source of the noise, they could hear something even more terrifying—the hurried whisper of male voices.
By the time Ash approached the end of the alleyway, the buzz of alcohol had been replaced with the thrum of adrenaline in her veins, and she rocketed forward, pushing past Raja and taking the lead.
When they spilled out into the clearing behind the buildings, she first noticed the men—two of them, cloaked in dark clothes and camouflage hats. One was in the process of opening the back door to a green windowless van. The other had his hands wrapped around the waist of a petite blond girl, who was clutching desperately to the railing of the general store loading dock.
And when the girl flailed her head to the side, revealing the face behind her endlessly long blond hair, Ash recognized her: Serena Andreotes, a freshman at Blackwood.
She had hair so fair it was nearly white, which descended all the way down to her waist. Her skin was almost as light—not quite to the point of being albino, but certainly pale compared to the olive complexion Ash associ-ated with the Mediterranean. Her most stunning feature was her eyes, two irises of vibrant gray that gave her a commanding presence despite her diminutive stature.
69
It was thus all the more ironic that Serena Andreotes was completely blind.
Everybody stopped what they were doing. Ash studied the two kidnappers in the insane silence of the alleyway, and they studied her and the others right back. Even Serena had stopped squirming when she’d heard the footsteps round the corner. Although Ash guessed that she was trying to determine whether the new arrivals had to come to rescue her or whether they were possibly rein-forcements for her kidnappers.
For a few interminable seconds, as they all tottered on the precipice of madness, Ash could only hear the wind in her ears and smell the faint scent of garbage rising from the nearby Dumpster.
Rolfe was the first to break the silence and vocalize precisely what Ash had on her own mind, but distilled down into three simple words:
“What the hell?”
Those three words stirred the parking lot back into motion, sending the scene from pause to fast-forward.
The man who had been opening the van grabbed hold of Serena’s ankles and, along with the second man, began to tug, trying to break her hold on the railing so they could complete the abduction before the new arrivals could interfere.
But so too had the students sprung to life. Ade lunged forward, with his enormous hands poised to attack. The man holding Serena’s legs quickly but calmly released 70
her and stepped toward the bear of a human being who was charging him. Ade had made it to within an arm’s length when the kidnapper grabbed one of the boy’s arms and threw him against the back wall of the general store.
Before Ade could react, the man punished him with a brutal blow to his stomach.
But Ash wasn’t about to stand by and let Ade fall.
Fueled only by adrenaline and rage, and letting reason and fear take a backseat, Ash scooped up Serena’s fallen walking stick. The soldier holding Ade was just bringing back his fist, this time to strike Ade in the face, when Ash swung the wooden staff around. The metal orb on top of it walloped the man in the nose, instantly breaking it.
Blood spurted out of his nostrils and onto the pavement.
Ash held out the cane, ready to strike again should she need to. Meanwhile, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lily free the pepper spray from her purse and charge Serena’s other captor. She released a battle cry and let loose a stream intended for the man’s eyes. He dodged the spray, but at the price of releasing his grip on Serena.
The two kidnappers must have reached the conclu-sion simultaneously that, despite whatever combat training they’d had, they had quickly lost control of what should have been an uncomplicated abduction. With Ashline’s attention momentarily diverted, the man with the broken nose easily
By the time Ash approached the end of the alleyway, the buzz of alcohol had been replaced with the thrum of adrenaline in her veins, and she rocketed forward, pushing past Raja and taking the lead.
When they spilled out into the clearing behind the buildings, she first noticed the men—two of them, cloaked in dark clothes and camouflage hats. One was in the process of opening the back door to a green windowless van. The other had his hands wrapped around the waist of a petite blond girl, who was clutching desperately to the railing of the general store loading dock.
And when the girl flailed her head to the side, revealing the face behind her endlessly long blond hair, Ash recognized her: Serena Andreotes, a freshman at Blackwood.
She had hair so fair it was nearly white, which descended all the way down to her waist. Her skin was almost as light—not quite to the point of being albino, but certainly pale compared to the olive complexion Ash associ-ated with the Mediterranean. Her most stunning feature was her eyes, two irises of vibrant gray that gave her a commanding presence despite her diminutive stature.
69
It was thus all the more ironic that Serena Andreotes was completely blind.
Everybody stopped what they were doing. Ash studied the two kidnappers in the insane silence of the alleyway, and they studied her and the others right back. Even Serena had stopped squirming when she’d heard the footsteps round the corner. Although Ash guessed that she was trying to determine whether the new arrivals had to come to rescue her or whether they were possibly rein-forcements for her kidnappers.
For a few interminable seconds, as they all tottered on the precipice of madness, Ash could only hear the wind in her ears and smell the faint scent of garbage rising from the nearby Dumpster.
Rolfe was the first to break the silence and vocalize precisely what Ash had on her own mind, but distilled down into three simple words:
“What the hell?”
Those three words stirred the parking lot back into motion, sending the scene from pause to fast-forward.
The man who had been opening the van grabbed hold of Serena’s ankles and, along with the second man, began to tug, trying to break her hold on the railing so they could complete the abduction before the new arrivals could interfere.
But so too had the students sprung to life. Ade lunged forward, with his enormous hands poised to attack. The man holding Serena’s legs quickly but calmly released 70
her and stepped toward the bear of a human being who was charging him. Ade had made it to within an arm’s length when the kidnapper grabbed one of the boy’s arms and threw him against the back wall of the general store.
Before Ade could react, the man punished him with a brutal blow to his stomach.
But Ash wasn’t about to stand by and let Ade fall.
Fueled only by adrenaline and rage, and letting reason and fear take a backseat, Ash scooped up Serena’s fallen walking stick. The soldier holding Ade was just bringing back his fist, this time to strike Ade in the face, when Ash swung the wooden staff around. The metal orb on top of it walloped the man in the nose, instantly breaking it.
Blood spurted out of his nostrils and onto the pavement.
Ash held out the cane, ready to strike again should she need to. Meanwhile, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lily free the pepper spray from her purse and charge Serena’s other captor. She released a battle cry and let loose a stream intended for the man’s eyes. He dodged the spray, but at the price of releasing his grip on Serena.
The two kidnappers must have reached the conclu-sion simultaneously that, despite whatever combat training they’d had, they had quickly lost control of what should have been an uncomplicated abduction. With Ashline’s attention momentarily diverted, the man with the broken nose easily
Similar Books
![The Masters of Falcon's Fantasies [BDSM Menage Fantasies 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)](https://fs.dianahicksbooks.com/544469/thumbs/152x264/the-masters-of-falcons-fantasies-bdsm-menage-fantasies-2-siren-publishing-menage-amour.png)
