Frozen Web

Chapter 9

Natasha's heart hammered in her chest, but she forced herself to stay calm. He didn't know the building, and he certainly didn't know about the second story. It looked for all the world like a low roof. Thank heavens she'd pulled up the rope ladder. It wasn't impossible to scramble up to the second story without a rope, but it was pretty difficult—and if Loki tried it, she'd have time to dash out another way. There were plenty of ways down, even if she had to go through the floor.

She could hear Loki's light steps as he explored the shed (not that there was much to explore). She caught herself holding her breath and mentally chastised herself; there was no way he could hear that well, even if he was ungodly devious.

But apparently he couldn't contain his need to taunt her any longer, because after several tense seconds, she heard his rich chuckle fill the shed.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," he called out, his filled with amusement. "You can't initiate such intense foreplay and then cut me off. I'm dying to finish what we started upstairs."

Natasha heard him walking closer to where the rope ladder had hung. She could even see him a little through the cracked floor boards. He wasn't in a hurry; he was enjoying his stroll.

"Maybe you're not even in here," he continued. "But I doubt you've gone far either way. I know you wouldn't leave your precious Agent Barton."

Natasha's stomach twisted at the mention of Clint.

"He's still alive, you know," Loki said casually. "At least, he was when I left him. And if I can't find you now, maybe I'll just entertain myself with him until you reappear. It would be awfully difficult for him to draw a bow without any fingers."

Natasha fought the urge to leap to her feet and confront Loki. She knew it was exactly what he wanted—for her to think with her heart instead of her head and end up making a stupid mistake. She had to wait until he left. No matter what he said, she couldn't react.

Loki paused underneath her, as if waiting for an answer. When he didn't hear anything, he just shrugged.

"Maybe your sense of self-preservation is stronger than your loyalty," he said. "Let's find out, shall we? But don't take too long to decide, little spider—I don't think Agent Barton will last very long once I get started on him."

Giving the room one last glance, he turned and left, leaving Natasha alone with her chaotic thoughts. She weighed her options, but none of them looked good. She'd gotten through to Steve, so eventually her team would find her. But what if it wasn't fast enough? She could never forgive herself if Clint didn't make it out of this—especially after everything he'd done for her.

Oh, stop lying to yourself, a mental voice berated her. You're not doing this because you owe him. You're doing it because you love him.

Her instincts screamed at her to stay where she was and wait for backup, but she just couldn't make herself listen. Instead, she tossed down the rope ladder and climbed down, watching for Loki the whole time. She didn't doubt he would go torture Clint just to be spiteful, but at the same time, he was tricky enough to be waiting for her outside.

She snuck out of the shed, scanning the space between her and Clint's cabin. Nothing. There was no sign of Loki. Cautiously, she inched forward, giving wide birth to the driveway and staying as hidden as possible behind the trees. She still didn't see Loki, so she risked diving behind her car and slowly opening the back door. If she was going to mount a rescue attempt, she was at least going to go in armed. She didn't want her hands to be too full, so she just grabbed her favorite handgun. It's not like she could store a weapon anywhere with her current outfit.

She crept to the front porch but decided it would be smarter to sneak in the kitchen door. Really, either way she went, she'd be exposed going for the basement door—where she'd figured out Loki was stashing Clint. Otherwise, why wouldn't he have let her go downstairs to use the kickboxing mat? Clint was down there, and she had to get to him. Her best chance would be to surprise Loki and shoot him before he could react.

She made it to the back door without seeing Loki (and she was keeping a very sharp eye out for him). She hoped he was already downstairs, because then it would be easier for her to creep inside. She eased the door open and ventured a peek—no Loki. So she slipped in, scanning the area warily. The kitchen was next to the downstairs bathroom, which was on the far end of the house, and shared a wall with the guest bedroom, which was also attached to the bathroom. Other than that, it was only separated from the rest of the downstairs by the kitchen counters. There really were no places to hide in the big room. Loki must have been in the basement already. She'd deal with him when she got down there. Even if he heard her coming, she might still be able to pop him—she was a very fast draw.

Natasha inched further into the kitchen, jumping around the only corner with her gun drawn—but Loki wasn't around it, thank goodness. She let herself breathe a sigh of relief, grateful for the momentary reprieve.

Then she heard the bathroom door open.

She whirled around, gun drawn, only for Loki to backhand her hard enough that she smacked into the bedroom wall. The force of the collision knocked her gun from her hand, and it skidded away from her towards the kitchen counter. She recovered quickly and made a dive for it, but Loki was quicker, slamming a boot onto her hand. She felt something crack and sizzling pain like an electric shot flared through her hand. Biting back the urge to scream, she tried to grab at her gun with her free hand, but Loki's other leg was in the way.

"You humans and your stupid sentimentality," he chuckled, grinning down at her malevolently. "I knew you won't leave Agent Barton to die."

"I've already called the Avengers," Natasha told him. "They'll be here any minute. You should leave while you have some chance of escaping."

But Loki just laughed. "Come now, Agent Romanov, I know you're a level-headed woman. If they were going to be here soon, you would have waited for them. The fact that you charged in alone testifies that you're not expecting them yet. And that gives us plenty of time to play."