Her parents were going to be devastated.
Who was this guy?
How had he gotten in?
Was James…?
Rose’s head was pounding. Her chest burned. So did her eyes. She hadn’t shut them despite the soap and water above her. The blurry image of the man to the side of the tub warped and moved.
That panic turned to rage.
At this man. At his audacity.
He might kill her, but she would leave her mark.
Rose always kept her nails short for work but when it came to a last act on Earth, they could still do the job. She heard the warbled cry of pain from the man as she used both hands to clamp onto his arm and dug her nails into his skin.
If he got away, they would be able to get his DNA from under her fingernails.
It was a small, shrinking thought as Rose started to lose the will to fight.
Her vision started to tunnel as a much smaller thought bubbled to the surface.
It was guilt.
The littlest Little would scar James’s forever home with her death.
It wasn’t a bomb in his shop, but it was a shame all the same.
She tried to picture James standing in that field earlier.
So peaceful.
The James who roared into the bathroom was not.
* * *
HE DIDN’T NEEDany context. He didn’t need any explanations or to ask any questions.
James Keller took in only one detail when he ran into the bathroom.
Some guy was hurting Rose.
That was all he needed.
James grabbed the man by the scruff of his shirt and yanked him with every bit of force he had. It was more than enough.
The man was a leaf on the wind as he flew backward and crashed onto his back on the tile. The impact pushed the air out of his lungs. More importantly, it freed Rose. Though she wasn’t surfacing.
James closed the distance to the tub in two strides and plunged his arms into the water. In the next moment Rose was out and up against him.
The man behind him squelched against the tile. James spun around, Rose against his chest, and kicked the man hard. He was back against the tile and sliding toward the wall.
James would have done more, but if Rose wasn’t breathing, then he—
Rose’s body was wracked with coughing. She spluttered and gasped and slapped at her chest.
It was a beautiful sight.
