“Someone thinks highly of herself.”
“I don’t make empty threats. I back them up with bruises, and sometimes broken bones. Want me to demonstrate?”
“If you have the guts. Which I doubt, since you’re standing there talking instead of coming for me.”
The way he sayscoming for mein a heavily suggestive tone makes me shiver with disgust. My teeth clench and my body tenses for a jump. I’ve lost my momentum, but I’m fairly sure I could still make the leap across the alley, between the rooftops, and close the gap between us.
“Come on, sweetheart,” he taunts. “Come and get me, or go home like a good girl.”
Thatgood girlis the final straw. Renewing my grip on the knife, I back up a few steps, run, and jump.
My sock feet land on the ledge where he stands—and then they slip.
I sway backward, my lungs seizing with terror, my heart in my throat as the height of the drop flashes through my mind. We’re four stories up. Even if I don’t die, I’ll break multiple bones.
The man’s gloved hand darts out. Clasps around my throat. Yanks me onto the ledge with him.
I’m taller than most women I know, but he’s half a head taller than me. Muscles swell against the black knit fabric covering his arms. His teeth are gritted, an unnerved energy radiating from him, like he surprised himself by grabbing me.
“Let go, asshole,” I hiss.
“Are you sure you want me to?”
I shift one foot forward, grip his forearm, and twist, pivoting my body and his with a swift fluidity he doesn’t expect. But he’s also more solidly planted than I thought, so instead of reversing our places and puttinghisback to the drop-off, I only end up moving him a couple of steps. I have better footing now, but I can’t break his iron grip on my throat.
I’ve still got the knife in my other hand. I jab it forward with the vicious speed of a striking serpent, but he catches mywrist. With a squeeze so brutal that I gasp in pain, he whips me around and pins me in a headlock, with my back to his chest.
“Motherfu—” I jab my elbow into his side. I’m thin, so my elbows are especially sharp, and he grunts at the force of the blow. I turn my head to the side, tuck my chin, and drop, squeezing out of the crook of his arm.
Savagely I stab at his ribs, but he blocks me again. This time he draws his own knife, raking it at me so fast he opens a shallow cut along my upper arm.
I spin and ram a kick into his groin. My aim is a little off, but he still doubles over, and I knee him in the face.
With a pained bellow, he wraps both arms around my waist and barrels me backward along the ledge so fast that my heart jolts, terrified that we’ll both fall off. My back collides with a brick chimney, hard enough that I feel it shake.
“Enough,” the man spits through the blood dripping from his masked nose, over his lips. “You need to go home and stay there for a few days, if you know what’s good for you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I struggle in his grip, trying to get the knife blade into his body.
“Do yourself a favor and lie low for a while. And when I let go of you, stay here and be still. I’d rather not have to kill you, but I will do it if you keep this up.”
In answer, I slam my forehead against his.
“Ow, shit!” he exclaims, and as his grip loosens, I jab the knife into his side. It’s lower than it should be for a killing blow, but I’m hoping he’ll bleed out before he gets to a healer.
Sudden pain shears through my right ass cheek. He fucking stabbed me. My body was still pinned to the chimney, too close to his, and I didn’t move away fast enough after wounding him.
With a screech of rage through my clenched teeth, I side-step to get clear of the chimney and out of his immediate range. I have to relinquish my grip on my own blade in the process,leaving it between his ribs.. His knife is still in my ass, and I close my fingers reflexively around the hilt, debating whether or not to pull it out.
“You just stabbed me in the ass, you obnoxious fuckwad,” I seethe.
“You stabbed me first.” He looks down at my knife, protruding from his left side. “Didn’t hit any vitals, though.”
“My mistake. Let me just fix that.” I start toward him, but the pain in my rear spikes dramatically. As it turns out, butt muscles are fairly essential for walking. “You piece of shit,” I gasp.
“Hurts, eh?” His mouth quirks. “You want me to pull it out and put it somewhere else?”
Instead of replying, I yank the blade out of my butt cheek and throw it at him.
