true, but he didn’t need to know that. She watched as his finger tightened on the trigger, just the way it had seconds earlier. His fingers were so starkly beautiful, with the intricate ink painting them. She wondered if he played an instrument; his hands would look beautiful flying over chords as he made music.
Then she thought of her parents and prepared to die.
Chapter Five
Shaun was expecting to feel a raw ripping pain tear through her, followed closely by death. She wasn’t expecting to have someone grip her arm and wrench her up to her feet. The move was so fast, so sudden, that she felt instantly dizzy. When her vision cleared, she was confronted with the intense stunning blue eyes of her captor. His forehead was wrinkled in a frown.
“What are you doing?” the other man demanded. “We got what we need. Finish the job so we can get on with it.”
She felt sick, genuinely nauseous to the point that she would’ve doubled over and gripped her knees if she could have. By ‘finish the job,’ he meant kill her. She was a loose end, a witness to a murder. They had no choice, she had to go. Jozef glared at the other man, and then turned and dragged her toward the stairs.
Shaun was dizzy, hyperventilating, floaty. She was disassociating from what was happening. Multiple times in the space of an hour or so, she’d been positive she was going to die, then, when the real thing finally came, when she was certain he intended to pull the trigger, something had held him back. She didn’t know what, couldn’t explain it. She couldn’t even really be grateful that she was still alive. She couldn’t possibly guess what was going to happen to her now.
Jozef pulled her up the stairs and through the house. She glanced around and saw dusty unused furniture. There were still drop clothes on some of the items. She suspected the family that had lived there fled the war, closing up the house and moving somewhere safer. These guys were probably seizing on an opportunity to use it while it was empty. It was in a remote area outside of the city, ideal for criminal activity. At least, she hoped her hypothesis was true. What if they’d killed the family and were using the house as a base for their operations?
Jozef hauled her toward the van, opened the passenger door and flung her at it. She caught the edge of the frame and glanced back in time to see his leather jacket filling her vision. He didn’t wait for her to climb in but shoved her until she was halfway laying across the seat and gripping the dashboard for balance. He stuffed her legs inside and slammed the door shut. She righted herself and turned to watch as he confronted the man who stormed out of the house behind him. They embarked on an angry conversation, the thug guy yelling at Jozef, and Jozef responding with rapid, angry hand gestures.
Shaun had no idea what they were saying, the conversation was too fast, too angry, and Jozef’s back was to her so she couldn’t see his hands. Finally, the guy gave a sharp nod and turned his malevolent gaze on her, staring at her through the passenger window. He pulled the van keys from his pocket and tossed them at Jozef, then he turned on his heel and strode back into the house.
Jozef watched the house for a few seconds, seeming to gather himself, then came around the front of the van and opened the door, climbing into the driver’s seat. He ignored her, sliding the keys into the ignition and turning. As the engine flared to life, hope filled her chest. He hadn’t killed her in the basement along with that other man, and he was taking her somewhere else, maybe back to the hospital. Hell, she didn’t care if he ditched her in the middle of nowhere, she was just happy to be alive.
Shaun’s relief was short-lived when Jozef turned off the main road and started following a bumpy dirt road into a sparsely wooded area. Her alarm grew as they continued to drive with no houses or signs of civilization. Her heart began to pound and her palms grew clammy.
“Where are we going?” she asked, then shook her head at herself.
Of course, he couldn’t answer while he was driving. He wouldn’t even look at her, giving her absolutely no reassurance.
“Are you… are you… going