Delta Force Rescue - Elle James Page 0,50
but the big guard dropped to his knees, landing on the gun. Instead, she hit him on the back of the head and leaped over his shoulder, landing in the hallway. She ran as fast as she could, aiming for the only door she knew led out of the building.
When a man stepped into view in the grand foyer ahead, Briana ducked into an open door that led into a sitting room with dark wood tables and brightly colored sofas. French doors on the other side of the room lured her to the outside light. She ran across the room and had just reached for the door handles when a shout rang out in the hallway.
Grabbing the handles, she yanked open the French doors and ran out into a garden. Unfortunately, the garden was a courtyard, surrounded by four walls. Each had French doors leading onto the garden, but which one would bring her closest to exiting the house? She ran to the door directly across from the one she’d just passed through. More shouts echoed throughout the huge house. If she hoped to escape, she had to do it soon. The door on the opposite side led into a bedroom with a solid wood, four-poster bed with a white eyelet lace comforter that seemed incongruous for a drug lord known for killing.
Footsteps clattered on the paving stones in the garden behind her. Briana dropped to her belly and rolled beneath the bed, wishing she’d had time to close the garden door. Alas, someone was running toward her, giving her no time to hide anywhere but beneath the bed.
She moved to the center, praying whoever it was would run straight through the room to the other side, searching for her. That might give her time to find another way out.
Booted feet entered the room and ran for the door as Briana had hoped. The door opened, but the boots didn’t pass through it.
Briana couldn’t see what he was doing but guessed he was peering out into the hallway. He called out in Spanish to someone passing by. That person responded, and the man stepped out into the corridor.
Briana held her breath, waiting for the man to leave the room. With the house in an uproar to find her, she knew she wouldn’t make it out of the compound without being captured. The thought depressed her, but she wouldn’t give up. This was her first attempt. She would try again.
Easing out from under the bed, she crawled out the open French door into the garden and sat on a bench beneath a tree and pulled in a deep breath. She stared at a bird bath, waiting for the guards to find her and return her to her prison.
Footsteps on the paving stones made her stiffen. She wouldn’t fight this time. Not with all the cartel’s minions searching for her. But she was prepared to duck if one of them decided to take a swing at her.
“You’ve upset my staff,” a voice said behind her.
Briana didn’t turn toward El Chefe. “You have a lovely garden,” she said.
“I like to come out here to read when I want peace and quiet,” he said, walking around to stand in front of her. “You know, you can’t escape.”
“So you say.”
“Even if you’d gotten out of the house, you wouldn’t have made it past the wall.”
“You could be right,” she said. “Then again, no one likes to be held prisoner. Some are just more determined than others to be free.”
He stared at her, eyes narrowing. “Are you talking about yourself or Alejandra.”
Briana pushed to her feet. “You are not a king or a god. You cannot control the lives of others with your money.”
He dipped his head. “No, but I can control them with my army and the mercenaries my money can buy.”
“And does it make you happy?” Briana stood in front of the Devil Boss, her shoulders back, her face set in grim lines. “Are you happy controlling other people? Don’t you wonder if it’s all worth it?”
He spread his arms wide. “I have all this.”
“Things,” she pointed out. “You have things. What about love and kindness? The people in your life should be what make you happy, not the things. Things don’t have feelings.”
He snorted. “Things don’t stab you in the back or steal from you.”
“Is that what happened to you? Did someone you cared about turn on you? Was it Alejandra?”
“No!” he shouted. “It was not Alejandra. She is but an employee, who