Hugging my bag to my chest, I glance left, then right.
Are they going to mug me?
Will I seriously be okay with them snatching my bag?
No! I won’t!
My laptop’s in there. It’s the most important thing I own. I won’t let them take it.
Mr. Gross licks his lips again, and I’m hit by the ugly thought that maybe they’re not interested in my bag at all.
I swallow, the lump in my throat rough and painful.
“What are you doing out here all alone?” Skinhead grins at me.
A cloud of vapor blooms past my cheek, and I turn my head away, struggling not to gag.
“I like your hair,” one of them whispers.
My neck prickles as his fingers skim down the back of my unbrushed locks.
I flinch away from him. “Don’t touch me!”
“Oooo!” They all start to laugh.
“You’re just lookin’ so touchable, sweet cheeks.”
“Yeah, we could use a little entertainment.”
“Help us out. We’re not gonna hurt you.”
Yeah, right!
I can picture exactly how they want to use me for entertainment, and it’s making bile surge up my throat.
Five guys?
I’m not strong enough to fight off five.
I probably couldn’t even fight off one!
Shit!
I never should have left home.
I am so screwed right now, and I have no one to help me.
I think about screaming, but who the hell is going to hear me?
These guys will be done and gone before anyone is going to come to my rescue.
Tears burn my eyes as the reality of my situation hits like an iron fist.
They’re going to have their way with me, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Sure, I’ll fight.
I’ll give it my best shot, but—
A hand glides down my arm, and I jump away like it burned me. This gets them laughing again, and they start taking turns, reaching out to touch me.
I scream and lash out with my feet and fists, but then the biggest one grabs me from behind. He lifts my flailing feet off the ground and starts carrying me toward the forest.
“No!” I scream again. “Don’t do this!”
My cries are feral, fear making me wrench and writhe. I refuse to drop my bag, still aware that I don’t want to hurt my computer.
They’re all laughing like this is some big game, but the sound is cut off when a car comes barreling into the rest stop.
It accelerates toward us like it’s going to mow us down, and it takes me a minute to realize that… hey, that’s my car!
The guys scatter so they don’t get run over, but then the car comes to a screeching halt and Deeks jumps out of it.
“Let her go!”
His eyes are on fire, his face distorted with rage. Somehow it’s beautiful, and I don’t understand why. He’s a bruised and bloody mess. Yet he looks ready to slay the guys trying to hurt me.
Running around the car, he takes down the guy closest to him with a quick jab to the jugular.
How did he do that so fast?
My mouth pops open as Mr. Vape lunges toward him.
Deeks doesn’t even look flustered as he turns to his opponent, his fists at the ready.
Mr. Vape, in spite of the fact that he’s bigger than Deeks, is punched in the nose, kneed in the groin and then kicked aside, his head smashing into the wing mirror before he hits the dirt.
His vape rolls away, pinging over rocks, while the guy who has me trapped drops me to my feet and runs into the fray.
I should run too.
I should hide.
Or jump into my car and take off.
But Deeks is taking on this army of lecherous guys… for me.
Right?
I mean, he came back for me.
The thought freezes my feet to the ground, and all I can do is clutch my bag and watch this fighter act like freaking Jackie Chan and John Wick all rolled into one.
14
Five to One Odds
Five guys, most of them bigger than me.
Taking them on was a pretty stupid idea, but when I pulled up to the rest stop and saw the fear on Kena’s face, something snapped.
Her scream sent rocket fire right through me, and all I could do was act.
It feels good to unleash a little hell.
I’ve been needing this all damn day.
Satisfaction shoots up my arm—the pleasure of my knuckles sinking into this guy’s stomach, his grunt of pain.
Throwing him aside, I focus on my next target.
It’s two of them, and they’re coming at me like charging bulls.
I brace myself, hunching down and raising my guard.
Quick feet.
Efficient movements.
I know the drill.
Narrowing my focus, I block and defend, striking like a viper when they least expect it.
A hammer fist sends me sideways, but I counter with a front kick to the torso, knocking the first opponent back. He stumbles, nearly tripping over his downed buddy. But he rights himself against the car and lunges back while I fend off a sloppy punch from the guy on my left.
I bat it away with ease, raising my right arm to defend the downward punch and not even seeing the attack from behind.
Hot pain slices along my ribs and I grunt, dropping to my knee for a second. The second slice gets my arm, and I rear back with a head butt, my yell loud and feral.
The two big guys converge on me together, and for a moment, I’m pummeled by battering fists and one kick to the thigh.
I yell again, channeling whatever Hulk I can muster.
Rolling away from the beating, I smash into the guy writhing behind me. He’s holding his face and groaning, blood spilling from his nose.
The knife he used to slice me up is lying beside him and I scramble for it, grunting as another kick lands in my back.
Snatching it up, I whip around and bury the knife into one guy’s sneaker.
He howls, jumping away and screeching.
The hideous noise seems to put off his partner, who takes a hesitant step back.
His pale eyebrows wrinkle, and then he shakes his head, running after his hopping friend and helping him to the car.
The other guys struggle to their feet, moaning and whimpering as they limp away. Doors slam shut and an engine revs high before squealing out of the rest stop.
I watch the cloud of dust dissipate, finally letting go of my breath.
My head flops back, hitting a rock behind me. I softly hiss.
I’m aching all over, but adrenaline is pumping through me.
It felt good to fight.
To protect.
Kena.
My eyes pop open and I lift my head, scanning for her.
She’s standing by the car, her hand resting on the door. Her black-rimmed eyes are huge, and her chest is heaving like she’s just run a marathon… or come out of a horror movie.
She’s so pale.
Her fingers curl around the top of the open door, and she stares at me.
Our eyes connect for a long beat, and she tells me everything without saying a word.
She wants to split. To get as far away from this nightmare as possible.
She’ll speed to wherever the hell she’s going, and I don’t blame her.
This is her chance to run.
I’d take it.
Anyone with half a brain would.
Closing my eyes, I rest my head back down, letting the world spin.