were involved. All it took was my sad little eyes to convince him to convict your son.” His face went red, and for once in my life I was pleased I could pull off a lie with a straight face. Sometimes in the courtroom, a bit of acting helped the case—not that I would ever lie in court. “I wish I was there when those doors slammed shut between the two of you.”
“Bitch!” He ripped at my shirt and tore at my pants. My inner tiger came out, and I grew stronger, and even though I was horribly outnumbered, I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. “I’m going to show you what I’ve been wanting to do since the day we met!”
“Screw you!” I managed to wiggle a leg free and lashed out at him.
“Watch out. She’s a kicker,” one of his men called as Henry felt between my legs.
“Help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Please, someone help me!”
“You think anyone is going to help you? One look at the six of us, and they’ll run like the cowards they are.” He moved in close, and I felt his breath on my neck. I took that chance to bite down on his ear. He yelped and growled like a wild animal. I spat whatever was in my mouth in his face, only to get another punch to my stomach.
“She’s scrappy.” One guy laughed, entertained by the whole thing while I once again fought to suck in sweet air.
“Bitch.” Henry felt around his wound and glared at me. “I should have finished you the day we left the courtroom.”
“But yet, here we are.” I coughed and blinked back the dark spots. Stay focused, Sloane. Fight to the very end.
“Boss,” the bald-headed man looked over his shoulder, “I think we should move this along.”
I felt my fight return, and sucked in the deepest breath I could muster, and…
The loudest, scariest cry I’d ever heard a human make stopped mine mid-scream. It took me a moment to realize I wasn’t even the one who made it.
Ellie was wild, red in the face, and her arms were locked at her sides. Tears streamed down her cheeks while she moved forward like an unstable maniac. She raced toward Henry, and he jolted back, unsure what she was capable of.
The men jumped back too, and Henry looked around, realizing a lot of attention was being directed our way. Ellie sucked in a deep breath and started to scream again.
I tore free and spun around, breathing wildly. It was as though time stood still, and everything shifted like a movie trying to catch up while buffering.
Three men in business suits approached from the parking lot and called out, asking what was going on.
“Shut her up!” Henry yelled, but when one of the men went for Ellie, she covered her ears and screamed her incredible scream again in his face.
“Help!” I desperately called to the three men, and they started walking toward us. One of them pulled out his cell phone.
“Shit!” Henry waved his hands at the guys. “Get in the fucking car!”
One moment I was inches from being sexually assaulted, and the next I was nearly run over as the car squealed by, only missing me by a hair. I fell to the ground and crumpled into a ball. I may have fight in me, but dammit, I was human and not made for the mob lifestyle.
“Miss!” One man came to my side, and I jumped at his touch. “Sorry.” His hands pulled quickly back like I had burned him. “Are you okay?”
Awkwardly, I moved to stand with shaky knees. He offered to help, but I shook my head. I couldn’t stand the feel of any man’s touch right now. I was too raw and emotionally fragile. I moved as quickly as I could toward Ellie, who was still screaming. I grasped her tightly around the shoulders and hugged her to me.
“Hey, there. It’s okay, Ellie. It’s okay. I’m going to take you to your mom now.” I pushed her hair back from her face. “You can stop yelling.” I tried to smile through my own tears and terror. I finally got her to look at me, and her screams faded away.
“Should I call the cops?” The man who had tried to help me held out his phone like he was unsure of his next move.
“No, my father is a cop.” Another lie. “I’ll call him. Thank you so much for helping,