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So I was alone by the time I tugged on my shoulder pads and plunked myself down on a bench to lace up my shoes. I’d just stood up and was turning toward the exit when the first two assholes grabbed me from behind, locking on to my arms and yanking me back until my spine slammed into a closed locker. The shoulder pads absorbed most of the impact, but still…
“Ouch. What the hell?” I struggled to yank myself free. “Let go.”
Another two appeared next to the first pair, and then Nicholl stepped forward. When he stopped inches from my face, I threw back my head and chuckled bitterly.
“Wow, this is so typical of you. Still can’t confront a person unless you have your entire posse pinning him down for you, can you, buddy? Gotta make it five against one?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Where is she?”
“Who?” I asked innocently before a knowing grin broke across my face. “Oh, is your girl still lost? Gee, that’s too bad. You know, you should keep better track of your shit, then maybe it wouldn’t go missing. I mean, if you’re not careful, someone else might just…snap it up out from under you.”
I hadn’t meant to make that sound as if I had snapped Haven out from under him, but I realized that’s exactly how it sounded when Nicholl growled and shoved me as hard as he could. With the two holding on to me, it caused my arms to stretch painfully.
I clenched my teeth and breathed through my nose, trying to calm myself down as Nicholl demanded, “Where the fuck is she? I’m not even fucking kidding right now, Webster.”
“Oh.” I lifted my eyebrows as if surprised. “You’re not fucking kidding? Well, wow, that changes everything.” Glancing toward one of the guys holding on to me, I asked, “Did you know he wasn’t fucking kidding?”
Nicholl growled and punched me in the stomach, where I didn’t have any padding to absorb the impact. I grunted as it folded me at the waist and air whooshed from my lungs.
“Goddammit,” I growled as I stomped my foot against the ground to help alleviate the pain. Then I shook my head and lifted my face, snarling at him, “You know they can’t hold me down forever, right?”
As soon as I broke free of these restraining arms, Topher Nicholl was going to be in a world of hurt.
Fear flickered through his gaze, but he puffed out his chest, still convinced he was safe. “Where is my girlfriend?”
I glared him straight in the eye. “I have no idea. And I don’t fucking care.”
“You took her,” he insisted. “I know you fucking took her. Where is she?”
Snorting, I shook my head. “Why would I want your used-up leftovers? Really? Who knows what kind of shit you infected her with? Man, grow a brain. I don’t have your girlfriend.”
Pointing his finger in my face, Nicholl shook his head. “But you know where she is, don’t you?”
I smirked. “If I did, I still wouldn’t tell you.”
“You fucking prick.”
He hit me again. This time, in the face. I felt the full impact of that too.
Roaring out my rage, I kicked him. Right in the shin.
Yelping, he tripped backward, away from me, holding his leg and hissing to his friends, “I said hold him down.”
“We are,” one of them grumbled, sounding annoyed. “He’s stronger than we thought he’d be.”
The compliment spurred me on. I took that opportunity to grip both assholes holding on to me before I swung them with all my might with the hope of knocking them into each other. But they caught on to my intentions and were able to put on the brakes before colliding into each other.
A lot of shouting and cursing followed, in which time I was able to pull myself free from one guy and take a swing at the other. My fist connected, and suddenly jackass number two was letting go of me too. Before the two extras could tackle me, I leaped toward Nicholl.
“That was the last time you hit me.”
My first blow caught him in the gut, doubling him over. Remembering the way Haven had clung to me so tightly last night, how she’d cried herself into a mindless stupor, how she’d looked lost and broken, I slammed my knuckles as hard as I could into his jaw next. The satisfying crack that followed might’ve been the best sound I’d ever heard. Fury over everything he’d ever done against me surged through my veins, and my fist tightened even more. Before I could deliver another shot, however, I was grabbed from behind.
I howled, lashing out and slamming my head back, but whoever was holding me was bigger and stronger. When a fist connected with my face, I saw stars. A couple more of those and I’d be unconscious.
“Motherfuckers,” I shouted. Anger fueling me on, I gripped the forearms of the guy behind me, choking me out, and I bent at the waist, carrying him with me so fast that I flipped him over my shoulder.
As soon as he landed flat on his back with a pained groan, the locker room door burst open, and the head coach’s voice shouted, “Hey! Hey! Break it up! That’s enough.”
