fill and touching when I was on guard duty inside your room.”

Cold chills raced down her spine at the thought of Ellis touching her for any reason. Thank goodness Gino had some conscience left. Otherwise, she would be in a worse predicament than she was at the moment. However, if he thought being stripped bare would prevent her from escaping and running for safety, he was dead wrong. She was highly motivated to survive this night.

“Not so sassy now, are you?” Once again, his gaze raked over her. “I think I’ll take you for myself.”

Eww. Not on her life. Let her get anywhere near a knife, and good old Ellis was toast. “What about Gino? Doesn’t your team leader have a say in this?”

His expression darkened. “You don’t have a say in which one of us gets to keep you.”

“Buddy, I’m no one’s toy. I’m talking about you disobeying your team leader’s orders.”

“We’re not in the military anymore. I don’t have to follow his orders.”

“What would he have to say about that?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” His eyes glittered in the low light. “All that matters is what I want.”