Page 147 of Us Defiant Few

“Thirty minutes,” he muttered to himself before turning back to Takeshi. “I want you and another guard to watch them. Make sure they stay put. The rest of you, come with me.”

All but one guard followed the Governor, rifles held at the ready as they slammed the office door shut behind them. Takeshi pocketed his handgun and crossed his arms, standing guard like the dutiful soldier.

She flinched when another woman’s shrill scream rang out beyond the walls. But Takeshi remained motionless. In her peripherals, Brock ever so subtly cut through the ties on his wrists.

Khalani didn’t know how close he was to breaking free, but Takeshi shifted his gaze to him.

She had to do something.

Khalani bent over, coughing violently around the gag. When she glanced up, Takeshi’s dark focus slid to her, his brow furrowing, but he didn’t move.

Time to up the ante.

She rolled her eyes in the back of her head and started convulsing. Muffled wails came from the others as heavy boots crossed the floor. Takeshi’s strong hands gripped her shoulders, but her trembling intensified. She heaved in deeper breaths, as if she couldn’t breathe.

“Helllp herrrrr!” Serene’s mumbled voice came through her gag.

In a millisecond, the rope was taken out of her mouth and thrown off to the side. Khalani gasped for air, still shaking. Takeshi hovered inches away, the smallest hint of concern flaring in his eyes before it vanished.

But Brock’s face was knotted in deep concentration, and his hands started to move faster as the other guard watched Khalani and Takeshi.

Just a little more time.

“Neeeeed to…” she rasped. “Lie down.”

“You think I’m going to let you go?” Takeshi hissed, but his hand remained on her shoulder. Her quakes intensified, and she even let some drool escape her mouth.

“Noooo. Justtt need to…lay downnnn.” Her eyes rolled back, and Takeshi cursed. The click of a switchblade registered, and he cut her bindings.

She fell on her stomach. He crouched beside her, the blade held tight in his hands as his eyes darted over her body, searching for signs of injury.

“Better?” His voice deepened, and Khalani’s breath hitched as their eyes met. She swam in an ocean of black, and for a moment, it was just the two of them.

Slam!

Brock barreled into him like a truck. Takeshi’s face transformed into rage as Brock landed on top of him, brandishing his knife. But when he thrust the blade down, Takeshi caught his wrists, blocking the stab. Brock gritted his teeth, pressing down with his full body weight as Takeshi’s arms shook.

Panic gripped her, like someone was trying to flail her skin off. A loud clatter reached her and her wide gaze swiveled to the other guard, who raised his gun, trying to line up a clean shot.

Khalani kicked her chair with as much force as she could. The metal screeched across the ground and slammed into the guard’s knees. His legs buckled, the gun dropping to the floor.

She lunged for the weapon across the room. But the guard quickly recovered, reaching the gun at the same time as her. He tried to yank the rifle away, but she held fast. The sound of heavy punches drifted to her, and she yelled out, struggling to gain control of the weapon.

Her head whipped to the side as the guard hit her in the face. Pain exploded across her cheekbone, but Khalani held firm, refusing to let go.

She just needed to hold on a little longer.

But the guard snarled and threw an even harder punch into the side of her head. Khalani reared back and fell to the ground. Her vision went in and out, completely discombobulated. The guard turned the weapon around, pointing the rifle at her head.

She jumped at the sound of the gunshot, blood spraying across her face.

But it wasn’t her blood.

The guard fell to his knees, a gaping hole in his forehead as he crashed to the ground.

She jerked around, her mouth falling open.

Takeshi still pointed the gun, his pupils blown wide. Brock groaned on the floor, but he didn’t appear to have any major wounds, only scrapes on his face.