Her heart hammering, Aleida planted her stockinged left foot in the damp, cold grass, and she lifted her right knee.
Ducking her chin to her chest, she could see the evening bag. The drawstrings had loosened, and the satin draped over Beatrice’s hand and gun.
Aleida worked off her shoe and took a slow breath.
With her knee still raised, she slid her left hand up between her knee and her stomach.
Now!
Aleida grabbed the gun, jerked it forward as hard as she could. Her hand slipped off the sleek fabric, and she plunged to a crouching position.
Beatrice cried out, tumbled forward, and braced her fall with both hands. Steel thumped on the ground.
Aleida scrambled to her feet, ran through the trees, back onto the pathway.
Fingernails tore at her arm, and Beatrice clamped her hand on Aleida’s wrist.
So hard, Aleida screamed.
“How dare you?” Beatrice yanked Aleida’s arm, spun her around. “Filthy little foreigner.”
One hand circled Aleida’s throat, then another.
Aleida gagged, gasped, tried to work her fingers in to Beatrice’s grip.
The woman bore down.
Aleida—she couldn’t breathe.
She stomped on Beatrice’s foot, pitiful, powerless.
Beatrice hovered over her, tall, strong, cruel, fury burning in her dark eyes in the dark night.
Embers of that fire danced in Aleida’s sight.
Her lungs swelled, her mind spun, woozy and woozier.
No! She couldn’t fall unconscious.
Her hands—her hands were free! She jammed them into Beatrice’s hair, pulled and tugged and scraped diamond-encrusted combs along Beatrice’s scalp.
Beatrice grunted in protest, loosened her grip, bore down again.
Aleida had been a younger sister, a younger cousin. She knew how to be annoying.
She gripped Beatrice’s cheek, dug her fingernails in hard, pulled out her lip, poked her nails deep into moist tissue, jammed a finger up her nose. The eyes! She clawed upward, aimed one fingernail—
Beatrice writhed, cried out, tried to break free.
Forgot about strangulation. Released her grip.
Aleida planted her hands on the woman’s chest and shoved with all her might.
Beatrice screamed and fell back. A thud as her head hit the path.
Aleida dropped to her knees beside her, scraping her palms on the pavement.
Gasping for breath, she scrabbled up to her feet, swayed.
