The vehicle spun around her, but she didn’t stop. Suddenly, someone wrenched open the door, and they were both yanked out onto the snow. She landed on her knees, and icy pain pierced up to her thighs.
Strong hands grabbed her. “I’ve got her.” It took her a second to realize that both Knox and Quint bracketed her. Knox helped her from the ground.
Rory kicked Hackson right in the jaw, and the guy flew back against the still-running Bronco.
Serenity gulped, panting as Knox pulled her against his side and out of the way.
Rory glanced at her, lightning in his eyes. Dark and dangerous and about to strike. “You okay?” His voice sounded like he’d eaten the glass from the window.
She nodded numbly.
“Good.” He turned and punched Hackson full-force in the jaw, throwing the man against the Bronco. The metal dented with a loud thunk.
Blood spurted from Hackson’s mouth, but Rory didn’t seem to notice or care.
Safely flanked by Rory’s brothers, Serenity watched as he and Hackson started fighting in earnest—kicks, punches, and the occasional elbow to the face. Blood sprayed across the snowy ground. Serenity blinked and tried to focus.
“Here.” Heather ran up the alley in her kitten heels, breathing heavily as she handed Serenity a coat. “Get in this.” She’d already donned her own and helped Serenity into the jacket before zipping it up. Then she moved to huddle against Quint’s side.
Serenity looked toward the empty alleyway. “Where are the sirens?”
“We’re taking care of this ourselves,” Knox muttered. “For now.”
Rory feinted and then returned with an impressive roundhouse kick, square to Hackson’s knee. The man went down on his other knee but came back up, punching Rory in the gut. He staggered back and then lunged. The two men struggled and then tore away, both shockingly calm and not even breathing heavily.
Serenity leaned into Knox’s side. “Shouldn’t we stop them?” she whispered, her voice trembling.
“Nope,” Quint said, his stance set, his gaze on his brother.
Roaring, Hackson lunged again, moving surprisingly swiftly over the icy ground. His massive fist arched like a wrecking ball right toward Rory’s temple. Rory easily danced away, the fresh snow crunching under his boots, before he moved in a blur of rapid-fire motion, landing several swift punches to Hackson’s face.
The guy fell back, stumbling to straighten. He started breathing heavily, his exhales showing in the air.
Rory smiled, and the expression was one she had never seen before on his cut face. Angry and determined—cold, even. He moved in, kicked Hackson in the knee again, and then drove the guy down before pivoting and wrapping his forearm around his old trainer’s neck. Falling back, he lay on the snow as Hackson flopped on him like a landed trout.
Serenity’s stomach lurched.
Hackson’s movements slowed and then stopped.
“He’s out,” Knox said.
Rory relaxed his hold and released the other man, rolling to the side and finally letting out a big burst of air. He stood and looked at Serenity. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” she confirmed, looking at the unconscious man on the snow.
Rory pulled a phone from his back pocket and called somebody, issuing terse orders she couldn’t understand. He listened, and then his jaw firmed. “All right, we’ll secure him in the local sheriff’s station and keep it quiet. I want him out of here within the next couple of hours.” He waited. “Affirmative.”
He clicked off and walked toward Serenity, his gaze shockingly blue in the night. “Are you sure you’re all right?” He reached her and cupped her face.
“I am.” She could not believe the violence he’d just meted out, yet he was so gentle with her. “I was scared, but it all happened so fast.”
He motioned for his brothers to move forward and secure Hackson. Even now, he was frighteningly calm and in control—not even panting after such a brawl. “I won’t let anybody hurt you.”
She swallowed as Knox and Quint hefted the man into the Bronco’s back seat.
“Might as well secure his rig,” Knox said calmly, as if witnessing a brutal fight in an alley was an everyday occurrence.
Snow fell to coat the scene, beginning to cover the blood splattered across the ice. “Rory?” Serenity whispered, her knees trembling. There’d been no doubt in her mind that he’d come to her rescue.
