Chapter 3
Jamie was frightened. The man from the train and his friend had followed her, and now he held her wrist so tight she knew there would be a bruise there soon.
The man who had introduced himself as Charles began pulling her down the block. She tried to resist, but with her small frame and high-heeled strappy sandals, she wasn't having much luck.
"I don't want to have a drink with you," she said, swinging her handbag at him and pulling back hard, squatting low to try and pull him off balance.
Her captor batted her bag away, his smile becoming wolfish. "Jim, give me a hand here, will you?" His head swung around. "Jim? Where the heck did you go?"
Jamie's head swiveled, looking for his companion. The business jerk took the opportunity to pull her off-balance, tugging her into him so that his arms went around her waist.
"Let me go!" she yelled, fear lacing through her like a thousand needles of ice.
"You heard her," a voice said from behind them. For a moment she thought it was his friend who was trying to make Charles come to his senses, but a glance into the jerk's confused face proved otherwise.
"Mind your own business, pal," Charles said, starting to walk them down the block again.
"This is my business,pal."
Jamie craned her neck around to try and catch sight of the speaker. Over the jerk's shoulder, she could make out an average-looking man with brown hair wearing a jacket over a t-shirt and jeans. She silently sent her thanks to the concerned citizen.
"It's just a little lover's quarrel," Charles said, giving the bystander an easy smile. "She'll forgive me in a minute, won't you honey?"
"No! The only quarrel here is that I won't be your lover. Now let me go, dammit!"
"Listen to the lady, unless you want to get hurt."
The concerned citizen certainly was brave. The business jerk had at least four inches and forty pounds on him. Jamie cheered him on in her mind as she went back to trying to break Charles's grip on her.
"Beat it, man," Charles said, his voice becoming rough. "The only one who will get hurt is you if you don't fuck off, buddy."
"Don't say I didn't warn you." The bystander's hand grabbed the back of the jerk's neck and pulled. Suddenly Charles's grip was gone.
And so was Charles.
Jamie was still in the process of resisting, so the absence of his hold caused her to tumble to the pavement. When she looked up, she realized that the businessman was now twenty yards away, lying on the ground.
How did that happen?
"Are you hurt?" The concerned citizen was bending over her; his face etched with anger.
"I'm okay," she said, and suddenly she was upright. The bystander had lifted her to her feet in such a fluid motion that it took her a moment to realize that she was standing again. "Uh, thank you."
The man nodded, then looked down the sidewalk at Charles who was just starting to regain his footing. "You son of a bitch," the enraged businessman said, walking a few paces to pick up his shoulder bag. "I don't know how you got the drop on me, but it won't happen again."
Jamie looked into the bystander's face. His eyebrow cocked at Charles's words, his expression making a definitive statement.Bring it on.
Charles picked up his pace, jogging back to his rival until he was close enough to lunge at the man.
The bystander easily sidestepped his clumsy attack, moving so quickly that he circled behind the businessman, planting a foot in his behind and causing Charles to hit the ground hard enough to slide along it for several feet.
"Fuck!" The downed man groaned, turning over to reveal an angry abrasion on his face from where it had met the pavement.
"Do yourself a favor," her rescuer said. "Stay down."
"I'll sue you for this," Charles said, wiping the blood off his cheek. "After I kick your ass."
The bystander shrugged off the threat and waited for the businessman to stand. Charles was slower this time, his body obviously a bundle of aches.
