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I still feel groggy and sluggish from my time in Callister’s court, and fighting Evan seems hopeless. He’s always held power over me, been stronger than me.
And we both know it.
He grabs my arm and for just a second, I go with it. I remember everything he did to me: drugging me, giving me to his friends for sex, forcing me to deliver drugs to creeps. Who am I to fight him? I’m just sad little Eliza Hightower, the girl who constantly attracts the wrong kind of attention from men.
Except I’m not.
I’m not Eliza anymore, and I won’t let him take me down without a fight. I’m older, stronger, tougher. I’m Libra Cartwright, dammit. I’ve tangled with monsters and demons, and however evil Evan Dempsey might be, he’s only a man.
So I wrench away and sock him with a hard right hook, connecting with his jaw and snapping his head back.
“Fuck you,” I say, ignoring the pain in my knuckles.
“Bitch!” he shouts, slapping me hard across the cheek.
“You better believe it!”
I can’t believe I was ready to just give up. Tuck my tail behind my legs and scuttle out of town, giving up my business, my friends, and my dream house. All because of Evan fucking Dempsey?
Fuck that.
Now that I’m facing him, I know without a doubt that I won’t run. Either he’ll kill me or I’ll find a way to beat him, but no matter what, it ends here.
I pop him with a jab before he can react and then I’m moving, grabbing the baseball bat from the corner, silently praising this cabin’s former decorator and the decision to stock the place with random sports equipment.
“A bat, Eliza? Really?”
“My name is not Eliza,” I growl. “I’m Libra, and I’m gonna kick your ass.”
“Are you now?” He advances on me fast. I swing the bat menacingly, but he ducks, forcing me to back up. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this day,” he says.
“That’s just sad. You’ve had ten years to become a better person, and instead all you thought about was revenge?”
“Oh, it’s not all I’ve thought about. Believe me, I’m going to have a long, happy life. Just as soon as I’m done with you.”
I threaten with the bat again, and he laughs. “You’ve gained some gumption, I see. But gun beats bat,” he says, pulling a handgun out of his pocket.
“All that planning, and you’re just gonna shoot me? Doesn’t sound all that satisfying,” I taunt. Making him angrier increases the risk that he’ll just fire and be done with it. But then again, maybe I can persuade him to take me back on in hand-to-hand combat. At least that way I’d have a chance. I’ve still got plenty of punches left in me. It’s time to relive that boxing dream.
Callister told me that Evan’s fear is based on a hatred of women, as well humiliation at his masculinity being threatened. Maybe I can use that. “Honestly, shooting me is the coward’s way out,” I say. “A real man would fight me. But then you’ve always been a coward who hides behind others. I guess I’m not surprised.”
Rage ripples across his features and his jaw goes tight. “You think that just because you learned to throw a punch, you can take me down? I’ve been to prison, little girl. You’ve got nothing on me.”
I feel my nostrils flare as my own rage seeps in. “I’m not a little girl. I was when you took advantage of me, you pussy-ass predator. But not anymore!” I launch myself at him, tackling him so that we land in a heap.
I get in a couple of hard hits before he manages to throw me across the room. I land hard on my back, the wind knocked out of me. He’s on me before I can catch my breath, punching me hard right in the face. I writhe and manage to buck him off, but that only pisses him off more.
“Fuck this,” he says, raising the gun again. Blood is trickling out of his nose, which is eminently satisfying.
He takes aim and I dive, rolling behind the old couch, which will serve as absolutely no protection if Evan fires.
“Any last words, Eliza?”
“Go to hell, asshole!”
“You first, bitch.”
I hear the gun cock and tuck into a ball. Before I can do anything else, there’s a terrifying roar and a scream.
