Change of Heart - By S.E. Edwards Page 0,31

you mean…?”

Before the words are out of my throat, Rich is gone. With the slender grace of a dancer, he slides soundlessly behind the bar. He ducks down. When he reemerges there’s a heavy wine bottle in his hand. He shoots me a smile and wink, then crouches low and begins darting from the cover of one table to the next.

I have a bad feeling about what Rich is planning. But I can’t do anything but watch.

Victor is still engaged with his phone. Rich moves like a ninja, until he’s mere feet away from Victor. The bigger man still has no idea anything’s going on behind him.

My nails dig deep into the flesh of my palms. I’m dying from anxiety. If anything goes wrong…

Rich straightens behind Victor. He glances over at me, to make sure I’m watching, and gives me a great, wide smile. Hit him! I want to scream. Every moment Rich delays just gives Victor another moment to turn around and see us.

With the showmanship of a street performer, Rich flips the bottle in the air. He catches it by the neck on its way down. His arrogance astounds me. Victor is still oblivious to what’s going on behind his back. Finally, mercifully, Rich hefts the bottle with both hands, brings it above one shoulder, and swings it at Victor’s head.

The bottle crashes into the big man’s skull with enormous force. The glass shatters. Victor collapses from his seat to the floor. Dark, frothy liquid gushes everywhere.

Rich looks down, then back at me. “See?” he calls out. “Easy as—”

“Oh, my God!” I scream, “Rich, watch out!”

Rich whips around. He jumps back just in time to avoid Victor’s lunge at his legs. Apparently, the bottle did nothing but daze the enormous man.

Victor pushes himself to his knees. His face is twisted in a dark mask of fury. Blood trickles down the back of his neck from the head wound. His eyes find Rich. “You,” he growls. With an ear-splitting roar, Victor launches himself at Rich.

Rich sidesteps the attack—but just barely. Victor crashes into a table, knocking over the chairs stacked on top. He picks himself up and turns around. Rich is positioned about ten feet away, his hands up defensively, his knees bent. Rich is the taller of the two, but I would never have bet on him in this fight. Victor must outweigh him by at least eighty pounds.

Victor picks up a chair and hurls it at Rich. Rich ducks under its path. It collides with another stack of chairs behind him, sending them all toppling to the floor.

“Come now,” Rich taunts in a low voice. “Is that all you’ve got?”

Enraged, Victor roars again and barrels toward Rich. At that moment, I’m reminded of a linebacker with a clear lane to sack the quarterback. Rich surprises me with his quickness. He kicks up a stool just before Victor reaches him, then curls to the side and slams it hard against Victor’s back. The stool shatters. Pieces flew everywhere.

The blow sends the bigger man staggering a few steps. When he turns around, there’s bloodlust in his eyes. “I’m going to kill you,” he promises Rich. “And when I’m done, I’m going to go back and rape that slut sister of yours.” He smiles through his thick beard. “In fact, I think I might keep you alive long enough to watch, yes? Just so you can hear her scream.”

Rich doesn’t answer. Victor reaches to his belt. My heart leaps to my throat when I see him pull out a large hunting knife. Rich has no chance against an armed man Victor’s size—not without a weapon of his own.

Not a flicker of fear shows on Rich’s face. Only grim determination.

Never taking his eyes off Victor, he kneels down and picks up a broken leg of the stool. The piece of wood isn’t much longer than Victor’s knife. He might as well be fighting with a pillow for all the advantage it gives him.

This time, Victor approaches Rich slowly. Rich steps sideways, and the two men start circling each other in the clearing they made. Victor continues his taunts, but Rich does not respond. He just watches the big man, cautious, wary.

Without warning, Victor lunges forward and stabs at Rich’s body. Rich steps aside and hits Victor’s extended arm away, letting the large man’s momentum carry him forward. With a flick of the wrist, Rich’s wooden rod comes up, and catches Victor in the mouth. I hear a sickening crunch.

Victor falls against