Chapter 6

From the penthouse window, Julius Carroll watched the black van pull away from the curb. Kenzie Drake, wrapped in a silk robe, came up behind him, draping her arms around his neck.

"Is it done?" she purred.

"It's done," he said, his eyes fixed on the street below. "The game has begun."

"Will she survive?" Kenzie asked, a frisson of excitement in her voice. "The hunters you hired... they're not known for their gentle touch."

"It doesn't matter," Julius said, turning away from the window. "Either she learns her lesson, or she doesn't. Either way, she's out of our lives."

I woke up to the sound of my own name.

"Mommy... Mommy, wake up."

Ava's small hand was on my cheek. My head throbbed, and my throat was raw. We were lying on a bed of damp leaves, the canopy of a dense jungle blocking out the sky. My daughter was curled against me, shivering.

I sat up, my body screaming in protest. Where were we?

Then I saw him. A man stood at the edge of the small clearing, his face hidden by a grotesque boar mask. He held a long, curved machete in his hand. It glinted in the dim light.

Ava whimpered and scrambled into my arms. The man in the mask took a slow step towards us.

Adrenaline surged through me, a primal, maternal fire. I grabbed Ava and ran. I plunged into the thick undergrowth, thorns and branches tearing at my skin and clothes. Ava was crying, her small body trembling against mine.

"Shh, baby, it's okay. Mommy's got you."

A man' s laughter, distorted and cruel, echoed through the trees. He was toying with us.

I ran until my lungs burned and my legs gave out. I stumbled, catching my foot on a root. Ava's head hit a low-hanging branch, and she cried out in pain. A thin line of blood trickled from her forehead.

Seeing her blood broke the last of my fear. It was replaced by a rage so pure and absolute it was almost holy.

I turned. The man in the boar mask was right behind us. I didn't hesitate. I let out a guttural roar and launched myself at him, a wild animal protecting her young. I slammed into his chest, knocking him off balance. He fell backward with a grunt of surprise.

I didn't wait to see if he got up. I snatched Ava and ran again, deeper into the jungle.

The laughter was everywhere now, seeming to come from all directions. It was a hunt. A game. And we were the prey.

Through a break in the trees, I saw a light. A house, perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Hope surged in my chest.

I crept closer, hiding in the bushes. I peered through the large glass window.

And my blood turned to ice.

Julius and Kenzie were inside. They were sitting on a plush sofa, drinking champagne, watching a large screen. On the screen was a live feed of the jungle. A live feed of me and Ava.

They were watching us be hunted. For sport.

The hope in my chest died and was reborn as something else. Something cold and sharp and lethal.

I will survive this, I vowed, clutching my daughter to my chest. I will live. And I will come back for you. I will make you both pray for a death that will not come.

I found a heavy, sharp-edged rock. More masked men were closing in, their dark shapes moving between the trees. They were surrounding us.

I didn't wait for them to find me. I burst from the undergrowth, the rock held high, and charged the nearest man. I brought the rock down on his head with a sickening crunch. He collapsed without a sound.

Another man came at me from the side, swinging a heavy club. It connected with my back, and I screamed as white-hot pain shot through me. The world went black for a second, but I didn't fall. I spun around, like a cornered beast, and drove the jagged edge of the rock into his side.

I was bleeding from a dozen different cuts. My vision was blurring. But I fought. I fought with the last of my strength, a mother lion defending her cub. I took down two more of the hunters before they overwhelmed me.

They pushed me to the edge of the cliff. I was on my knees, my body a mass of agony, shielding Ava with everything I had.

One of the men, wearing a wolf mask, raised his club for the final blow. I didn't flinch. I just held my daughter tighter, whispering in her ear that I loved her. I closed my eyes, ready for the end.

The blow never landed.

I heard a series of soft, efficient thuds. Shouts of surprise and pain. I opened my eyes.

The hunters were on the ground, groaning. Surrounding them, and me, was a team of men in black tactical gear, armed with silenced weapons.

Their leader, a man with a hard, familiar face, walked towards me. He dropped to one knee.

"Miss Horton," he said, his voice full of relief and apology. "We're here. I am so sorry we were late."