The Ghost [Marvel | Steve Rogers]

Chapter 17

But just as she was about to turn the key in the lock, the back of her neck was abruptly prickling as the sound of unfamiliar footsteps sounded behind her. Unease was suddenly flooding through her as the bottom seemed to drop out of her stomach, a distant, anxious part of her mind recognizing that the footsteps belonged to at least three different men. It also recognized that they were closing in on her.

Turning, her eyes confirmed what her ears had told her, flicking between three men in dark, nondescript clothing that neither drew attention nor would hinder any movement. With a flash of apprehension, she realized she hadn't heard them follow her up...meaning they had been waiting for her. Panic flared through Nina, and with a jerk she swung her bag around into the face of the man stepping closer. With a grumbling sound, he batted the backpack away, snatching hold of it and wrenching it from her hand. As he did, Nina's muscles were already coiling to make a run for it.

But before she could even take the first step, a large hand was closing around her upper arm, the grip painfully tight as another of the men yanked her almost off her feet as he pulled her closer to him. With a dull, cracking thud, her phone fell to the floor.

With the efficiency of those who had done this before, the other two men immediately turned for the stairs Nina had just climbed, one looking around warily as he covered their exit, the other grabbing hold of Nina's other arm, helping to speed her along, making Nina's attempts to drag her feet pointless.

No matter the desperate protests and anxious questions falling from her mouth, they paid her little mind, seemingly unconcerned that someone could hear them kidnapping her—they were kidnapping her!—save a hard shake to unbalance her so she would stop dragging her feet and start down the stairs.

If anything, that made her even more fearful. What kind of kidnappers weren't concerned with being caught in the act? Her heart thrummed with terror, feeling like it was about to hammer right up her throat.

Every instinct in Nina screamed to resist, but as they tugged her down the stairs, she forced herself to hold off, the small voice in the back of her head that sounded an awful lot like her mother reminding her to be smart, to plan...to take advantage.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs and ducked around to head for the back of the building, Nina caught sight of a dark SUV waiting outside as the third man went ahead of them to prop open the door. It was then that the man to Nina's left let out a half-hearted huff, glancing over to his companion over Nina's head.

"For all that we were cautioned about this one, she really isn't putting up much of a fight. You're sure this is the one we're after? I was expecting, well, more." Nina nearly bristled, but she forced herself to remain calm, working on getting her still racing pulse back under control. She needed to keep her head. On her other side, the first man harrumphed, glancing down at Nina with an expression bordering on disdain. She could only look back at him with wide, frightened eyes...not entirely affected. But as he looked away, he appeared to relax minutely, the tension across his shoulders loosening as he answered his friend.

It was what she'd been waiting for.

"He said the girl, so we got the girl. Why he wants her or what he's intending to do with her once we get her back to the base is—" With a sharp jerk, Nina had twisted herself free from one hard grip and, turning under the second guy's arm, whirled to slam a hard kick into the back of his knee before using all of her weight to shove him into the wall to their right.

They should have done their homework. At her mother's insistence, Nina had been learning a range of martial arts and self-defence skills since she was a kid—her mom had always insisted she know how to defend herself. And she was good; she was fast and she was stronger than she looked. She was no helpless little girl.