drunk, and I’m sober and strong. I know I can easily outsmart him.
But I’m not running long before I hear the sound of his car revving. Headlights illuminate the road ahead of me, and I know he’s turned around. I dare a glance over my shoulder, and my eyes widen when I see him barreling down on me. He’s swerving back and forth, obviously having a hard time driving straight. And he’s going way too fast.
“Holy shit!” I leap for the ditch just as he zooms past. The abrupt maneuver has me rolling, and the pack comes off. I come to a stop on my belly. Cold unease slithers through me. This is getting bad fast.
I’m going to have to run into the fields and surrounding trees. There, he can’t run me over, and in the dark, he won’t be able to find me.
FML. Seriously.
I push to a stand and grab the heavy pack. I’m already halfway up the ditch when his car skids to a stop twenty yards away. The white reverse lights come on. I’m just about to the top of the ditch when his door flings open, and he comes flying out. Well, stumbling out.
“You’re a real bitch, you know that?”
“Declan just leave me be!”
I don’t understand where his hostility has come from, or maybe his ego is so fragile that he can’t handle any woman rejecting him, or maybe he’s just a mean drunk who turns into a complete ass anytime he gets beers into him. Whatever the case, I’m so fucking over this.
“Get in the car!” He’s running toward me now like an ataxic giraffe, his limbs clumsy and uncoordinated.
Something wet drips on my chin. Wiping it with the back of my hand, I realize it’s blood. I’m bleeding again. This is just great.
I buckle the pack around my waist and briefly contemplate leaving the bulky weight behind me until I lose Declan in the dark.
But it would be just my luck that Declan would take it, and if he did I wouldn’t have anything—no phone, no driver’s license, no keys to my apartment, no food, no water. Nothing. All I’d have is the wad of cash in my pocket. That’s it.
Just run, Bri.
I take off through the dry fields. Taller trees and brush fill the distant mounds. If I reach them, I can easily hide.
Heavy breathing comes from behind me, and I realize the douchebag’s trying to follow me. I dare a look over my shoulder, and my pulse races when I see how close he is. He’s breathing like a bull—spit and froth bursting from his lips.
“Get in the car!” he yells again.
Genuine fear grows in me. He’s not losing interest.
“You better stop, bitch!”
I don’t reply. Only ten feet separate us, so I pick up my pace.
It’s not hard to outrun him even with the pack on. I know I’m gaining ground when his labored breaths fall behind me. A triumphant feeling fills me. I’m a fast runner and outrunning a drunk isn’t exactly challenging. Maybe I’ll get away from him after all. He may even get lost out here or pass out in the field.
Serves you right you pompous—
I shriek when my foot lands near a huge lizard that comes from out of nowhere. I stumble then fall.
My cheek hits the dry ground, the heavy pack making me land awkwardly.
Fucking shit on a brick.
A gila monster stares back at me.
In the twilight, its black and orange scales stand out like a warning flag. The venomous nocturnal lizard normally leaves humans alone but considering I tripped over the damn thing I’m not surprised that it opens its mouth defensively. If that thing clamps down on me, it won’t let go. It will chew into my flesh until its venom is deposited.
I scramble back. Course sand scrapes against my palms and knees, but it isn’t until something sharp tugs on my scalp, yanking my head back that I realize I’ve failed to pay attention to where Declan is.
The most massive of massive douchebags. He’s grabbed my hair.
“I’s caught you!” He weaves his fingers through my long locks, his statement idiotically proud.
“Let me go you drunken ass!” I grab onto his wrist and twist. Even though I’m at a disadvantage being on the ground, I still give him a nasty snakebite when my right hand twists one way while the left twists the other.
He howls in pain and pulls me upright. I keep a hold of his wrist and try to work his hand free.