The sound made me jolt, but I angled my head up, chin defiant.
“I work for Frank.”
I guess I didn’t expect the strike to come so fast, so hard. But his fist collided with my jaw. It may as well have been concrete with how hard it was, how much it hurt.
“Hey, I don’t want her all bloody when I get to her,” Frank grumbled, sounding like a petulant child throwing a fit. A fit that he would have to look at a little blood on my face when herapedme.
How was this real life?
How did I work for such a monster?
Pain pulsed.
I could hardly think past it.
But a movement caught my eye.
The pit boss was trying to inch toward me.
I gave a small shake of my head that the men would take for a reaction to the punch. But it stopped her cold.
I glanced toward the purse, back to her, then the purse again, before settling on her, willing her to know what I was telling her to do.
Get in there.
Get the damn door lock.
Did I have high hopes for us fighting our way out of this? No. But it was better than sitting around being tortured for hours.
Her hand inched slowly toward my bag, so I glanced back up at my attacker, hoping to distract him.
“It takes a really small man to feel big by hitting little women,” I said, the words sounding funny as my lip started to swell up. “You must be… tiny.”
I braced for the strike, but he grabbed me by my hair, yanking so hard I was surprised he didn’t break it all off.
Pain sliced across my scalp, made my eyes water, but I kept my gaze on his.
“A little too true, huh?”
“Who do you work for?”
“I guess this is as good a time as any to hand in my resignation. So… no one currently.”
I didn’t see the next blow coming.
But because he’d dropped his hold on my hair, I moved instinctively, making his blow hit me near my temple instead of the cheek he was aiming for.
It felt like my skull shattered.
Like the fragments sliced into my brain.
My vision went wobbly, then flickered black before settling again.
The knock caught us all by surprise, making everyone jolt and straighten.
“Well, get it,” the man hissed as his hand shot out, closing around my mouth.
Frank looked around, eyes wild, but did as he was told, slipping out the smallest gap in the door that he could manage.
