Chapter 48
"Genn Kelly," Tara breathed, her training kicking in to help her sound calm while in reality her heart pounded frantically in her chest.
"So my reputation precedes me," the dark clad man sneered almost proudly. "Where are the others?" he demanded, waving the gun in her direction as he stepped closer.
"Who would that be?" Tara asked, hoping to buy more time for Myles and Charles to return, trying to speak loud enough so they would hear her.
She could feel the gun between the seat cushions with her fingertips, but there was no way she could pull it out and fire while expecting to hit anything with her left hand, especially with him that close. Come on, Myles, she prayed silently, glancing towards the stairs. Where are you?
"You know exactly who I'm talking about," Kelly growled, raising his arm as if to backhand her.
Tara cringed, instinctively putting her hand up to ward off the attack. Instead, Kelly grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet, sending the laptop crashing to the floor.
Tara winced as he twisted her good arm up behind her, pain shooting through her injured shoulder and chest at the sudden movement. Her legs threatened to buckle as he jerked her up against him, his face only inches from hers.
"Don't make me hurt you, little one," he laughed menacingly. "At least, not until we've had a little fun," he snarled.
Tara's blood ran cold when her eyes locked with his. They were vacant pools of nothingness, as if the man had no soul.
"Now where is the surfer?" he questioned forcefully. "And the stuff shirt has to be around here somewhere. He wouldn't have left his little girlfriend unprotected now, would he?" he mocked, causing Tara's anger to rise at the way he spoke about Myles.
"I don't know," Tara whispered, somewhat ashamed of how weak her voice sounded because she knew a large part of the apprehensiveness was due to fear. She didn't want to be afraid of this man; she wanted him to be afraid of her.
"Well, if you don't know where they are, perhaps it would be a good idea to have them come to us. It just wouldn't do to have you alone now, would it?" Kelly speculated thoughtfully. "What do you think?" he asked simply, looking at her as if he'd asked what time it was.
Tara looked at him uncertainly, her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what he was planning. Before she could react, his face turned dark and his hand rose to her neck.
"I said what do you think?" he roared, squeezing her neck at the collarbone until she let out a scream of pain.
"Thank you. I couldn't agree more," he stated, releasing her and watching her fall to the floor in a heap. "I think we should call them too," he finished, moving away slightly as he adjusted his shirtsleeves.
From the floor, Tara blinked as the blinking pain finally subsided. Turning her head, she saw him check his gun again before saying, "Ahh, here they come now."