Page 82 of Run

“What the hell?” The guy in the passenger seat snapped right before he slapped her. “Keep your hands to yourself, bitch.” He carried on talking, mainly to the guy she’d hit.

Elle tuned them out, her attention focused on the house she’d grown up in. It was a faux Georgian manor house, built at the height of the eighties McMansion era by Tommy himself. Not by his own hands, of course, because Tommy rarely dirtied them for any reason. No, all he’d done was point at a house in Mayfair he’d liked and said “Gimme one of those” to his builder.

She supposed there was nothing wrong with the house itself. With its box shape and symmetrical layout, it was pretty enough. The stone was beige, the trim white, and the roof a deep slate gray. It was amazing how tasteful and classy a house of horror could be.

As they rolled up the wide driveway to the front door, past the immaculately tended gardens, Elle couldn’t help but wonder how many bodies lay buried under the roses. Tommy would be arrogant enough to do it. To bury his enemies on his property so he could look out his window and gloat. He’d never think that anyone would find them. In his mind, he was one of the original Untouchables.

Guess that made her Eliot Ness.

Because one way or another, she was bringing this Al Capone wannabe down.

Who was she fooling?Not even herself. Big talk and bravado weren’t going to give her confidence. She was outnumbered, outgunned, and about to walk into the lion’s den while defenseless. It couldn’t get any worse.

The car slowed to a halt in front of the oversized front door with the three white marble steps leading up to it. Steps just like the ones they’d dumped Marcus on. Elle’s stomach lurched, and she pressed a hand to it. If she weren’t a smart, aware woman, she’d believe that she’d led Tommy straight to her team. That she was responsible for the bullets that hit Ryan. For the knife that killed Marcus.

But shewassmart and aware. And she knew she wasn’t any more responsible for those acts than Leia was responsible for Kylo Ren. Or Diana Prince was to blame for Steve’s death. No, none of this was on her. It was all on Tommy James—psychopath, murderer, and evil despot.

As one of the thugs dragged Elle from the car and shoved her toward the steps, the front door swung open.

And there he was.

The man she’d believed was her father.

The nightmare overshadowing her life.

The reason she’d run from everything she’d ever known.

She wanted to vomit, but instead, she cocked her head and watched as he sauntered down the steps toward her. Through eyes of suicidal bravado, she noted that he was shorter than she remembered.

“You havenotaged well, Tommy,” she said, ignoring the tremble in her voice as she lifted her chin. There was no way in hell she was going to her death submissively. She would fight every step of the way, in any way that she could. And the best way to fight Tommy was by using her brain.

“No?” He shared an amused smile with his boys. “Now, that’s funny, see, because you ain’t gonna ageat all.” He jerked his head toward the house. “You know where to take her.”

Grabbing an arm each, Tommy’s soldiers frog-marched her into the house and past a smirking Cutter, who was leaning in the doorway to the sitting room. He held a large knife in his hand.

Elle wanted to claw out his eyes for what he’d done to Marcus.

Instead, she smiled at him. “I see you’re still overcompensating for your teeny-tiny penis, Cutter. Wouldn’t one of those knives they include in a Swiss Army key chain be more appropriate?”

One of the guys holding her started coughing, and Cutter’s face turned red. “Gonna enjoy cutting you, bitch.”

“I’m sure you will,” she said sympathetically. “It’s the only way you can get it up, isn’t it? You know there are pills for that.”

His eyes gleamed with maliciousness. “Your brother screamed like a baby in the end.”

The words were a wound to her soul, one she refused to let him see. Instead, she rolled her eyes, knowing the act was awkward but doing it anyway. “Everybody screams in the end, Cutter. You’re going to find that out when my guy comes for me.” Because even if David didn’t get there in time to rescue her, he sure as hell would avenge her. “I’m betting you pee yourself too.”

He took a furious step toward her, but Tommy intervened. “You seriously gonna let her get to you?”

Cutter glared at her with such menace it made her feel faint. With a nod to Tommy, he turned and disappeared into the sitting room.

“Always with the smart mouth,” Tommy said with a shake of his head.

“Am I supposed to act polite while you drag me off to maim and kill me?”

“It might help. Might make me go easier on you.”

For a brief second, Elle’s grief and fear almost made her crumple. And then something occurred to her, and she laughed. Sure, it sounded hysterical. But it felt damn good. The men shared bewildered looks. Which made her laugh even harder. It was official—she had lost her mind entirely.