The Escape Read Online Free PDF Page B

hurtled in my direction, and I barely managed to dodge. It was odd exchanging blows with the Asian, while the part of my mind connected to Edgel followed his fight with Keene. If I didn’t concentrate, I was going to lose. Unlike Edgel, the Asian was closer to my size, so if I kept my wits, I had a shot at besting him. While Edgel had several inches on Keene, Keene was larger than me and better trained, and he’d fought with Edgel and would know his weaknesses. Keene had also spent years trying to prove to his father that he was good enough. I believed he could keep Edgel occupied until I finished with the Asian.
    But where was our backup?
    The Asian scooped up his knife from the floor and rewarded my distraction with a vicious slash on my upper left arm. Pain turned the world red.
    That was when I felt Edgel sink his knife deep into Keene’s belly.
    No!
    Reaching deeply for reserves of energy I didn’t know I possessed, I pushed outward. Edgel grabbed at his head as my flash seared his mind.
     

 
     
     
     
     

     
    T HE NEXT INSTANT I WAS down on the carpet as my attacker slammed his fist into my temple. I tried to get up, but my strength was depleted from my mental effort. Even if I could find the strength to move, with Edgel incapacitated, I could no longer channel his ability. The Asian cracked me in the face again. Blackness nibbled away my sight.
    I reached for the Asian’s mind, finding a barrier there and flinging myself against it. No luck. The pounding in my head was growing, though my sight was stabilizing. I tried to move away, but the Asian grabbed my wounded arm and yanked me to my feet, spinning me around until he had an arm around me and his knife at my throat. His breath was hot on my ear.
    “Edgel?” he asked, pulling me several steps toward where Edgel knelt on the floor.
    Edgel shook his head. “I’m okay. Just give me a moment.”
    Twisting my head to look for Keene, I found him lying beyond Edgel, blood welling through the hands he clenched to his stomach. His eyes closed. It didn’t look good. I had to get him out of here to Dimitri, our healer.
    I began absorbing consciously, pulling more sustenance from the air. I couldn’t give up, not when Keene looked close to death.
    The Asian turned me around and shoved me against the wall. His mental barrier was black and thick, and though it was hard to tell his age, I knew he’d practiced shielding for hundreds of years. “It’d be easier if we took her unconscious.” Sweat beaded on his forehead.
    Edgel stood up, his blunt features looking haggard. “Too hard to explain to Secret Service.” Frantically, I tried his shield, but it was over his mind again, tight and unyielding.
    “We could take her upstairs to the room. Give her some drugs.”
    “No. She’s wired and probably has a tracking device. They’ll come for her soon.” Edgel strode over to me and pushed back the curls Stella had so artfully arranged in my hair. He removed both earrings, twisting them in his hands before tossing them to the ground. My bracelet followed. He did a thorough search of my body, his hands rough over my flesh. “That’ll have to do for now. If we can get her back to headquarters, we can disable the tracking device there.” He gave me a flat grin. “Delia will be happy to see you. So will your father.”
    By father he meant Stefan Carrington, the third Triad member. Except Stefan wasn’t really my father, and I suspected Delia knew the truth about that, too, but if so, she’d kept silent to further her agenda.
    “Let’s go.” Edgel started down the hall, but I resisted the Asian’s pull.
    “I’m not going anywhere without him.” I pointed at Keene.
    Edgel turned. “Don’t you think your people will get to him faster if we leave?”
    I wasn’t sure of that. After all, they hadn’t arrived yet. Secret Service must have the place locked down even tighter than we’d thought. Without my earbud, I had no way of knowing if they were close