Gathering my courage, I lift my head and see Ace looking me up and down. His eyes are dark and assessing.
“Yo, stop messing around. We got things to do. Let’s go.” His friend grabs his shoulder.
Yes. Go. Please!
Ace shrugs his friend off. “I remember hearing something beeping when I was at that school.”
“Which one? Redwood?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re saying this chick goes to Redwood?”
Ace steps closer to me, crowding my space. “I think she was with that Asian guy.”
I tremble and grab the knife tighter while trying to make myself as small as possible. The elevator doors are wide open, but no one is getting on, and Ace is not getting off.
“She doesn’t look like a Redwood chick. Aren’t they supposed to be rich and hot?”
My heart thuds painfully.
Ace grabs my chin and wrenches my head up.
I grunt and wield the knife at him. He laughs and smacks it out of my hands.
My only weapon clatters to the ground.
Ace’s grip on my chin tightens. His eyes are hard as marbles, and my watch screams bloody murder.
“Yeah, it sounded just like this.” His smile reveals uneven, yellow teeth. “You’re the blonde who threatened to call the police.”
Behind him, the elevator doors are closing fast.
It’s my only escape, but Ace has me pinned to the wall. I’m a fly in a spider’s web, stuck with no way out. Even worse, my chest is tightening painfully the more I see my window of escape closing.
Ace presses forward. His putrid breath washes over me as he leans down and whispers, “Where’s your boyfriend now?”
Black spots dance in front of my eyes.
I clutch my chest, struggling for air.
“Answer me!” Ace slams his hand into the wall by my head.
I flinch and bend over as the pain from my racing heart stabs through each and every one of my ribs. My mouth opens, but no sound comes out.
His friends look on, amused smiles on their faces.
Is this how I die? In the elevator of the hospital? Surrounded by thugs?
I watch with waning hope as the elevator door becomes a sliver.
It’s over.
Suddenly, a hand slides into the middle of the tiny line of space left and stops the elevator from closing. The world is a spinning top around me, and my chest feels like someone is prying at my ribs, but I force myself to remain upright. I need to stay conscious long enough to beg for help from whoever entered.
A walking shadow storms into the small space.
Cold brown eyes pierce into mine.
