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SAVANNAH
We both whirled, just as the big window at the front of the shop shattered inward. Something crashed through it — something big — and the next thing I knew Jarrett was being flung backward, pinwheeling wildly as he sprawled to the floor.
“ERIK!”
My lover was on top of Jarrett in an instant, his tattooed arms a furious blur as they rose and fell in a flurry of savage punches. I was frightened and shocked. Elated and astonished. A thousand emotions surged through me at once, in all the time it took to blink.
Erik was big — bigger even than Jarrett. But Jarrett had the advantage of being batshit crazy. I’d seen him in situations where he should’ve by all rights gotten his ass fully handed to him. But then the crazy kicked in… and he’d fought his way out.
That seemed to be what was happening right now. Jarrett somehow managed to wriggle his way from Erik’s grasp, but it cost him dearly in the way of punches. I heard the ‘snap’ of his broken nose, as Erik connected hard. The sound of air leaving his lungs, as he sputtered for breath.
Jarrett spun away and rolled backward, scrambling to his feet as the two squared off. He was bleeding from the nose now. Maybe the mouth, too.
I spun into action. Rushing to a nearby shelf, I grabbed the largest — and most expensive — crystal I could find. It was three times the size of my fist. It must’ve weighed close to ten pounds.
Before I could hurl it, Jarrett leapt at Erik. The two men locked up again, spinning across the shop. They shattered one of my chairs, then rolled to the floor, all punches and elbows and knees. And in Jarrett’s case, fingers and teeth…
After a brief struggle, my lover took the upper hand. The moment he did, Jarrett reached up and jammed his thumbs into Erik’s eyes. He screamed and fell backward. Jarrett pounced on him.
“HEYYYYY!”
My yell was loud enough and wild enough to grab Jarrett’s attention. His head whipped in my direction, even for a moment…
And in that moment I swung the crystal right into his exposed jaw.
There was a sickening crunch, followed by a gurgled scream and the distinct sound of teeth skittering across the shop floor. I dropped the crystal, which was now split into three or four pieces. Those pieces hit the floor and shattered.
Fuck!
My hand was throbbing! It was bleeding too. But that was nothing compared to the blood gushing from Jarrett’s ruined mouth. He clamped his hand over it — presumably to keep the rest of his teeth in — and fled as fast as he could. He ended up exiting through the broken window, and disappearing out into the street.
“Savannah!”
There was so much adrenaline coursing through my body I barely recognized my own name! Or rather… not my name.
“Are you alright!?”
“Yes,” I sighed, sinking to the floor. “I— I think my hand might be—”
Erik was there in an instant, taking my hand in his. Turning it over gingerly, taking special care not to hurt me while he performed his perfunctory examination.
“It’s not cut,” he said, turning my palm over. “The blood’s not yours.”
“Always a good sign,” I laughed nervously. “My fingers feel like I slammed them in a car door, though.”
“We’ll take care of them,” he said. “But first we have to call the police.”
He pulled out his phone, and the alarm bells went off in my head. The second his thumb touched the screen, I closed my hand over his.
“We can’t call the police,” I said shakily.
Erik looked at me like I had twelve heads. “What? Why the hell not?”
“Because…” I swallowed hard. “Well, because…”
That’s when I saw it; the recognition in his eyes. The realization I wasn’t just keeping a few things in, but I was keeping him — the others — totally in the dark.
“You know that guy,” Erik pointed through the broken window. “Don’t you?”
