She ignored him, making a beeline for the street.
Maybe she was paranoid. She had the right to be. After witnessing the massacre of her Outlier family, reading the news about how the Lair had burned to the ground, and unable to go back to her condo, it was no wonder her nerves were threadbare, but she wasn’t taking stupid chances.
Gary had insisted that they meet face-to-face and she’d chosen this park for one reason. On the other side of the park across the busy avenue was a U.S. Capitol Police guardhouse. If she made it there, within seconds, she could be surrounded by law enforcement and she’d be safe.
Not that she preferred to be in the hands of cops, faced with questions she either couldn’t or wouldn’t answer, but it was better than dying.
She tried to resist the urge to look behind her and failed, stealing a glance over her shoulder. Mr. Nonchalant swooped up behind Gary, who had risen from the bench with his hands thrust out toward her in a questioning gesture. The man swiped something from the folds of the newspaper, stuck Gary in the back of the neck, and kept walking without breaking his stride.
Crap! She whipped her head forward and quickened her step, heartbeat picking up tempo. Too bad she hadn’t popped a propranolol the second she’d spotted Gary in the park.
Gripping the strap of her bag, she glanced back at Gary. He clutched his chest, face twisted in pain, and dropped to his knees. Mr. Nonchalant was definitely Delta. He was gaining on her, chewing up the distance between them in long, fierce strides.
Her entire body tensed, her pulse hammering. If she ran and made it close enough to the Capitol Building guardhouse, her screams might catch the attention of the police. She’d have to time it just right. Delta was closing in and if he started sprinting first, he’d overtake her in a blink.
She unsnapped the side compartment of her bag and flipped off the safety lock on the pepper spray. The gusty wind tearing through the park was as likely to blow the harsh chemicals back in her face as it was to immobilize Delta, and then it’d be game over for her.
Using the spray would have to be a last-ditch move.
On the corner of Delaware Avenue, in the direction where she’d waited for Gary, a small parking booth sat parallel to the park. Maybe the attendant inside could radio for help.
Kit changed course, hustling toward it, and scanned her surroundings for any more unpleasant surprises.
When she refocused on the parking booth, she stopped short.
The attendant inside was slumped over as if unconscious. Another man came around from the side of the small structure, cutting off her path.
Oh no. Despite the ball cap, she recognized him for certain.
Bravo.
Her options went up like flash paper put to a lit match.
Blood rushed from her head and her chest tightened, insides bouncing. Urgency spiked through her. She whirled to the right, heading west, pressing on across the center patch of lawn toward the concrete Taft Memorial, speed-walking to…dang it, she had no idea where to go. But she needed an escape route and safe destination.
If she wanted to reach the Capitol Building through the park, she would have to go through Bravo. Nope, not going to happen.
Delta was still inbound, on a trajectory straight for her. Both killers were closing in. They could outrun and outmuscle her with little effort.
A frisbee sailed in front of her. The dog charged after the green disc, driving past her to nab the flying toy before it landed. The hunky dude whistled, and his dog sat on the grass smackdab in her path a few feet away.
Kit sidestepped around the dog and spotted the stairs leading out of the park down to New Jersey Avenue. Maybe if she cleared the steps quickly, she could bolt down the street to the Capitol Building before Bravo made it out of the park and intercepted her. Once she set foot on the grounds and created a spectacle, an officer would make her his business pronto.
If only she had time to pop another pill. After sprinting, she’d need it.
A hulking shadow swept up beside her, swallowing the sunlight in her peripheral vision, and a strong hand grabbed her by the elbow. Her heart somersaulted to her stomach. She jerked away but the big guy with the dog tightened his grip and towed her forward.
Her mind tripped, stumbling to catch up.
“Shit, you’re one of them?” Panic sliced through her. She swung, launching a fist at his face. It was like punching granite. She yelped and winced, agony exploding in her fingers.
His wide jaw flexed. He glared down at her as if she were a mosquito who’d dared nip a dragon.
“Please.” She knocked her fist against his thick forearm, bending her knees, shoving her hips back, throwing her entire body into breaking his iron hold. “Please, don’t kill me.”
He hauled her along anyway, dragging her feet across the ground, not looking fazed by her giving-it-everything-she-had exertion.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” His voice was deep and dangerous, cutting to the marrow in her bones. “Unlike Frick and Frack, who just killed your friend.”
As the juggernaut of a man tugged her forward, she glanced back. Gary was facedown on the pavement. Rigid. Unmoving.
The two men—Bravo and Delta—still stalked her, closing in from opposite sides.
“If you’re not with them, let me go.” She tried prying his fingers loose to no avail. He’d only said he didn’t want to hurt her. Nothing about not killing her.
There are worse things than a quick, painless death. That was what Bravo had said before shooting Jasper in the head.
She yanked her arm as hard as she could, but his broad hand was superglued to her. “Please, let me go.”
“Sorry, but I need you.”
Whoa. I need you? Famous last words from a satanic cult leader to the abducted victim of a ritual sacrifice. Hard pass on being diced up and ground into dog food.
She clawed at his stone fingers and kicked his marble leg, but all she achieved was breaking another nail and stubbing her toes. Damn it.
Sharp pain bit her foot.
She slapped his arm and chest, drawing his irritation at the very least, if not his blood.
He didn’t even flinch. Not a solitary step faltered, not a single drop of sweat formed. But he headed toward the stairs, right for the exit point she’d wanted.
If only she knew who to use the pepper spray on. Which devil was worse? The ones who wanted her dead or the one who needed her for some unknown purpose?
She had no choice but to roll the dice and take her chances with the kidnapper. It beat catching a bullet to the head.
“How far back are they?” he asked in a voice so calm it was shocking.
“I don’t know.” She craned her neck, checking. Bravo and Delta were still there but seemed to maintain a set distance, and they both kept glancing at their watches. “Fifty feet maybe.”