“Ow, company, and she’s fucking cute too,” the other one says. I don’t look at him, don’t validate his presence.He can fuck right off.My legs continue to throb as I step backward, pulling the sleeves of my hoodie over my knuckles, and not until I reach the opposite end of the building do I turn around and…stop. Before I can run, I see a cluster of motorbikes, men leaning on their gleaming pieces of steel with laughter so loud it makes me wince.
I squint my eyes to see if it’s Rusty’s crew, Harlen’s found family. Only when Devil’s Peak doesn’t stare back at me from the sea of leather,I know it’s not.And I don’t know whether to be sighing a breath of relief, or freaking the fuck out.
There is a sharp whistle at my back when the two guys step around me, their dark eyes greedy as they peruse the length of my covered body. The younger one, the one with the flashlight casting unwanted light in my direction, bites his bottom lip back into his mouth, shakes the dark hair out of his eyes, a grin cornering his lips.
“What, did we scare you? Awww, I’m sorry.” He drops his bottom lip like a sulking little bitch, then he grins again, only this time, it’s entirely more sinister. “I can make it up to you.”
I suck on my front teeth when adrenaline shoots its poison through my veins.
I will not let these men take the crumbs of what’s left of me.
Kicking at the loose rocks beneath my shoes, I curl my arms around my waist protectively. “Do you target every woman you find at a toilet block on the side of the fucking road, in the dark?” I ask, then I start to laugh, shoving my hood off my head. “Only men with small dicks and no balls fuck with women in the dark, you worthless piece of shit.” I spit each word at him as I allow my eyes to track the length of the boy in front of me. He is probably only a year or two older than me, maybe the same age, and you can tell he’s used to taking what he wants, without permission.
Garbage, really.
I stride right past him confidently, making sure to show no weakness as I shoulder check him on my way. There’s a deep chorus of ‘OOOOH’ that comes from his friends, but before I can put distance between us, I feel a clamp tighten around my wrist, then I’m being roped backward against solid muscle, hot, filthy breath, and greedy palms. One latches onto my jaw, squeezing so hard into the bones of my face, I think he might pulverize them,while the other tracks over my right hip, slipping beneath my hoodie and digging into the fresh bruises that mottle my flesh.
It’s pure fucking agony, and it’s like he knows exactly where I’ve been ravaged.
I bite the inside of my cheeks, trying to stifle a reaction, then I wiggle my toes through the pain.
He jerks my face beneath his. I attempt to suck my lips back into my mouth, but he only digs his fingers into my cheeks deeper, forcing them out. His smile is wicked as he says each word right over my mouth. “Embarrassing me in front of my friends. Hmmm…” He jerks my chin again, and I swallow my whimper at his roughness. “Some would think you’re begging for it.”
I wish I could slam my heel down on his, but my feet are weak, only just holding on to frail bone.
So, I do exactly what my gut tells me—exactly what I know will make this motherfucker scream. I reach around and grab his balls, adding biting pressure from my nails as I twist them clockwise.
I don’t know if he is one of them,the triangle, and I don’t fucking care. He is an entitled little boy who needs to bleed.
His hands fall away from my body, and he steps back, but I go with him, not letting go.
His breaths become erratic.
“Yeah, I was right. No fucking balls.” My words are a whisper, and when I let go, turn my back on him and walk away, the audience of men yell crude statements right at my back.
“You made a mistake, baby girl.”
“She’s in trouble now.”
“Better get on your knees and start apologizing.”
“Come and squeeze my dick like that.”
“So pretty when they fight for their life.”
The robotic voice of my nightmares fills my ears.“That’s it, sweetheart. Fuck, you’re so pretty when you fight for your life.”
When I feel like I’ve just taken two bullets to my kneecaps without collapsing, I suck back every last bit of strength andrun for my fucking life.
Seconds later, my hand wraps around the handle of my door, and I haul it open, falling inside and locking myself in. My fingers are trembling as I try to shove the key into the ignition. The clattering metal laughs at me, tumbling into the footwell.
“Fuck!” I scream, tears streaming down my face as I push the seat back and snatch up the grooved metal.
Finally sliding it into the ignition, I lift my chin, turn on my headlights, and when my gaze flicks to the front window, my entire body feels like I’ve just been cornered into paralyzation.
Death always had a grasp on my neck.
I don’t realize I’ve started breaking gum when my teeth chew right through the side of my cheek in terror.
