The other man grabbed my arms and yanked me off him. I kicked out. I clocked the way his grip loosened when I kicked.
The way he hesitated before grabbing me again.
He wasn’t used to resistance. I kicked again and my heel landed somewhere between his legs. He swore and dropped me. I scrambled back, dragging Hailey toward the wall with one arm while bracing for another hit.
But it didn’t come.
Buzz Cut was bleeding. Just a little, from a scratch on his cheek. But he looked at me like I was something feral. Like I’d broken the rules.
“Stupid bitch,” he spat, wiping the blood with the back of his hand.
“Get out,” the other one muttered, voice low but urgent.
Buzz Cut hesitated, still glaring at me. Then he turned and stormed out, slamming the door so hard the walls shuddered. The second man lingered a second longer, watching me with narrowed eyes, like I wasn’t what he expected.
Then he followed, and the lock slid into place behind them.
Silence again. But this time, it was charged.
They hadn’t won.
They’d retreated.
And men like that hated retreat more than blood.
I turned back to Hailey. Her head was still down, shoulders shaking.
“Hey,” I whispered, brushing the hair out of her face. “You okay? Talk to me.”
She blinked up at me, dazed. “I’m okay. I think. Just… dizzy.”
I helped her sit up slowly, my own ribs screaming in protest. Her cheek was already starting to swell.
“You did good,” I told her. “You stayed small. That’s what matters.”
She nodded weakly, still stunned.
I pulled her closer, cradling her with one arm while I scanned the room. My body was aching, brain foggy, but the burst of violence had given me something unexpected: information.
There weretwoof them. Only two.
One of them wasn’t in control.
There was hesitation in the second guy’s voice. Doubt.
Doubt was leverage.
Doubt meant cracks.
And cracks were where you pried things open.
And more importantly, there was a blind spot in the far left corner.
No camera. No reflection. Just shadows.
I had no idea what I was going to do with that yet.
But the room wasn’t theirs anymore.
