suddenly changed. It was written all over his handsome face. Sadness, anger and grief, all mixed together.
“It’s not them he’s after, Anna.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I gripped his hand, my feeling of desperation flowing through to him.
“I will keep safe, ok?”
I nodded in agreement and Aiden took the lead out the door. The hall was dark, the air stale. I could feel Danny’s hand tentatively touch my waist as he guided me down the passage. In front, a small pen light barely illuminated the way. Before we reached the stairs Aiden came to a sudden halt. His torch flicked to the side brightening up a circle of wall. A few seconds later it abruptly switched to the other side.
Behind me Danny turned on his own light and scanned it over each side. He cursed under his breath before breaking formation, running his hand over the long rough scars in the drywall. Each wall had three rows of randomly spaced apart knife wounds.
“These weren’t here before.” Danny’s deep voice whispered.
“Definitely not.” Aiden affirmed.
“The wallpaper is pulled in different directions.”
“He has been up this hall a few times by the looks of it.”
Luiza whimpered quietly next to me as the gravity of the situation once again bore down on us. This time the threat was too close to home. El Leon had been here, on the other side, stalking the halls in an apparent attempt of intimidation.
“Go now.” Danny steered me down the stairs, his Glock by his side. Luiza made quick steps ahead clutching onto Aiden’s belt. Our footsteps were loud despite the earlier warning. As I made tracks to the hotel door, my foot slid out from underneath me. As I fell backwards clutching at nothing, Danny’s hand wrapped around my arm preventing me from falling hard. I landed softly on my knees before staggering to my feet.
“Keep moving, Anna.” Danny’s tone was strange, my hands damp with a thick, sticky substance.
“Danny!” He shone the light on me and I swallowed the bile rising from my gut. “Whose is this?”
The glow fell to the ground where I had landed. A pool of blood stained the wooden floor. No more than a step away, the body of the landlady lay lifeless, her head bludgeoned, one side of her face completely destroyed.
“Oh my god! What’s going on?” My body was now trembling, threatening convulsion, my voice following suit.
Danny’s hand cupped my cheek drawing my attention back to him. Even in the darkness I could feel his intent radiating off his features. “Stay focused, Anna.”
Behind me I heard Aiden curse and Luiza whimper as they too caught sight of the gruesome discovery. We had go get the hell out of this place before the supposed threats meant we would be bludgeoned next.
Both Danny and Aiden ushered us out the hotel front door creating a protective guard around us.
Rain had been falling for most of the night, the ground nothing more than a mud bath. Danny held my forearm tightly as we trudged through the slosh to get to the truck. We were saturated, skin hurting from the sharp bullet-like rain and albeit completely frightened. Now the men appeared composed, their eyes narrowed with a determined focus. They were prepared for combat, I had no doubt. What they weren’t prepared for was being on the back foot, knowing that our invisible man was watching from his safe spot.
Danny
We were running a terrifying risk driving through the jungle in the middle of the night with slim to none visibility. But we didn’t have a choice. The fact that our main target had been right outside our rooms running his blade along the hall while having killed the landlady, left us with no choice. Anna wasn’t safe. What he wanted with her, I had no idea. What connection they had remains a mystery.
“Where are we headed now?” she asked in a small voice. Beside her I could see Luiza trembling. Palm leaves slapped against the windscreen, while jagged tree branches scraped against the side panels. We
“It’s not them he’s after, Anna.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I gripped his hand, my feeling of desperation flowing through to him.
“I will keep safe, ok?”
I nodded in agreement and Aiden took the lead out the door. The hall was dark, the air stale. I could feel Danny’s hand tentatively touch my waist as he guided me down the passage. In front, a small pen light barely illuminated the way. Before we reached the stairs Aiden came to a sudden halt. His torch flicked to the side brightening up a circle of wall. A few seconds later it abruptly switched to the other side.
Behind me Danny turned on his own light and scanned it over each side. He cursed under his breath before breaking formation, running his hand over the long rough scars in the drywall. Each wall had three rows of randomly spaced apart knife wounds.
“These weren’t here before.” Danny’s deep voice whispered.
“Definitely not.” Aiden affirmed.
“The wallpaper is pulled in different directions.”
“He has been up this hall a few times by the looks of it.”
Luiza whimpered quietly next to me as the gravity of the situation once again bore down on us. This time the threat was too close to home. El Leon had been here, on the other side, stalking the halls in an apparent attempt of intimidation.
“Go now.” Danny steered me down the stairs, his Glock by his side. Luiza made quick steps ahead clutching onto Aiden’s belt. Our footsteps were loud despite the earlier warning. As I made tracks to the hotel door, my foot slid out from underneath me. As I fell backwards clutching at nothing, Danny’s hand wrapped around my arm preventing me from falling hard. I landed softly on my knees before staggering to my feet.
“Keep moving, Anna.” Danny’s tone was strange, my hands damp with a thick, sticky substance.
“Danny!” He shone the light on me and I swallowed the bile rising from my gut. “Whose is this?”
The glow fell to the ground where I had landed. A pool of blood stained the wooden floor. No more than a step away, the body of the landlady lay lifeless, her head bludgeoned, one side of her face completely destroyed.
“Oh my god! What’s going on?” My body was now trembling, threatening convulsion, my voice following suit.
Danny’s hand cupped my cheek drawing my attention back to him. Even in the darkness I could feel his intent radiating off his features. “Stay focused, Anna.”
Behind me I heard Aiden curse and Luiza whimper as they too caught sight of the gruesome discovery. We had go get the hell out of this place before the supposed threats meant we would be bludgeoned next.
Both Danny and Aiden ushered us out the hotel front door creating a protective guard around us.
Rain had been falling for most of the night, the ground nothing more than a mud bath. Danny held my forearm tightly as we trudged through the slosh to get to the truck. We were saturated, skin hurting from the sharp bullet-like rain and albeit completely frightened. Now the men appeared composed, their eyes narrowed with a determined focus. They were prepared for combat, I had no doubt. What they weren’t prepared for was being on the back foot, knowing that our invisible man was watching from his safe spot.
Danny
We were running a terrifying risk driving through the jungle in the middle of the night with slim to none visibility. But we didn’t have a choice. The fact that our main target had been right outside our rooms running his blade along the hall while having killed the landlady, left us with no choice. Anna wasn’t safe. What he wanted with her, I had no idea. What connection they had remains a mystery.
“Where are we headed now?” she asked in a small voice. Beside her I could see Luiza trembling. Palm leaves slapped against the windscreen, while jagged tree branches scraped against the side panels. We
Similar Books
