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It was the one thing that he wouldn't expect, while laughing at her from his darkened hiding place. The one thing that might allow her to get past that netting without being caught in his trap.
She slipped her hand into her pocket.
This was it. This was what she had to do. It was crazy, and it might not work, but she had to try.
Juliette grabbed her flashlight off her belt. She snapped it on and shone it directly at that netting, leaping forward, hoping that in this pitch dark alley, with his dark-adapted eyes, it might be blinding.
She leaped forward, hand raised, ready to rip the netting aside and grab him, hoping that somehow she would avoid the trap she was worrying he’d set. But the trap was waiting, and she plunged straight in. She never had a chance, Juliette realized, as its jaws closed around her.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Of course she'd never had a chance. In the dark, in her haste. Juliette hadn't seen the thin wire that had been waiting, a large loop at head height, hung above the netting. A trap just for her, meant for her to put her head in unsuspectingly, so that he could pull it tight and garrote her.
She didn't see the wire until it was almost too late, but as she leaped forward, her flashlight picked up the glint of it.
She didn't manage to get her head out, but she got her hand in. In a lightning fast, defensive move, Juliette managed to raise her right arm and get it between the wire and her neck.
She gasped, as the wire pulled tight. Laughing, he grabbed hold of something and twisted. In the jerking beam of the flashlight she could see his arm move, and she was almost lifted off her feet, struggling, trapped in the wire’s cruel bite. The wire dug painfully into her forearm, pinning it against her neck in a tight chokehold. It was her right hand, her gun hand, and now it was trapped. The noose must be attached to the building’s overhang, she realized. He’d placed it, fastened it, and waited, and now she knew exactly how an animal felt when it was caught in a snare.
But it wasn't a deadly stranglehold, not yet. The noose hadn't done its intended job, and she could still draw in a thread of air. Shock resounded through her as she struggled against it. With her other hand, the free hand, she dropped the flashlight and it clattered to the ground. Then, she lashed out and grabbed the dark netting and pulled it down with all her strength.
And there he was, so grotesque and unexpected that it was another shock. His face and arms were painted a blank, matte white, like a mannequin, and he wore clothes with price tags still attached. His face was white, his head shaved, his eyes blazing.
And on the ground lay the woman, the one whose moan she’d heard. Although Juliette’s head was pulled painfully high, she could just see the collapsed figure. It looked like the woman was gagged and tied, but she was still alive. Juliette saw her hand move slightly.
Now, as quick as a predator might move, Goldenface was lunging forward, and she knew that this was now a fight for her life. Juliette lashed out with her heel, aiming for his groin, but she missed, and her foot caught him in the hip.
He was too fast for her, her gun hand was trapped,and every move she made was pulling the wire tighter. The only thing that was stopping it from tightening more was the fact her feet were still on the ground, balanced on her toes, taking some strain off the wire.
He was trying to change that. He lunged forward and tried to tackle her with his full weight, tried to fling it against her and bring her down.
But she was too fast for him. Juliette twisted, and he missed her, and she brought her elbow forward, scything it into his chest.
Her movement made the wire tighten another notch, and she knew that she had only a few seconds of freedom left before it was too tight for her to move at all.
She lashed out again, kicking and thumping and punching, trying to fight him off. She wanted to shout, but the wire was now too tight, it was crushing her own arm into her neck and cutting off her power of speech.
He was too fast, and she was losing. Juliette felt a dull, despairing fear take hold of her.
She clawed with her free hand, her fingers scrabbling at the wire, trying to get it free, trying to get enough space between her neck and the wire to breathe.
The wire was strangling her, and she was gasping, but she wasn't giving in. As he moved in, trying again to knock her off her feet, she pulled up her knee and shot it forward, and this time he was the one who staggered back, sprawling against the wall.
She jerked and writhed, trying to get out of the wire's deadly grip. Right now, there was nothing she could do to save this woman, and it was only the fight with Juliette that was distracting him from the slumped captive.
With renewed determination, she tried again, lashing out with her leg, and finally, she got in the blow she’d wanted to, and caught him full in the solar plexus.
Juliette heard him gasp and he staggered back.
Juliette aimed again, kicking out for his head this time, needing to put him down for long enough that she could try to get herself free, anything to stop him from coming back into the fight.
But she missed. She wasn't fast enough, and he lunged forward, his arms reaching out to grab her, to pull her down, to finish her off.
Desperate now, she kicked out again with her leg, this time her boot thudded into his chest so that he reeled off balance. She was gasping for air, her body fighting for life, her hands clawing and scraping at the noose that was trapping her.
Then he reached back, and he pulled the lever again, and this time the noose lifted her all the way into the air. Now she was dangling, suspended by the wire, a few inches off the ground.
Panicked now, Juliette fought against him, but she was trapped,and he was pulling the wire so tight. She couldn't breathe, and she felt her mind start to blacken, fearing that soon she'd pass out. Then he'd have two victims instead of only one.
