How is Jaeger going to get out of this?
The thugs surround Jaeger, and the suit draws a gun.
“Jaeger!” I scream. His head whips around, and I point to the suited thug. “Look out!”
Two of the thugs dart in to grab him. He tussles, but they grab his arms and hold him.
The suit raises the gun and takes aim.
“No!” I shriek and torpedo forward. I’m not armed. The only thing I have are my crutches, so I swing one upward and hurl it with all my might.
Jaeger
The thugs areclose enough that I can smell their bad breath. I peer beyond the men to see Elodie reach the end of the alley and raise my cell to make a call.
Soon, she’ll be safe. That’s all that matters.
The suit is droning on about his plan to get us to take a nice, quiet ride across the river so I can transfer money from my bank to Umberto’s. I make note of the name. He’s just moved to the top of my own list of People I Want to Kill, right after these goons.
There’s a shriek and a blur of motion. Elodie screams for me to look out.
Two thugs grab me, and I’m too focused on Elodie to care that the suit has brought out a gun.
“No!” Elodie cries.
A crutch goes flying through the air and hits the suit in the face.
There’s a blast, and a bullet ricochets off the brick wall behind Elodie.
And the beast breaks free. Rage pumps through my bloodstream. The world goes still, covered in a red haze.
I have to protect my woman. She needs me.
I wrench my arms, pulling the men who hold me. They fall off balance, and I crack their heads together. They go down for good, and I leap over them, heading for the suit.
He’s turned toward Elodie, and now she’s facing down a gun barrel. The blood has drained from her face, leaving her freckles stark on her pale cheeks. The man is saying something. Threatening her.
It’ll be his last mistake.
I hit him like a linebacker, and we crash to the ground. His head strikes the pavement. So does his gun hand. The weapon goes skidding away.
I slam the man’s head into the ground again and again. Blood spatters on my face, but I don’t stop until he’s dead.
Elodie’s nearby, huddled against the wall. Once he’s taken care of, I race to get between her and the rest of the thugs.
More men come to tackle me like I tackled their leader. I dodge them, then attack them one by one. Break their bones. Crack their skulls. Let their brains ooze out like overripe fruit.
A crack of a bullet. Something bites at my side.
Damn, I forgot to secure the gun. There are no weapons in the fighting ring. I forgot where I was.
I whirl around, and pain lances my side. But I can deal with the pain.
Something clatters at my feet. A wooden crutch. I snatch it up and use it like a club to beat down the man with the gun. He tries to shoot me again, but he’s not fast enough. His blood paints the sidewalk.
I stagger back, feeling light-headed. Blood loss. I remember this feeling from my time in the ring. I hit the wall and let it support me as I slide down to the ground.
The alley is full of the crumpled shapes of my victims. Good.
