Obsessed (The Lizzy Gardner Series) by T.R. Ragan

final destination without using much energy.
    Dumbass didn’t listen to his buddy’s advice, though. He screamed like a banshee as he lunged for her.
    When she sliced his arm, blood sprayed across his friend’s face.
    Somebody pounded on the door.
    “I’m not done yet,” Hayley shouted to whoever might be trying to get in, her adrenaline pumping.
    Dumbass yelled at his twin mongrel to do something.
    The other idiot tried to come to his feet, but didn’t manage it before she drove all her ninety-five (not eighty) pounds, along with her metal-covered knuckles, into his nose.
    He toppled over again, coughing, blood spurting, both chubby hands clutching his face.
    It sounded as if a stampede of people were on the other side of the door, pushing and trying to knock it down.
    “Calm down, people, I’m coming out.” Hayley bent over and reached into the idiot’s back pocket for his subcompact Glock 26, a small, versatile gun with a short barrel. She checked the magazine clip to make sure it was loaded, then pulled the slide, put her finger on the trigger and opened the door.
    There were six guys lining the hallway, three on each side.
    “Who’s next?”
    One brave soul stepped in front of her, blocking her way.
    “Let her through,” Wolf ordered.
    He moved out of her way. In fact, they all did as Wolf said and parted like the Red Sea, making just enough room for Hayley to walk by. Gun raised, she took her sweet time moving down the hallway.
    Wolf stood across the room by the door, arms crossed. Despite the gun and what she’d done to his bodyguards, he had full control and they both knew it. Seven to one would be hard to beat. What Hayley had now, though, was respect. She hoped that was enough to get her out of there in one piece. “Where’s Kitally?” she asked.
    He gestured with his chin outside. “What’s your story, bitch?”
    “It’s simple. I need a name. Until I get one, a pregnant Kiki is going to remain behind bars.”
    “Is that a threat?”
    “Nope. Just stating the facts.”
    “What are you, a cop?”
    “Just a girl looking for a name.”
    Wolf looked at her for a moment longer, peering into her eyes as if hoping to read her mind, then opened the door and held out his hand, palm up.
    She turned over the gun to him and walked outside, knowing she might catch a bullet between her shoulder blades before she reached the end of the street.
    Kitally was waiting for her at the bottom of the porch stairs. Neither of them said a word as they walked off.

CHAPTER 9
    With a spine-jolting thud, Seth’s right front wheel dropped into a pothole, jerking him forward and slamming his chest into the steering wheel. Lucky for him, the front wheel came out as easily as it went in.
    Don’t panic. Stay calm. Never mind the dead body in the trunk.
    It was dark out. With the headlights turned off, he could hardly see two feet in front of him, but he didn’t want to risk being seen.
    The wheels were out of alignment now and kept pulling to the right.
    He stopped for a moment to wipe perspiration from his eyeglasses, then rolled down his window and listened for traffic above him on Highway 50. All he learned was that the frogs in the area were not yet hibernating. There had to be a large body of water nearby, because they were deafening. Since there were fewer trees to his right, he decided it was time to cut off the dirt road and hope he wouldn’t get stuck.
    With the window down, he drove at a snail’s pace through muddy soil covered with thick layers of dead leaves. He wasn’t the only one jostled around as the car bounced over rough terrain. Every time he hit a bump, he heard the body clunk and roll.
    The stench seeped through the vents, making the drive nearly unbearable. Once he could no longer see the dirt road behind him, he turned off the ignition, jumped out and sucked in a lungful of fresh air.
    Without that god-awful smell clogging his brain, Seth could finally think. His first thought was about