Page 67 of Captive

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“You’re going to have to trust me.”

“I do, Nikolai. With my life.”

I squeezed her arm before struggling down the stairs. I stood for a few seconds, glaring at the bodies before checking Dimitri’s pocket for keys to whatever vehicle they’d driven. We needed a way out of here. Success. My heart thudded in my chest as the injuries began to take a toll on my body, the broken ribs making it almost impossible to breathe. I had to press on. If there were more of them, it was only a matter of time before they headed in our direction.

Wincing, I searched the room, fighting a laugh when I noticed my clothes.

How kind of the bastards to leave my boots and shirt. After jerking them on, I grabbed two of the other handguns then turned my attention to the various cleaning products located on the shelf. I also noticed a long lighter used for starting fires in the fireplace. I grabbed several containers, pouring the contents over several areas in the basement, including over the corpses.

This was the last thing I wanted to have happen, but I was out of choices.

Before heading up the stairs, I lit a series of boxes, only forced to wait a few seconds until flames engulfed a solid fifty percent of the basement. When I headed upstairs, I took her hand. “We need to get out of here.”

“I smell smoke. What are you doing?”

“What I have to do, Chloe. Come on.”

I took long strides, leading her outside, now gasping for air. Christ. I was out of shape. “We’re going to try and get as far away from here in their vehicle as possible.”

“You’re in no condition to drive.”

“I’ll be fine.” I continued to hold her hand as I moved toward the oversized SUV, finding it difficult to focus. When I faltered before getting to the vehicle, she moved in front of me.

“Listen to me. I can drive. Please. Let me do that.”

I thought about her request as smoke began to roll from the roof. “Fine. But only for a short distance. We need to find the location where they found us.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Chloe helped me into the passenger seat and just after she climbed in and started the engine, the entire house was ablaze. She stared at it for a few seconds before backing away. Her face remained pensive, but she was determined to get us out of here.

The driveway led to a single road and she didn’t hesitate, turning to the left. I watched as she checked the speedometer, slowing down after a few minutes. “I think this is the location.”

I shifted forward, studying the area, able to see track marks where a vehicle had been in the mud. Then I noticed an oncoming car. “We have trouble. Pull over.” I pulled the weapon into my hand, prepared to fire if necessary.

She shifted to the side, keeping the engine running.

The closer the vehicle came, the more apprehensive I was, but within a few seconds, I was pissed all over again, my body tensing.

“What?” she asked.

“That’s my buddy’s vehicle. I’d know it anywhere. Hunker down, baby. This could be a problem.”

I could hear the anguish in her voice as she did what I asked, doing her best to hide her body from the windows. When Travis’ Bronco slowed, I took aim.

Then I saw his face through the driver’s door.

“Shit. It’s okay.” I opened the door, struggling to crawl out. It had been one hell of a long time since I’d experienced this kind of pain.

Travis didn’t look a hell of a lot better than I did. His face was swollen, his lips puffy. But he was alive. He waited until I’d walked around the front of the SUV before opening his door. “Jesus Christ. I thought you were dead.” He approached, eying me up and down. “You look like shit, buddy.”

“You’re not much better, my friend. What the hell happened?”

He sighed, glancing at Chloe through the window. “I’m sorry, dude. I didn’t tell them a thing. I fucking swear to God, but they found the phone. Somehow they managed to track you.”

“They used a specialized device pinging the signal. I should have known.”