“The woman,” I said, limping my way down the hall.
The blond-haired man pointed at the white light. The muscles in his toned arms tightened and flexed. A scowl formed on his face, much like Stocky from downstairs.
“I’m not sure who you are, but you’re—”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m making a huge mistake,” I shot back, dismissing his idle threat. “Just take me to the woman, now.”
Blondie pursed his lips, then shook his head. He backtracked down the hall to the open doorway, eyes fixed on me and every move I made.
I kept the piece trained at his chest. My free hand pressed against my aching ribs. The mask suffocated me, making it difficult to breathe, but I didn’t remove it.
The whimpering of the battered woman grew louder as Blondie passed by the room.
“That’s far enough right there,” I said, stopping him on the other side of the door.
I peered inside the room while keeping an eye on Blondie. The woman crouched and huddled in the far corner of the empty space. Her tiny, meager frame trembled with fright. Long strands of brown hair draped over the side of her face. She looked upon me with terror, and sunk further into the wall.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she said, shielding her head with her arms. “I can’t tell you what I don’t know.”
I glanced over to Blondie who kept his sights locked on me. “Takes a big man to hit a woman.”
He shrugged. “One does what—”
I punched him square in the face. His head snapped back. He lowered his arms and palmed his nose.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Cindy? Can you move?” I said, staring at Blondie.
She lowered her arm, then stood. Her frame trembled as she looked at me with glassy eyes. “Who are you?”
“No time for that. Just come on,” I answered, short and direct.
Cindy took a step forward, then stopped. She glanced at the side of the door where Blondie stood.
“He isn’t going to touch you. I promise,” I said.
She walked across the room with her arms wrapped across her chest. The light washed over her face, revealing swollen, red eyes and a busted lip. Dried blood ran from the corner of her mouth and down to her chin.
I moved away from the doorway to the far wall, allowing her space to get out of the room. The piece stayed locked on Blondie’s chest. He glanced at her from over his hand that palmed his nose.
Cindy slipped past him, sliding across the scuffed door to the dark hallway. Blondie removed his hand, then spat a wad of blood to the floor, watching her every move. I held out my arm, then stepped in front of her, shielding her from him.
“I’ll be seeing you soon,” Blondie said, pointing at her. “This cowboy here just cost you a whole lot more than you realize.”
Cindy stayed behind me, holding her tongue.
Blondie looked at me. “As for you, I’m going to enjoy picking you apart. You’re as good as dead.”
“You’ll have to get in line.” I lowered the piece toward the floor and placed a round in the top of his foot.
Cindy grabbed my coat, digging her fingernails into the fabric. Blondie shouted, and fell against the wall as he reached for his foot. I hammered the side of his face with the piece, knocking him to the floor. He hit face first, arms out to his sides.
“William,” Cindy muttered under her breath. She released my coat, turned, then bolted down the hallway.
“Hold on, wait a second,” I said, backing away from Blondie.
Cindy rushed down the corridor, past the missing railing to the landing. I trailed behind her, limping as fast as I could. She grabbed the banister and stormed down the stairs to the first floor.
Damn it.
I leaned against the wall and used it like a crutch, working my way down each step as fast as I could. She hit the landing and ran into the room where William sat bound to his chair. Cindy’s pleas escaped the room, growing louder with each second that ticked by.
I swept the hallway next to the staircase, then over to the living room as I hobbled to the landing. Spider’s body remained still—prone on a bed of busted wood from the railing.
William’s head bobbled about as if fixed on a spring.
Cindy had her hands pressed to both sides of his face to keep it steady and trained on her. “William. Hang in there. Stay with me. We’re going to get you out of here.”
I limped inside the room, lowering my pistol to my side.
“Please help him,” she said, peering around his limp body at me. “He needs medical attention, now. He’s losing a lot of blood.”
“We need to get those zip ties off him first.” I checked the pockets of the coat for a knife or anything else of use, but found nothing. I walked over to Stocky and Slender and patted them down.
“William,” Cindy said, raising her voice. “Come on. Open your eyes and answer me.”
The two unconscious men had nothing of use in their pockets. I stood and walked over to Cindy who smacked the side of William’s face.
“Open your eyes, damn you.” Tears streamed down her flushed cheeks, and dripped from her chin. She smacked him again, then lowered her head.
His head dangled forward. No hint of life lingered from his beaten body. I pressed my fingers to the side of his neck, checking for a pulse. I moved my fingers about, struggling to find one.
Cindy hammered his chest with her balled fist, bawling and sniffling. Her hands fell to his thighs.
The floor creaked in the hall, and I turned toward the subtle noise.
Spider stood in the doorway with
