Page 111 of Shadows of Obsession

I needed to focus, to channel that feeling.

Steeling myself, I crept across the kitchen floor, my boots silent on the worn wood. My senses were on high alert, every sound amplified, every shadow a potential threat. I could smell old coffee and dust, could hear the creak of floorboards beneath the man's pacing.

As I approached the doorway to the living room, my breath caught in my throat. The sight that met me was worse than anything I'd imagined.

Anna and Jared were bound to the sturdy metal chimney pipe of the woodstove, their wrists and ankles secured with coarse rope that had already left angry red marks on their skin. Silver duct tape covered Anna's mouth, stifling any cries for help. The harsh material was a cruel contrast to her pale, tear-streaked face.

Her eyes were closed, her body slumped slightly against the restraints. For one horrible moment, I thought—

But no. The faint rise and fall of her chest told me she was still breathing.

The man stood before them, his back to me, a gun glinting menacingly in his white-knuckled grip. A Glock, from what I couldtell. Loaded, undoubtedly. His finger rested near the trigger in a way that told me he knew exactly how to use it.

I get one shot at this.

Suddenly, the distant wail of sirens pierced the suffocating tension, growing louder with each passing second.

Backup.

The man's head jerked up, his body going rigid as the realization hit him like a physical blow. I saw his shoulders tense, saw his grip on the gun tighten.Move now.

Seizing the moment of distraction, I charged forward, my heart pounding in my ears as every hour of combat training flooded back. I slammed into the man with the full force of my weight, driving my shoulder into his back like a linebacker.

The impact sent us both crashing to the ground, the air knocked from our lungs in simultaneous grunts. The cold, unyielding metal of the gun bit into my palm as we grappled desperately for control, rolling across the floor in a tangle of limbs and ragged breaths.

Get the gun. Control the weapon.

He was strong, stronger than I'd anticipated. And trained. His elbow caught me in the ribs, driving the air from my lungs, but I didn't let go.

I couldn't. Because Anna's lifedepended on it.

CHAPTER 30

Anna

Iwatched in helpless horror, my heart hammering against my ribs like a caged bird desperate to escape. The two men fought viciously just feet away, so close I could feel the vibration of their bodies hitting the floor, could hear every grunt of pain and exertion.

The coppery taste of blood flooded my mouth as I bit into my cheek, the pain sharp and grounding. I strained against my bonds with everything I had, the rough fibers cutting into my skin, rubbing it raw as I struggled to break free. The rope burned like fire where it scraped my wrists, but I didn't care. I had to get free. I had to help him.

Jaxon—

Tears streamed down my face, hot and unstoppable, soaking the duct tape that muffled my screams. The salt stung the delicate skin around my mouth and burned in the raw scrape on my cheek where my face had been slammed into the wall, just another addition to the litany of pain. But none of it compared to the terror crushing my chest.

They rolled across the floor in a violent tangle of limbs, and I saw Jaxon's face, contorted with effort, a cut above his eyebrow bleeding down into his eye. The other man, Isaac, was bigger and stronger. They grappled for control of the gun, their struggle desperate enough to make my stomach twist with dread.

The weapon swung wildly between them, their fingers locked around the grip in a deadly tug-of-war. The metal glinted in the afternoon light streaming through the windows, and all I could think was that one of them was going to die.

In a heart-stopping instant, the weapon discharged.

The deafening blast reverberated through the cabin like a clap of thunder, so loud it felt like my eardrums would burst. The sound tore through me like a physical blow, and my muffled scream was a raw, animalistic cry of pure terror that died against the tape.

NO.

For a moment, the world stood still. Time was suspended, stretched thin like taffy, as the echoes of the gunshot rang in my ears, muffling everything else. The acrid scent of gunpowder hung heavy in the air, burning my nose and throat.

I couldn't see. Couldn't tell who was hurt. Both men were frozen for a split second, and then—with a final, desperate surge of strength that seemed to come from somewhere primal, Jaxon wrenched the gun from Isaac's grasp. In one fluid motion, he delivered a crushing blow to Isaac's temple with the butt of the weapon.

Isaac's body went slack immediately. His eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. A trickle of blood snaked down his temple from where the gun had connected, dark and stark against his pale skin.