Rescuing Jenna - Anna Blakely Page 0,81

she stretched the fingers on her left in an attempt to grab the knife first.

Having the same idea, Matais went for her throat. His fingers wrapped around the delicate area there and squeezed. Jenna choked and sputtered as the man struggled to regain the upper hand.

Gasping for air she could no longer get, she focused on what she could do.

Using as much strength as she could muster, Jenna dug her nails into Matais’s face and raked them across the skin covering his cheek. The man howled and reared his head back, his strong hold easing just enough so she could slide over and grab the knife.

With her left hand wrapped around the weapon’s leather hilt, she swung the blade toward him. The sharp tip sliced across his upper right arm.

Matais screamed that time, flinching backward to stave off another assumed attack. This gave her the chance she needed.

Shoving her right shoulder into the man’s chest, Jenna forced him the rest of the way off of her, making it possible for her to get away.

Scrambling to get as far from Matais as she could, Jenna felt like a hamster on a wheel as her shoes slipped several times on the concrete’s smooth surface. His fingers brushed against her ankle, but she found her footing and ran.

“Come back here!”

Eat shit, asshole!

She made it halfway to the door before Matais’s hard body hit hers, knocking them both back down onto the floor. The air left her lungs in one loud woosh, and fire spread through her scalp as he grabbed hold of the hair and yanked her head backward.

Jenna didn’t have time to react before Matais slammed her forehead into the unforgiving floor, sending her straight into a black abyss.

Chapter 16

“Walker, you copy?” Gabe’s voice filled Adrian’s right ear as he made his way to the edge of the trees.

“Copy.” He kept his voice low. The nearly undetectable ear coms they were all using—compliments of Ryker—were state-of-the-art, picking up even the slightest of sounds. “Approaching the property line, now.”

“Roger that. We’re half a klick behind you. Ghost and I are coming in from the west, and Beatle, Blade, and Nate are covering the north. Hollywood and Zade will make their way around the east side of the structure, and Ryker, Kole, and Matt will be coming up from the south.”

They’d have the place surrounded. Adrian just hoped it would be enough.

“Just remember the plan,” he reminded them. “Wait for my signal before engaging.”

They’d better remember the fucking plan. Jenna’s life depended on it.

A sliver of gray caught his eye as he made his way through the final stretch of foliage. “I see the assembly plant, now,” he relayed to the others.

The two-story, cinderblock building was covered in cracked and broken windows and those vines that overtook anything that stood vacant for too long.

“Jesus,” he muttered. “Looks like something out of a post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick.”

“Watch a lot of those, do ya?” Nate teased.

Adrian’s immediate comeback was, “Sure do. With your mom.”

Several oohs and oh-shits came through the coms, followed by Zade’s amused, “Dude. Did Walker just mom-joke your ass?”

Adrian almost let himself smile. He guessed working with a team wouldn’t be completely horrible.

Too bad I probably won’t get the chance after this.

Not that he wanted to die, but Adrian wasn’t a fool. Not about this. He was walking into the hornet’s nest and his closest backup was a mile and a half behind him.

As long as Jenna survives. That’s the only thing that matters.

Shaking that shit off, Adrian drew in a breath, readied his gun, and stepped over the tree line onto the abandoned building’s property.

Despite the objection coming from his left leg, Adrian refused to show any sign of weakness in front of Matais or his men. He forced his gait to become steady as he crossed through the knee-high grass.

“I see two men standing guard by what looks to be the building’s main entrance. There’s another guy, maybe two, the south side. I’m far enough over, I don’t think they can see me, but I can’t see the north or east sides at all.”

“The most recent satellite footage showed two on each side of the building,” Nate informed them. “It’s safe to assume that hasn’t changed.”

“Agreed,” Ryker joined in on the conversation. “All we can do is follow the plan and make adjustments accordingly.”

“Uh…isn’t that pretty much what we do on every op?” Matt asked with obvious jest.

“Ah, come on, Turner. Cut Ryker some slack.” Gabe’s deep voice rumbled in response to