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I was about to give up when I heard the scratch of sneakers along pavement. I checked behind me. A person crossed the street and then followed the sidewalk behind me at a distance, but getting closer.
Either Mr. Coaltar had turned around, or this was someone new. I debated my options.
I turned left, cutting through a ragged parking lot. There were two industrial buildings close to each other, but on the other side was King Street again, and it wouldn’t take long to get to a more crowded spot. I hurried through the lot, planning to make a dash between the buildings. My imagination went wild with thoughts of who this was and what he wanted. Whoever it was, I suddenly felt like I was being hunted, so I wanted to lose him quickly.
The path between the two industrial buildings was darker than I’d thought once I dipped into the deeper shadows. The footsteps behind me slowed. I could have been wrong and this person wasn’t that interested in me, but I didn’t want to take that chance.
I marched faster and darted between the two brick walls of the buildings.
My heart stopped in my chest when a cluster of teenagers stood at the end of the alley. I couldn’t have seen them in the dark with their black clothes. Hanging out together in a sketchy part of town, they were certainly not Boy Scouts.
Before I could decide to turn around, they’d noticed me, straightening. Their dark faces curious.
I turned back; I could take on one guy, not a dozen. I squared my shoulders to face off my pursuer.
The guy had black hair, dark eyes, dark skin. Not Coaltar.
I made to walk around him, and his hands shot out. “Hey,” the guy said. A strong waft of alcohol floated to me.
The familiar feeling that he wanted something from me that I wasn’t willing to give settled in. I wasn’t going to stick around to find out what he wanted.
“Rape!” I screamed. Why not? It worked before.
Instead of backing up, he pounced. I tried to dart away, but in the darkness, my ankle caught on his sneakered foot. I stumbled, but he caught me by the waist in a harsh grip.
“What are you? Crazy? High?” His voice was irritating, a squeaky pitch.
I kicked. I fought. I bit, but his arms, as wiry as they were, crushed me. His legs evaded my attempts to knee him in the shin.
“Who’s that?” one of the guys from the group behind me called out. “That you Dale?”
“Yeah. Who let the crazy girl out tonight? These hoes are getting feisty.”
Crap. They knew each other.
Since he wasn’t letting go, I dropped like a dead weight. Dale was too slow, and I landed on the ground.
I kicked up at his groin. My leg made contact.
Dale yelped but it suddenly died off as he choked. He grabbed at his crotch, and knelt, holding his junk.
I scrambled up, trying to fly off. An arm caught my shirt, tearing it. Another hand grasped my arm.
I made a fist with my free hand, turning, striking someone in the face.
Another hand wrapped around my throat.
I struggled, but soon I had to stop clawing and scratching, and wedge my fingers against the hand that strangled me. I hung on to it, trying to pull it away, but it squeezed. Breath left me, but never came back in. I wanted to cough, but couldn’t.
My eyes were open, but the light around me changed, becoming hazy.
Loud shouts started going on around me. A thick thud. A scream—male and full of pain.
The hand around my throat released and I dropped to the ground. I choked, grasping at the ground and sucking in air. I coughed hard, enough that my body tilted and I was on my back on the ground.
The last thing I remember is being lifted.
COALTAR
The sound of a car driving somewhere below me, on the street, had me feeling like I was back at the hotel. My throat felt itchy. I worried about getting Wil sick with a cold when he had tests coming up.
When I woke enough to realize the bed felt different, I suddenly remembered Marc. Was I supposed to be in his bed? Or with Corey? Or...
I flipped over, willing my body to move when it felt stiff and sore, especially at my throat. I blinked hazily at the ceiling, disoriented.
The ceiling struck me funny. Did one of the boys have carved woodwork edging?
Didn’t I shoot someone in the knee? With a .303 rifle?
I sat up with a jolt, looking around. The bed was plush, with crisp white sheets and blanket, and a rich black wood headboard. There was a thick black rug under the bed, and the floors beyond it were a dark cherry wood.
As the details of the room sunk in, and a memory didn’t surface that told me why I was here, I panicked. Where the hell was I?
The spot next to me was unmade. I reached over to feel the coolness of the pillow, and the indention in it. Someone else had been here.
I was wearing the same black shirt and shorts I’d had on the night before. The sleeve had been torn, reminding me of the struggle in the alley. My heart thundered at the memory, but I needed to focus.
Beside the bed was an overstuffed chair, appearing to have been moved close so I’d notice. There was a black tank top and pair of shorts similar to what I was wearing splayed out. Different, though. The label at the neck of the shirt said International Concepts. Definitely not a Wal-Mart brand, which was about the extent of my knowledge about clothing labels.
I held my breath, listening. I couldn’t hear anything. The fact that someone had been here beside me made me want to pinpoint whoever it was within the building.
I jumped from the bed, going to the window. I studied the street, trying to figure out where I was.
I spotted a familiar bench within eyesight down the road and White Point Gardens behind it. I calculated the distance.
Shit.
Maybe I could get out of here without Coaltar noticing. The guys thought I was too close before? I was neck deep now.
I looked around for shoes, but there weren’t any available. My boots were gone. I grunted. I really liked those boots. I hated the thought of leaving them. But I wasn’t going to start looking around.
I padded to the door. It was open and all I had to do was nudge it a couple of inches to give myself enough room to step out.
The hallway was narrow, and there were a lot of doors. I spotted the start of the stairwell at the end of the hall. I stilled, listening. Silence.
I stepped forward and the floorboards creaked below my weight. This is why I never broke into houses. Wasn’t my style to sneak around like that.
More creaking sounded behind me, like someone moving in a room further down the hall. It was all I needed to know.
I zoomed down the hall, not caring about being heard, as long as I had a head start and he couldn’t get in my way. I thundered down the stairs, found a second level, zoomed down to the first.
I was at the back door, where the party had been. I took a turn, finding the hallway I remembered going through toward the front door. The coast was clear. I dashed down the hall. My heart slammed against my rib cage. I was going to make it!
A form launched from a side door as I started to pass. I was caught in a pair of strong arms, and I had been running so hard that we both tilted. He gripped my waist protectively, holding me up and catching us both with one hand hard on the floor before his elbow crumbled and we crashed.
I knocked my head into his shoulder, getting a jolt of pain between my eyes as the bump there resounded. I cried out, and started clawing away in a panic. I closed a fist, punching him hard in the temple. He grabbed my wrist.
My body was twisted, and he pressed his full weight on me. His knees bit down tight against my thighs. He pinned my wrists to the ground. I was uneven on my side, unable to move under his weight.
“Kate!” Coaltar shouted. “Calm down.”
“Let go!” I choked, and then coughed hard. I was forced to stop fighting. I twisted my face away from him, a hacking cough taking over.
His knees moved. He kept both of my wrists in one ha
nd, grabbing my body with his other arm. In a near flip, his arm encircled my shoulders in a headlock, with my arms pinned behind me. He lifted me with him and sat up, with my back pressed into his chest. His lips found the back of my ear.
“Breathe,” he said, his voice raspy. “Kate, calm down and breathe.”
