“We aren’t asking.” Bruce emphasized the words and took a step toward me. “Enough talk. Let’s kill this bitch and go.”
I had to pretend I was weak and helpless. That’s what most people would expect of me. However, I was raised by two strong, kick-ass women. “Please, don’t.” I forced my bottom lip to quiver. I had to make them think that they held all the power. “At least release those three first.”
“It’s cute that you think you can control this.” Bruce tilted his head and gawked at my figure. “Maybe we can have some fun with her first?”
These guys were the worst kind of assholes. There was no telling how many other lowlifes Darren had up his sleeve.
My guardians' words from all the training echoed in my head. ‘Always let your captors think they have the advantage. Locate all of their weapons. If they are hidden by a sleeve or pant leg, they’ll inadvertently walk a little funny. Alpha males are the most arrogant, so feed it. Allow it to grow until they see you as pathetic and weak. And at the last second, make the fuckers bleed.’
Going with instinct, I took a fighter’s stance but made sure I didn’t do it perfectly. I let my back hunch over and began to take short breaths as if I was petrified.
“Aw, look.” Bruce cackled. “She thinks she can take us.”
“Just get it over with.” Chad waved him on. “I’m ready to get out of here and back home.”
“Looks like playtime is over.” He leisurely strolled the distance between us. He shuffled when he walked, and he pulled out a knife from his belt.
From what I could tell, he had a gun around his right ankle. His pants were looser, and he seemed to favor the left side. Hell, I wasn’t quite sure, but that was what I had to go with.
As he lifted his arm with the knife, aiming for my chest, I corrected my stance and punched him right in the face.
The force of the impact and the fact he hadn’t expected it made him fall to the ground. Not wasting any time, I kicked him hard in the face, knocking his ass out.
I grabbed the knife out of his hands and searched his right pant leg for the gun.
“What the hell?” Chad’s eyes widened, and he stumbled as he pulled his gun out and aimed it right at me. “I can’t believe you knocked him out.”
Well, this didn’t work out the way I’d hoped. “I’m so surprised.” I had a feeling my innocent act wasn’t going to work a second time. But hey, a girl’s got to try.
“Don’t try pulling that shit on me.” He glanced over at Kassie and Mona and shook his head. “I should’ve figured they trained you. I saw the little obstacle course back there.”
I wasn’t sure what to say at this point.
“This is unfortunate, but I guess I’ll have to clean up his mess.” He kicked his friend who was passed out on the ground.
Car doors shut loudly outside of the house.
Thank God. James and his pack were here.
The door had been left open, which was more of a blessing now than ever.
“Elena.” James's strong voice yelled out. “Are you in here?”
Chad looked confused as he glanced at the open door and back at me. “You stupid bitch.” He pointed the gun right at me and pulled the trigger.
My animal side completely kicked in. For the first time ever, I allowed my wolf instincts to guide me. I rolled out of the way in the nick of time. Instead of lodging in my chest, the bullet nicked the side of my arm.
When I rolled onto my back, my eyes darted to his right shoulder, and I launched the knife right into it.
“Ow.” His gun dropped as he used his left hand to hold the right arm. “You bitch.”
The next minute, James and two men ran into the house and paused in their tracks.
Needing this guy knocked out too, I rushed him and pretended to go for his head.
When he tried to reach out and grab my arm to cut off the impact, I rammed my leg into his family jewels.
He slowly fell to the floor with a loud thud.
“Can you tie these two up?” I turned back to James as I looked at the injury on my arm.
“Yup, sure can.” James motioned for the other two to follow him.
Now that we weren’t in immediate danger, I ran over to Kassie and Mona and grabbed some scissors from the end table to cut the ropes that bound their hands and legs together.
Once Kassie stood and pulled out the washcloth that had been crammed into her mouth, a huge-ass grin filled her face. “You did great.”
“Thanks.” Now that they were settled, I ran over, kneeled down, and checked on Mason. His chest was still moving up and down, and his heart rate was steady. Mason? Even as I asked the question, I lowered my head and placed my lips on his. They were warm, and after a second, it felt as if he responded.
Elena? His eyes peeled open, and he grinned. “Wait.” He sat up and took in the surroundings. “What happened?”
“Your mate kicked their asses.” James chuckled as he took in the condition of the two men on the floor. “Take ‘em back to our home and kill them.”
“No.” Now that Mason was awake, my body began to calm, and the adrenaline was wearing off. “If you kill them, Darren will know.”
“She’s right.” Mona nodded and glanced upstairs. “We need to remove their weapons and cell phones and take them somewhere until we can figure out a plan.”
“Sounds good.” James motioned to the two men who had already bound and gagged the two idiots. “Remove their phones and leave them here.” He turned to Mason, his
