Unable to see, she fought for repossession of her gun, but he was fighting back, and May felt the strength of his body. He was trying his best to shake her off. She clung on, desperately. He might be smaller and weaker than the men he'd killed, but right now, with her unable to see and in pain, he felt as viciously strong as any criminal she'd ever had to take down.
May yanked down again on his hand, and this time, she did it. She felt his grip loosen. She grabbed blindly for the gun, but she missed. It fell. It thudded down into the undergrowth. She heard his cry of rage, and he yanked her again, so hard that she was almost pulled off her feet. She felt bushes and shrubs tug at her ankles, and she realized the gun must have fallen into a thick ground cover. He clearly couldn't see it, and for now, it was lost.
Stumbling over a boulder, she did her best to fight an assailant she couldn't see. The one thing she must not let him do, she thought, was get that knife out. If he got the knife out, she was at serious risk of death. No way could she let him do that.
If only her eyes would stop watering. It was scary having to act while totally blinded, and the pain was slowing her down significantly. It was a huge, flaring, fiery distraction, and one which she couldn’t afford.
Especially since now, Zane launched a vicious attack, kicking out hard, aiming for her shins. He could see her, and he wanted to take her down. May knew for sure he was hoping to subdue her enough to get that knife out. The toe of his heavy boot hammered into May's legs, and the pain was enough to make her scream.
This time, she lost her grip. She felt his arm wrench away from her fingers, and that meant he could go for the knife.
Giving it all her strength, she lunged for his arm again, but she was coughing, fighting for breath, and sobbing in pain. Grabbing at him, she fought to pull him down, but he leaped away from her, out of reach.
She couldn’t afford to be slow. She heard him panting in rage and knew she had to get her bearings back. Following the sounds of his breath, she leaped forward, on the attack once more, trying to use the weight of her body, the force of her movement, to knock him off balance and claw back the advantage he'd gained from her.
She threw herself forward, and it seemed like her move had surprised him, because she felt the impact, and it was hard. Her arm crashed into his shoulder, their heads briefly banged together, her leg caught his.
She felt him stagger and yell again, a sound of pure fury. Grabbing with her hands, May reached for him. Eyes still streaming from the effects of the spray, she was fighting with pure animal instinct. She was fighting for her life.
She found his arm, and this time, she had it. She pulled with all her strength, jerking him around. If she could get him down, she could do more. Knock the breath from his body. Hit him on the head, or even try to cut off his air.
Once more, she grabbed at his arm, tried to yank him down. But he was strong, and every movement he made was clearly now fueled by an intense rage. He tried to wrestle his arm away but May twisted and pulled with everything she had. And she felt him stumble. The hidden boulder that had thrown her off balance had now claimed him too.
Zane went down, and May went down with him, still holding on.
They fell together in a tangle of limbs and then they were rolling and thrashing together, as May struggled to gain the advantage, and he now tried to throw her off by hurting her. Badly.
His fist caught the side of her face, and her head snapped back. The blow was all the more painful for being totally unexpected. Blindness was giving her a huge disadvantage, and he was intelligent enough to be able to take any chance he got.
Still, May clung on, with an iron grip, and with her other hand, she lashed out again, her hand clawing for his face. She felt her nails scrape over skin. She’d pulled his ski mask half off, so he was now temporarily blinded. He yelled, and she felt his grip loosening.
May could feel the prickles of thorns and bushes scratching and catching at her clothes. She was in the grip of a fear that chilled her to the core, knowing that if her guard went down, the next thing she might feel would be his fist smashing into her face, and shortly after that, his knife would stab her.
If she was injured or killed, this monster would get away, and he would kill again.
And he would have won.
He might not be as strong as the men he'd overpowered, but he'd overpowered them through sneaky means. Now, he was determined. He was fighting like a cornered animal.
May punched with all her might, but she punched her fist right into his hand. He'd seen her coming and blocked it. She tried again, needing to stay on the offensive. The two of them were now writhing and thrashing together in the undergrowth. May felt another blow land on her cheek and jerked away, her eyes pouring tears. The blow that she thought had been meant for her face had landed painfully on her shoulder.
Now, she feared the fight was already slipping away from her, that the killer had the advantage. He was methodical, he was surprisingly calm, and he was vicious. She'd already lost the gun. She couldn't afford to lose the fight too. Blinking, she saw dark shapes moving past her closed eyelids, and she didn't know if she was imagining them, but she flinched away in case this was the blow that would finally knock her out. She felt his fist rush past her, grazing her cheek. It had almost been, and now he would try again. This time, he caught her on the side of her head so hard that her vision exploded, and now, he was reaching for her throat, and she felt his fingers closing around her neck.
May was sobbing. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps. She'd lost the advantage, she knew; Zane had her under his control, and he was determined to kill her.
If she could only see, she might get a chance.
But she couldn't see. She realized she had to make a desperate, final stand. If she didn't, she was going to die.
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
One chance, and make it count! One punch, and put your whole body into it!
Channeling the advice of her police tactical training officer from long ago, May lashed out again, following the sound of Zane’s breathing, doing it as quick and viciously as she could. This time, at last, she got in a lucky blow. Her fist connected with his face, and the punch landed with a satisfying thud.
She heard him grunt with pain, reeling back. The stranglehold on her neck slipped away. Now, while she could, May needed to use all the tactics at her disposal.
She might be blinded, but she still had her voice. Owen was on his way to the house. He would then rescue Ron, who would tell him what had happened. Ron would be able to tell Owen what way she'd run. Backup might be only a minute away.
