Victor’s fist connects solidly with the jaw of one asshole, who falls to the ground and stays there for a moment. A ghost of a smile appears on my lips. Two other guys charge at Victor at the same time, but he brings them to their knees with a kick in the gut and the head. They’re both on the ground, one unconscious and the other probably seeing stars.
The Bull will show them they made a mistake. Victor’s body is a lethal machine—efficient and accurate. We may have a chance to escape this unharmed.
Charlie blows a frustrated breath in my ear. Suddenly a gleam of something shiny catches my eye and I gasp.Can’t be. Charlie pushes the knife to my throat, the sharp blade grazing my soft skin. I don’t want to swallow or make the smallest movement.
“You losers. I always have to finish your business,” he hisses at his friends. “Victor, you might want to stop fighting back.”
Victor finally looks at me and gasps. His gaze darts from me to Charlie and back.
“I’m okay, Victor. Finish them.”
I’m surprised at the onset of bravery. Charlie has one arm trapping mine to my side and his other arm is around my neck with a blade pointed awfully close to my pulsing vein. Would Charlie really push the blade through my flesh?
My heart sinks to my stomach as my alert mind brings up the last time Charlie pointed a knife at me. And the skin around the stab wound on my shoulder prickles, making me hyperaware of the significance of the situation.
I have no doubt Charlie would press the blade into my flesh. But if it means keeping Victor safe, I’m willing to take my chances.
I wiggle in Charlie’s hold.
“Tia, stop moving,” Victor shouts.
“Let him go, Charlie. You have me now. Let him go.” My voice cracks at the end.
Charlie releases me an inch and steps to my side. His eyes are wide and wild. His lips are parted as if he wants to say something. And then in a flash, craziness returns to his icy eyes. He gets a tight hold of me again. But the knife is not close to my neck anymore.
“Victor, stop resisting or… well, you can imagine,” Charlie says in a toneless voice. His head is behind me, and I imagine his eyes turning red and nostrils flaring.
If the blade cuts through my throbbing vein, well, fight’s over and I’m down for the count—but isn’t there a chance Charlie will miss? My eyes moisten as I reassure myself of my decision.
“Victor, don’t stop. Fight. Do it, please,” I beg him.
Victor scans my face, then he squeezes his eyes shut for a second. When he reopens them, the spark is gone, the fight is over. He drops his fists to his sides and hunches his shoulders. With a bowed head, Victor only lifts his gaze slightly. His eyes are soulless—devoid of any emotion, any warmth. He shifts his gaze to Charlie and his glare is cold, freezing the marrow of my bones.
All six guys, who by now have recovered, attack at the same time, bringing Victor down to his knees with hard blows to his ribs. His hands fly to the side of his stomach, but the kicks and punches don’t stop. With each attempt to take a breath, Victor grimaces. I can’t blink—everything is happening so fast. One last punch to his head, and blood flows from Victor’s nose.
I twist and move and push in Charlie’s arms. His puppets glance at him, knowing their work is done, and quickly walk into the hustle of the sidewalk. Charlie releases me and without a glance, jogs out to the light.
I dash to Victor’s limp body. I kneel and quickly check his pulse—something I’ve done many times after my mom has passed out.
He’s strong. He has a strong pulse.I tell myself and want to believe it.
“Victor?”
He’s conscious, eyes shut and hunched over in pain. I pull my phone out of my jeans pocket and dial Alek.
“Hey, Twinkle.”
“Alek, I need you guys to help me drive Victor to the hospital.” I describe what happened in a few sentences while Alek frantically yells for Abi to get to the valet to pick up the rental car.
“Tell me where you are.”
“In a dark alley. Between two buildings. I don’t know where we are.”
“Twinkle, you’ll have to get to the street and describe what you see.”
I place my free hand on Victor’s bloody face. “I’ll be back,” I tell Victor while still on the phone with my brother.
I reluctantly pull away from his side and run to the street and describe the hotel in front of me, the water fountain, and a busy restaurant on the other side of the street.
