The distance vanished in a dozen hard steps.He hit the man at the edge of the framed wall, shoulder slamming into his chest.The lighter flew one way.The gas can tipped the other, fuel splashing across the dirt and the base of the studs.
They both went down.
The impact knocked the air from his lungs.He rolled with it, using momentum to land on top.The man twisted, elbow driving up.It caught Colby in the ribs.Pain flared bright along his side.
“No, you don't,” Colby ground out.
He grabbed for the wrist that came at him.The hand was empty now, but he pinned it anyway, driving it into the dirt above the man’s head.
The man bucked under him, trying to throw him off.He was strong.Boots dug into the ground for leverage.A knee drove up, hunting soft targets.
Colby shifted, took the hit on his thigh instead.His leg lit up, but he held his position.
From behind him, Sabrina’s voice ripped through the night.
“Colby!”
Raw fear threaded his name.It hit him harder than the elbow had.
“I'm okay!”he shouted back, not taking his eyes off the man under him.
The man twisted again, hand clawing for Colby’s throat.
Colby jerked his head back, but fingers caught his collar, yanking.Fabric bit into his neck.His breath hitched.
He drove his knee into the man’s side.“Stay down.”
The man grunted.He didn't stop.His free hand strained against Colby’s grip.Dirt scraped under them as they slid.
“Let go,” Colby said through his teeth.“You don't want to make this worse.”
The man let out a short, ugly laugh.“It already is.”
His voice came out raw, lower than Colby expected, with a rough edge that smelled faintly of gas when he sucked in air.It didn't matter who he was or where he came from.
What mattered was the lighter, somewhere in the dirt.The glisten of wet boards at the base of the frame.
What mattered was Sabrina, somewhere behind him, watching.
“Colby, Diaz is on her way!”she shouted.Her voice came from near the trailer, closer than he liked.“She said to tell you to hold on and not do anything stupid.”
“Stay back!”he barked.
“I am,” she called.“But you aren't allowed to die on my land, do you hear me?”
Despite everything, a strangled laugh shot out of him.“Not on my to-do list.”
The man used the shift in his weight to jerk his knee up again.This one caught Colby off guard, slamming into his hip.Pain ripped across his side.His grip slipped for half a second.
The man ripped one hand free and swung.
The punch connected with Colby’s cheekbone.White heat flashed at the edges of his vision.
He rocked back, his weight shifting.
The man twisted, trying to roll them.Colby slammed his forearm across the man’s chest and drove him down again.
“Stay,” he said, breathless.“Down.”
