Page 54 of Ash Storm

Instead of attacking with the dagger again, he punched with his other hand, a blow to Ash’s ribs that had him doubling over in pain.

Then somebody else was there. The green-eyed man.

“Go,” he ordered, pointing them towards the wall.

We can’t leave him.

The voice inside her grew louder, and she hadn’t been sure of much in the last, crazy days, but she was sure of this now.

“No. We can’t leave him.”

“Stop right there,” a voice said. Reka looked up, and it was the scene straight from her nightmares again. Except this time it wasn’t Yusuf who had hold of Chloe’s hair. It was Alistair.

No.

Chloe.

The man pulled Chloe towards him.

“Reka!” Chloe whimpered.

Then Afsan was there as well.

Two bangs sounded in close succession to each other. Griffin leaped on her, grunting, squashing her onto the floor. Dust filled her eyes and nostrils.

Then he was off her.

“Let’s go,” he growled. And then she was in the air over his shoulder, her body bent in two, her head hanging upside down over his back.

Chloe.

Where’s Chloe?

Upside down, she could see Chloe standing between Afsan and Alistair. Afsan had her elbow in a death grip.

Only a few feet away, Ash and the other man still exchanged blows. A cut on Ash’s brow wept blood, and he had slashes on his forearms from the dagger. The other man was bleeding heavily from the nose and favoring his side now.

And Reka knew, if they left without Chloe and Ash, they would never see them again.

“No!” she said, beating against Griffin’s back. “We can’t leave them!”

Griffin dropped her gently on the ground. For a moment, his green eyes shone with feeling. Then they were ice again. “Climb, Reka, or we will all die. And that won’t help Chloe or Ash any.”

She knew he was right, but still couldn’t force herself to move.

He put her hands on the side of the ladder. “Climb,” he ordered.

Tears fell down Reka’s face as she began climbing, Griffin right behind her.

She dropped on the other side of the tall fence. Her body rolled inelegantly, coming to rest on grass and pine needles. They were in the middle of a forest. And it made sense that a man like Afsan wouldn’t have wanted neighbors to see what he was up to. He probably owned all the land around here.

Two more bodies jumped off the wall, landing on their feet beside her.

Her heart leaped when she saw Ash. He’d taken the ladder with him. He tossed it to the side, then sagged against the wall. His brown eyes were bleak as he looked into hers.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his deep voice soft. “Afsan took Chloe before I could get to her.”

Reka lowered her eyes. Chloe had been her responsibility. She was the one who’d let go of Chloe’s hand. She was the one to blame.

Then something exploded on another side of the compound.

Reka stifled a scream.

“It’s friendly fire,” Ash assured her. “We have to go now, though.”

“No …”

Reka didn’t want to go.

“We go,” Griffin echoed, panting lightly. “Or we die.”