Free Coveted by Stacey Brutger Page A

of the blade and slashed at his
attacker’s chest. The drag on his claws let him know he’d hit his mark.
    The smell of blood thickened
the air, bright rivulets shimmered in the firelight where he’d managed to shred
the guy’s chest. Just a little deeper and Aiden could’ve dug out the heart.
    The man shuddered,
his stance a little shaky, but he remained upright.
    Aiden had to finish
him quickly before they realized how easily they could overpower him.

 
     
     Chapter Eight
     
    S hayla cursed the mud. The
harder she struggled, the deeper she sank, like some damned fly on a spider’s
web, waiting for the predator to finish her off. She bit her lip, helplessly watching
Aiden fight for his life. The ferocity of it was terrifying. Aiden moved like a
seasoned warrior, his controlled moves all sleek and deadly. The other guy
didn’t have the same intensity, his bulk wasn’t built for long fights. Instead,
he used his brute strength to inflict as much damage as possible in as short
amount of time.
    Aiden should have the
edge, but his months in captivity left them more evenly matched than she’d like.
She bit her lip, twisting her body to the side, and heard a large pop as the
suction finally released its hold.
    Panting, she
scrambled to her feet, weighed down by an extra thirty pounds of mud. She
waddled toward the fight when she spotted a second man edging toward Aiden’s
unprotected back.
    She scanned the
ground, cursing her inability to see in the dark. No matter which way she
turned, she was greeted by a sea of mud, not a weapon in sight.
    Fear crawled up her
throat. Her fate was tied to Aiden. It didn’t matter that she wouldn’t survive
on her own. The thought of Aiden being hurt, shoved back into prison, crushed
the air from her lungs.
    Training took over.
Shayla crouched, eyes on her target as she smeared a fistful of mud over her
pale face. Once she was sure she could blend into the night, she scuttled toward
the second man, staying as close to the ground as possible. When she came
within ten feet from him, she picked up speed.
    Her shoulder hit him
right behind the knees. She flew under his body, skidding over the slick earth,
while her assailant landed on his back with a heavy thud.
    Already greased,
Shayla came unglued first. Flames sputtered in the mud, and she crawled toward
the torch.
    The slim man cursed,
twisting about, stuck as she had been not so long ago. When he rolled to his
side, they came face to face with the torch between them.
    Each of them froze,
staring at each other.
    Hatred contorted his
face, fear became bitter on her tongue, and any reaming doubt he wanted her
dead vanished. They both dove forward. She had a few feet advantage, but he
moved faster.
    Her fingers curled
around the base of the torch, and she grunted at the weight. When he reached to
take it from her, she quickly fell back, swinging it like a baseball bat.
    Wood connected.
    She caught him across
the face, the heavy thunk reverberating up her arm, and her stomach lurched
alarmingly at the juicy impact.
    He fell and didn’t
move.
    The sickening sounds
of flesh striking flesh caused her to whirl. She lifted the torch to see both
Aiden and his attacker grappling for purchase. His determination to protect her
at any cost glinted in his eyes, and her heart bottomed out of her chest.
    Then he just stopped
fighting.
    A lump formed in her
throat, and she lunged forward, struggling to stay on her feet. “Aiden, no!”
    Instead of replying, Aiden
bared his teeth, and the bear of a man charged. Aiden grunted at the impact and
wrapped his arms around his attacker.
    Then they were
falling backwards.
    “No!”
    Heart in her throat,
Shayla sprang toward the ridge and dropped to her knees. She nearly skidded
over the edge, tossing her weight backwards at the last possible second. Her
knees met open air when she finally came to a full stop. She waved the torch
over the rim, hoping for any sign of Aiden.
    “Damn it, are you
trying to