Page 21 of Trapped (Snowbound with a Stranger #2)

Comeback

Eli

How long had we waited there in the half-light, silence stuffing the musty spaces where conversation had once led the way? Staring at the silhouette that I knew was Baron waiting on the other side of the suffocating cell, I had no way of knowing. Our discussion had died a natural death soon after our plan was finessed, concentration and resolve seeming more important than idle chat. If all went well, there would be time to talk later—once we had Erin and were out of our current prison.

Turning away from his place by the door, I allowed my eyes to flutter closed. A part of me wished I knew the time and could work out how long I’d been stuck in the shadows, but another accepted the answer made no difference. Whether we liked it or not, we were all working on Hawkins’ time. He’d send his goons when he was good and ready.

I just hope she can hold on that long.

My brow furrowed at the thought of Erin and what she might be going through, my hands balling as I remembered the detestable prick calling the shots. I’d had the pleasure of getting to know a strong and resilient woman, but dealing with a cancer like Hawkins was on another level.

I did this to her.

That reality hurt the most. Even though I hadn’t intended to contact Hawkins—the cretin hadn’t even been on my mind when I’d reached out to Baron—I had to accept it was my action that had led us both to the dark places we were stuck in.

Fuck. I ground my teeth together in frustration. If anything happens to her, I’ll—

“I think I hear someone.”

Baron’s hushed tone tugged me from my silent melancholy and, lifting my head, my senses strained to confirm his assertion. There, through the never-ending haze of gloom, I thought I could make out the distant sound of footsteps, my heart rate accelerating as my brain decided he was right.

“Yes.”

I spoke under my breath.

“Someone’s coming.”

This is it.

I straightened at the unspoken certainty, years of training rushing back to me in an instant and quelling all the complaints of my weary and beaten body. True, I was cuffed and unable to provide much in the way of support except a ruse when the assholes walked in, but I’d play my part to perfection, and if Baron needed it, I would do whatever I could to bring the bastards down.

Time seemed to lengthen as we waited to see what would happen next. Sure enough, the echo of the footsteps grew louder, amplifying the energy unfurling in my muscles. After so long bound and infuriatingly powerless, I was ready to take back control. By the time the sound of the key reverberated from the lock, I had to make myself slump back into the chair and at least appear defeated.

“Room service!”

The predictable snigger resonated as the door swung open, and two pairs of boots stomped into the space. From my slouched position, that was all I could see, but I counted the feet and confirmed the number of assailants in my head—four boots meant two men—a guy with Baron’s experience could handle that.

However protracted the seconds had seemed before their entrance, it was nothing compared to the strange stillness stretching out around me once they entered the cell. Moments of heightened nothingness played out where I held my breath and waited.

This is really happening…

All that time we’d waited, and it all came down to that one moment.

“Looks like he’s a little worse for wear.”

A hand was thrust out in my direction as one of the imbeciles chuckled.

“You must have really given him your best, Hadden.”

“That was far from my best,”

Hadden replied smugly.

“He’s just a weak halfwit.”

Sucking up that insult, I knew my role was only passivity, but in my mind, I willed Baron the strength to at least put both the fuckers into hospital.

Wait.

I sent the instruction in my head as though Baron could actually hear my thoughts.

Get ready… Go!

They’d almost halved the distance between the door and the chair I’d sank into before Baron struck. He moved at the exact moment I’d have pounced, which only went to prove I’d been taught by the best.

Still pretending to be lame, I didn’t lift my head to see precisely how he took out the guy at the back, but the dull thud of what sounded like a skull colliding with metal told me Baron had probably used the open door as a weapon.

Smart.

My lips curled, knowing I’d have probably done the same.

“Hey!”

The moron closest to me spun as his mate collapsed.

“What the fuck?”

“I’m the fuck.”

