Something was in the air. Sweet. Like laundry detergent. Or baby powder, maybe?
Hal's hand bit into her upper arm. "Get on the ground. Right now."
"Why? What's - "
"Get on the ground." He shoved her down to her knees. "Keep your head covered."
Wheeling around, he planted himself in front of her, feet wide apart, hands up in front of his chest. From between his legs, she watched two men come out from a stand of maple trees. They were dressed in black fatigues, their pale skin and hair gleaming in the moonlight. The menace they threw off made her realize how far into the park she and Hal had wandered.
She fumbled around in her purse for her cell phone and tried to convince herself she was overreacting.
Yeah, right.
The men split apart and attacked Hal from both sides, coming fast and low over the ground. She shouted in alarm, but Hal... holy Moses, did Hal know what he was doing. He lunged to the right and grabbed one of them by the arm, flipping the guy on to the ground. Before the man could get up, Hal stomped on his chest, nailing him down. The other attacker ended up in a choke hold, kicking and thrashing, gasping for air, getting nowhere fast.
Grim, deadly, Hal was in control of himself, at ease in the violence. And his cold, calm expression disturbed the hell out of her, even as she was grateful he'd saved them.
She found her phone and started dialing 911, thinking he could clearly hold the two while the police came.
She heard a sickening crack.
Mary looked up. The man who'd been in the choke hold fell to the ground, his head hanging from his neck at a totally wrong angle. He did not move.
She scrambled to her feet. "What have you done!"
Hal took a long, black-bladed knife out of somewhere and loomed over the man he'd had his boot on. The guy was scrambling across the ground to get away.
"No!" She jumped in front of Hal.
"Get back." His voice was eerie. Flat. Totally unconcerned.
She took hold of his arm. "Stop it!"
"I have to finish - "
"I'm not going to let you kill another - "
Someone grabbed her roughly by the hair and whipped her off her feet. Just as another man in black attacked Hal.
Pain shot through her head and neck and then she landed on her back, hard. The impact knocked the breath out of her, and stars burst into her vision like firecrackers. She was struggling to get air into her lungs when her arms were wrenched up and she was dragged away. Fast.
Her body banged against the ground, her teeth clapping together. She lifted her head even though it sent needles up and down her spine. What she saw was a horrible relief. Hal was throwing yet another lifeless body onto the grass and coming after her at a dead run. His thighs ate up the distance, jacket flaring out behind him, dagger in his hand. His eyes were a screaming blue in the night, like xenon headlights on a car, and his big body was nothing but death waiting for a place to happen.
Thank God.
But then another man launched himself onto Hal's back.
As Hal fought off the guy, Mary called on her self-defense training, twisting herself until her attacker had to reposition his grip. When she felt his fingers loosen, she yanked as hard as she could. He turned and recaptured her quickly, but with a less sure hold. She pulled again, forcing him to stop and pivot around.
She cringed, ready to get hit, but hoped at least she'd allowed Hal some time to catch up.
Except there was no blow coming down at her. Instead a howl of pain erupted from the man, and her abductor fell on her, a heavy, smothering weight. Panic and terror gave her the strength to heave him off.
His body rolled over limply. Hal's dagger was through the man's left eye.
Too shocked to scream, Mary surged to her feet and took off as fast as she could go. She was sure she would be caught again, convinced she was going to die.
But then the glow from the lights of the restaurant finally came into view. When she felt the parking lot's asphalt underfoot, she wanted to weep in gratitude.
Until she saw Hal in front of her. As if he'd appeared out of nowhere.
She skidded to a halt, panting, dizzy, unable to comprehend how he'd gotten back before her. As her knees gave out,