I Told You To Run But You Didn't (Georgia) novel Chapter 46

Chapter 46

83%

Finished

Georgia’s POV

The sun had long vanished, and the forest became a tunnel of absolute black, the only light a sliver of moon that did little to pierce the oppressive darkness.

We were driving south in a two-car convoy, slashing through the night.

Harvey’s intel suggested we were close, that the headquarters of Zane’s organization was hidden somewhere in this wilderness. The air in the car was thick with a tense, hunting energy.

Without warning, a deafening roar ripped through the might. The lead car, carrying four of Estevan’s best men, erupted in a blinding flash of fire and shrapnel, flipping through the air like a child’s toy.

Our driver slammed on the brakes, the tires screamings the car skidded sideways. At the same instant, the forest on both sides of the road exploded with the blinding muzzle flashes of automatic gunfire.

“GET DOWN!” Estevan roared.

He didn’t wait for me to react. He grabbed the back of my head with one hand, shoving me down, and covered my body with his own as bullets hammered against the armored car, the sound like a hailstorm of deadly metal.

My mind was screaming. This is wrong! I’m the bodyguard! I should be covering HIM!

“They’re flanking us!” I yelled, my voice muffled against the leather of his seat. “The treeline, on the right!”

“I see them!” he snarled, his voice a low growl in my ear. He was a dead weight on top of me, a human shield.

“Estevan, get off me!” I struggled against him, my frustration boiling over. “I can’t protect you if you’re using me as a mattress!”

A dull thud hit the roof of the car, followed by a faint metallic skittering.

“Shit! Grenade!” he cursed. “MOVE!”

He rolled off me, kicked the door open, and practically ragged me out into the chaos. We scrambled for the cover of the forest as the car erupted behind us in a secondary explosion, showering the area with debris.

We were alone, pressed against the rough bark of a massive oak, the night alive with the sound of gunfire and shouting men.

“My men can handle themselves,” he said, his breathing heavy but controlled. “They’re drawing their fire.”

“While we do what?” I demanded. “Sit here and wait to get picked off?”

He finally looked at me, his eyes blazing with a fierce, protective fire in the shifting moonlight. “My priority is keeping you alive, Georgia.”

“That’s not my priority!” I shot back. “You are! That’s the job!”

“And you are a hell of a lot more valuable to me than aw soldiers!” he roared in a harsh whisper. “NOW STAY BEHIND ME!”

O

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11:45 Sat, Mar 7 A M

Chapter 46

སཾཏྟཱི 93%Ë

Finished

He pulled me behind him, and we moved deeper into the trees, the sounds of the firefight growing more distant. The forest was a maze of dancing shadows and silver light, every rustle of leaves a potential threat. We stopped, pressing our backs against a large rock formation, listening.

The gunfire had stopped. A chilling silence fell.

“What’s the plan?” I whispered, my hand on the grip of my pistol.

He looked at me, a slow, predatory smile touching his lips.

“The plan,” he murmured, “is that now, we hunt.”

We moved like shadows through the forest, the moonlight painting a treacherous path of silver and black. Every snap of a twig, every rustle of leaves, sent a jolt of adrenaline through me.

We were the hunters, but we were also the prey.

We stopped, pressing our backs against the ancient trunks of two massive redwoods. I was scanning the ridge to our left when a metallic click, echoed from directly in front of us.

Zane stepped out from behind a thicket of ferns, his face a hard, emotionless mask in the moonlight. His pistol was already raised, aimed not at Estevan, but at me.

“Step away from him, Georgia,” he commanded, his voice cold as a grave.

My heart shattered. “Zane, please,” I begged, taking a half-step forward, my own hands held up in a placating gesture. “You don’t have to do this. Come with me. We can leave, we can figure this out. Estevan….. he can give you a second chance.”

A short, ugly, humorless laugh escaped his lips. “A second chance? From him?” He shook his head, a look of pure pity and disgust on his face. “You’ve been with this monster for a month and you’re already completely blind.” His eyes turned to ice. “I don’t care if you die tonight, Georgia. You made your choice when you decided to protect him. You are acceptable collateral damage.” He raised his aim slightly, centering the weapon on my chest. “Now, for the last time. Step away

“You would kill your own sister?” Estevan snarled, his voice a low, vicious rumble beside me.

Before I could even process the full, horrifying weight of the betrayal, Zane’s jaw tightened. He pulled th trigger.

The world slowed. I saw the flash from the barrel, the cold, dead look in my brother’s eyes.

Then a hand like a steel vise clamped onto the front of my tactical vest. Estevan lunged, yanking me backward with so much force my feet left the ground.

The bullet that was meant for my heart whizzed past my ear with a sharp crack, embedding itself deep in the tree where I had just been standing,

He held me there for a second, pressed against his chest his body a solid, living shield. The world came rushing back in a wave of ringing silence.

He shot me.

My brother. The boy who taught me how to ride a bike, who scared away the monsters under my bed, who I had mourned for seven long years… he just tried to kill me!

川

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2/3

11:45 Sat,

Chapter 46

83%

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