“Get going.” Aaron kicked him in the butt, pushing him toward the exit.
When he’d left, Aaron turned to her. “Let’s see about getting you cleaned up. It’ll be a couple days before Blayne can cash in on the product, maybe I can get rid of some of the physical evidence on your face before then.” He was talking to himself more than her. She didn’t even bother to answer.
He looked at her and tilted his head. “You thirsty? You probably are. I’ll get you some water, too.” He walked through the door leading to the front of the building, letting it close behind him.
Kaylee was facing away from the back door, but she heard it slide open softly. Her heart sped up. Was Carl back? Why would he be back already?
Quiet footsteps padded toward her. It couldn’t have been Carl, the footfalls were too soft. Carl clodded around like a cow. Then—his scent hit her. Her chest squeezed in on itself. “Blayne,” she whispered. “No.”
“Shh. It’s okay.” The beam from his flashlight splayed out before them. He knelt behind her, working at the knots of her bindings.
Fear formed a lump in her throat. She choked out, “You have to leave. Aaron’s here. He has a gun.”
Blayne stopped messing with the cord and stepped in front of her, careful not to shine the light directly in her eyes. “Where is he?” he whispered. Then, catching sight of her banged up face, his eyes turned cold, and he ground his teeth. “I’m going to kill him.”
“No. Blayne. Please,” she begged. “Just leave and call the police. Please.”
“Where is he?” he asked again.
“He’ll be back any minute.” Her eyes gave her away as she glanced at the door to the front.
Blayne’s face softened a fraction, and he stroked her tangled mess of hair. He leaned down and kissed her forehead with more gentleness than the touch of a feather. “It’ll be okay.” He stopped after taking several steps and turned back to her. “I love you, Kaylee.”
Her next breath came as a sob. Her body trembled with fear and pain and shock as Blayne walked toward the door. He clicked the flashlight off as he got closer, then crouched to the side of the door, waiting.
Kaylee had trouble breathing. She couldn’t seem to get enough air. Her lips went numb. Her fingers tingled. She knew she was hyperventilating but couldn’t stop herself. Blayne loved her—and he was now risking his life for her.
Aaron’s heavy boots stomped on the other side of the door. He opened it, Blayne still poised behind it. “I got ya some water, princess. And a wet rag so I can clean ya up a little before Blayne—”
Blayne slammed the door into Aaron, pinning him between it and the doorjamb. Aaron cried out in pain and dropped the water.
“Before Blayne what?” Blayne growled.
Half the kidnapper’s body and all of his head were on this side of the door. He grunted and breathed in short snaps of breath as Blayne put more pressure on his chest with the door. “You. Blayne. Carl. He’ll be back when you don’t show. Any minute.”
“Don’t worry about Carl. I made sure someone was there to meet him.” Blayne sneered. “He won’t be back.”
Aaron’s eyes widened and his face turned the color of a plum. He shifted, trying to get out of the door, it seemed. A loud blast filled the air and echoed in the near empty building. Blayne flew back from the door and Kaylee screamed as it swung back, slamming into the wall—a hole piercing the metal at the height of Blayne’s chest.
Her whole body numb, Kaylee fought her restraints. “No! Blayne!” The chair jumped and rattled against the hard floor.
Aaron put his hands on his knees, gulping in lungfuls of air. He edged over, gun pointed out in front of him, to where Blayne lay unmoving on the ground.
Kaylee rocked the chair side to side, pushing it with her feet.
Aaron leaned over Blayne’s body, still pointing the gun at him.
The chair tipped, jarring Kaylee’s already busted up body. The armrest where her right arm was tied shattered, as did the part of the back of the chair that hit the ground. She shimmied out of her bonds, holding her left arm close to her body.
Aaron whipped around at the noise, and Blayne shot a leg out, sweeping the gun from Aaron’s hand. Aaron lunged for it, but Blayne caught one of his ankles as he twisted up and around. Aaron fell, tripped up by Blayne’s grasp, and Blayne cried out with pain. Blood stained his shirt from a wound near his left collar bone.
Kaylee, teeth clenched against the scream in her throat, crawled toward the gun. Aaron coiled around and pounded on Blayne’s hand. The veins in Blayne’s neck bulged as he pulled Aaron toward him.
The gun lay just inches away from Kaylee’s reach. Aaron threw himself toward it, kicking at Blayne’s grasp on his ankle. They reached it at the same time, but Aaron wrenched it from her fingers and clouted her on the side of the head with it then turned it on Blayne. She fought through the dizziness and screamed her rage as she lurched to her feet toward him. She kicked at his face, a weak but effective gesture that threw off his aim. The bullet ricocheted off the cement floor next to Blayne’s face.
Blayne roared and sprang to his knees. He grabbed Aaron’s wrist and wrenched it back with a loud crack. The drug dealer dropped the gun with a squeal of pain. Kaylee picked it up, pointing it at her captor. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye as Blayne pounded his fist into Aaron’s jaw, knocking him to the ground. With a grunt, Blayne straddled him, hammering his fist into Aaron’s face over and over until his nose was an unrecognizable blob of blood and tissue pressed flat against his face.
“Blayne. Blayne stop!” Kaylee knelt beside him.
Blayne stopped mid-punch and looked at
