I didn’t really have the money for an Uber, but sometimes you had to suck it up and spend, even when it wasn’t convenient. I’d just have to pinch my pennies somewhere else this week. Who needed electricity and heat in their apartment in Montana in October, right?
“No!” Charlotte pouted, the glaze of one too many margaritas evident in her unfocused brown eyes. “You should stay. We just got here. We’re having so much fun!”
Though I wasn’t completely sober, I’d definitely gotten much clearer minded after being accosted by an idiot and baptized in multiple chilled cocktails.
“I’m sorry, I have to go,” I repeated, already thumbing through my phone to order my ride. “We’ll do it again soon. Maybe celebrate together after my first week at the coffee shop.”
Alice nodded. “I get it. Shitty night. Happens to the best of us. Do you want us to walk you to your Uber?”
I could see why Garrett really liked this girl. She was a class act, just like him. “Nah. No need. They’ll pick me up right out front.”
“Okay,” Charlotte said with a pout. “Text us when you get home so we know you’re safe.”
“Will do,” I replied, before heading outside to wait for my ride.
To my disappointment, the Uber didn’t pick me up out front. The bar district was far too busy for any vehicle to block traffic or find a parking space halfway close to Maverick’s.
To my frustration, I saw that my transport was circling the block and requesting to meet up closer to where Charlotte and I had found parking earlier in the evening.
Being that it was fall, the night had become much colder than it was during the day. Literally soaked in booze, I wrapped myself in the fleece Garrett had given me. I was becoming more grateful to the thoughtful man by the second having something to protect me from the harsh elements.
My hair spun around my shoulders in a fluffy cloud as it caught in the wind. Tucking my chin low to protect any exposed skin, I hustled down the sidewalk into the less crowded part of town. After turning a corner, I could only hear the faint sounds of people and music in the distance. That, and quiet footfalls behind me.
The further I got from the bar, the louder the footsteps got. Slowing down, I surreptitiously glanced over my shoulder to see who was there, but I didn’t see anyone at all, and everything fell silent.
Thinking I was imagining things, I pulled the fleece against my skin even tighter and began to powerwalk toward my Uber’s location. It was only a few streets ahead, so there was nothing to be afraid of. I could see the icon on my phone even now, resting in our agreed upon location.
Just as I saw the headlights of my ride, I felt an arm curve around my waist and drag me backward into a dark alley.
Before I could scream, a strong hand slapped across my mouth and effectively silenced my attempt to shout out for help.
CHAPTER 2
Millie
I tried to kick and scream, but my efforts were fruitless. The man holding me was too strong.
I knew it was a man because I could smell the aftershave on his skin, as well as feel his impressive size and girth pressed up against my back.
Clawing at his fingers, I tried to pry them loose from my face, but his hold was terrifyingly immovable.
“Stop it!” My assailant growled low into the shell of my ear. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
I wasn’t born yesterday. You didn’t drag a woman into a dark alley just to ask her for her number. You did it to abuse her in some sick, fucked up way!
That’s when I realized who must be behind me. Will, the man from the bar in the red shirt. That asshole just couldn’t takehis precious man-feelings being hurt because I didn’t accept his drink or give him my digits. Now I was paying for his inability to take rejection in the worst possible way.
Well, I wasn’t about to be his next victim. My dad had taught me to fight back. I was about to show this loser how far a girl was willing to go to protect herself from a loser like him.
My hands dropped to my waist where my purse was currently dangling. I’d carried it as a clutch for most of the evening, but it had a strap that allowed me to sling it over my shoulder if I wanted to. It was hidden beneath the voluminous folds of Garrett’s fleece at the moment, and I had to feel around for a moment to access it through all the additional fabric blocking my path.
Frantically working open the clasp after navigating under my de facto jacket, my fingers dug around until they found what they were searching for. A switchblade. The one my dad had given me on my twelfth birthday. Ironically, he’d hidden it inside another gift, a purse from a local store I’d fallen in love with.
My assailant was still dragging me backward to the back of the alleyway as I fumbled through my belongings. He was grunting and snuffling like an addict who’d missed his last three fixes. Sending up a silent prayer of thanks to my father for his foresight, my fingers wrapped around the textured, rubber grip and hauled it out of my purse in one swift motion. Simultaneously, I depressed the discrete trigger and the blade snicked open.
With a guttural war cry, I plunged the shiny blade downward into the thick of the man’s upper thigh meat, and his flesh slowed the steel’s sharp descent in a sickeningly satisfying way.
My assailant howled his rage, spun around, and threw me roughly onto the ground. Not able to catch myself, I gracelessly sprawled to the ground, limbs splayed in every direction.