Baron’s voice was low as he launched into a vicious attack on the guy, his fists flying even faster in the perceived slow-motion. I rose from the seat on instinct, dodging punches as I moved toward the guy on the ground. I was sure colliding with the door had taken the wind out of his sails, but while Baron was busy with the other idiot, I wanted to be sure he was out of the game. He seemed out cold, but then, so had I until only a moment before. I didn’t trust the ploy, and Hawkins’ goons had been fools to have done so.

As soon as I saw the goon lift his head in the gloom, I raised my heel and sent it crashing down over his neck. His head bounced off the dirty tile with a sickening crash, trapped under my foot until I kicked him toward the corner of the cell. There was no real pleasure in the deed. Even the triumphant satisfaction that usually accompanied kicking the asses of my enemies was lacking as I watched his body go limp. Whether he was alive or not, I couldn’t say, but for the foreseeable future, he wasn’t providing back up.

By the time I’d turned to see how Baron was doing, his guy was on all fours and appeared to be spitting blood onto the hard floor.

“Do yourself a favor and stay down, asshole!”

Baron was poised over him, still ready to fight. I could relate. The adrenaline pumping through my body was making it difficult to stay still. If I hadn’t been cuffed, I’d have been keen to join in.

“Finish him.”

The snarl left my lips as I approached, my senses still primed to revolve and do the same with his mate if necessary.

“We need to ensure neither of them can get back up for a while.”

Baron pulled in a breath before he dispatched his roundhouse kick and sent the guy crashing sideways onto the concrete. The walls echoed with the sound of another stomach-churning thud.

“I was about to.”

“Sorry, boss.”

I risked a smirk as I closed the distance between us.

“Now, let’s hope one of these idiots has a key to these cuffs.”

“I’ll check.”

Kneeling by the guy’s body, Baron shoved him to one side and searched first one and then the other pocket.

“Nothing here.”

“Shit.”

I glanced back at the other unconscious form.

“What about him?”

Trepidation contracted in my stomach as Baron rose and walked to check the other guy’s pockets, time playing its odd games again as he moved from one potential hiding place to the next.

“No key.”

Despondency echoed in his voice.

“But this one at least has a gun.”

“Well, that’s good, I guess.”

It was good, but I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

“I really thought one of the losers would have had a key.”

Baron summarized my woes perfectly.

“I guess they never had any intention of releasing me.”

I tried to sound cheery, but inside, hopelessness was spiraling. The plan had worked so well until that point, but neither of us had banked on neither dimwit guard having the means to liberate me.

“Listen, we’re still out of here.”

Baron signaled to the open door and waved the gun in my direction.

“And now we’re armed. We’ll head out there and find your woman and a way to free you.”

Baron made it sound so easy.

“Will we?”

I couldn’t help my sardonic reticence.

“Yes.”

His tone was emphatic.

“Come on, Rosen. Get out of your head and remember your training. You’ve got out of worse skirmishes than this unscathed.”

He was right, and as my jaw clenched, I accepted there was no choice but to acknowledge it.

“I know.”

Blowing out a breath, I glanced down at our combined handiwork.

“I just want to get out of these fucking cuffs, that’s all.”

“I get it.”

Baron moved close enough to throw an arm around my shoulder.

“Hang in there, okay? We’re far from out of this game.”

“Yeah.”

My chin rose at his encouragement, knowing every word he said was true.

“We have to get to Erin. I just might need a little more help to rescue her than I was expecting.”

I laughed in spite of myself. There was nothing funny about being holed up in one of Hawkins’ bunkers, especially with Erin in tow. Her presence and the way I felt about her had exposed a vulnerability I wasn’t used to dealing with. For the first time, I had something to lose; someone to lose, and I’d never have been able to live with myself if that bastard Hawkins had harmed her.

“Not a problem.”

Baron ruffled my hair the way a father might play with a child’s. The reassuring gesture might have been riling had the solace not been so frantically required.

“I’ll be both our pairs of hands until you have the use of yours again.”