And there was nothing I could do about it.
Once again, I was just as powerless as I’d been all my life.
The concrete bit into my elbows as I leaned my weight against the half wall blocking off the edge of the roof. Car horns and revving engines wafted on the air, accented by the sound of drunken shouting. The joys of living in a major city; silence never truly existed.
There was no warning. One moment, I felt nothing but the breath of the wind, and the next moment, something shoved hard against my shoulder. I pitched forward, my body half hanging over the edge of the roof. My fingers scraped against the concrete as I desperately tried to catch my balance.
The distance of six stories narrowed as though my eyes had turned into telescopes until I could see every crack in the sidewalk below me.
I barely had time to realize what was happening before there was another shove against my back, sending me completely over the edge of the wall. My own scream stuck in my throat as my feet flipped over my head and I plummeted. For a moment, I was in freefall, and panic turned my every thought to white noise.
It was pure luck when my desperately flailing hands caught on something. I felt a solid surface under my fingers and held on for dear life.
The sound of footsteps running away quickly faded, and I was left with nothing but the noises of the city hanging below me.
I stared at my own hands as if looking at an alien species. In my fall, I’d managed to catch an edge of decorative molding about two feet down from the top of the building.
“Help,” I tried to shout, but it came out as barely more than a whisper. I could barely hear my own voice. Panic had seized my vocal cords, stopping me from calling for help.
Not that anyone would have heard me. I was on the side of the building facing an alley. There was no one below me to notice my position.
My eyes pointed up toward the sky, stretched so wide in fear that I could feel air under my eyelids. Each breath I took came in a panicked little puff. Neither blood nor air made it to my brain.
“Okay,” I babbled to myself. “Okay. I can… I can do this.”
Bullshit! I’d never done anything like this before. Until this moment, I’d never even done a pullup. I didn’t even know I could hold my weight up by my fingertips. Yet, here I was.
The top of the wall wasn’t that far away. If I raised myself up and stretched my arm as far as I could, I’d probably be able to reach it.
My hands felt frozen, either by the cold air or by fear, I couldn’t tell.
“Fucking, come on. Just do it. One. Two Three.”
I hefted myself up as high as I could and let go of the wall with one hand. I reached my arm forward, grasping half blind for the edge of the roof. For a moment, my fingers found purchase on the concrete, but it wasn’t enough. As soon as my weight came down, my grip faltered, and my hand slipped off the edge.
“No!” I shouted, properly this time, but there was nothing I could do. I instinctively closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see the roof grow farther away or the ground come rushing up to meet me.
Someone shouted my name, just before I felt something grab onto my hand. My shoulder jolted in its socket as my fall suddenly halted, and my whole body knocked against the wall.
Someone had grabbed my hand just in the nick of time.
In a daze, I looked up to see a familiar face staring at me from over the edge of the roof.
“Clay?”
CHAPTER 2
Kitt
Adrenaline pumpedthrough my veins and sweat dripped down my skin as I punched the heavy bag in rapid succession.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Each contact my knuckles made with the solid surface brought with it a growing sense of satisfaction.
I’d already been at the gym for two hours, working the bag with everything I had. My blood pumped hot in my veins. I was alive.
I was also going to be late.
