The woman’s lips curl. Her eyes lift. Malicious intent meets mine.
He grips her shoulder. She spins. His eyes grow wide, pain etching across his defined features.
He rips the knife from his side, the pain turning to vengeance as he grips her by the throat. The silver edge presses against her throat as I’m forced out of the shadows. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Jagger’s head snaps our way. His eyes blaze a path over me, cataloguing every inch, then flash to the man holding me. To the gun digging into my ribs.
“Drop the knife,” my captor orders.
“Why would I do that?” Jagger hisses, turning his attention back to the woman in front of him.
“Because if you don’t, I’ll kill your little girlfriend.” He digs the metal barrel further into my ribs. Blood floods my mouth as I fight to contain my groan. They won’t get more cries or screams from me.
“Do you think I believe if I let her go, you’ll release Poppy? What kind of idiot do you take me for?”
“A pretty big one since you can’t follow simple rules.”
“Again. Because I’m not an idiot.” Blood trickles from the pressure of the blade against the woman’s sensitive flesh. She whimpers, her eyes growing wide. The perilousness of her situation finally sinks in.
Jagger has as little reluctance about killing her as the man with the gun in my ribs has about killing me.
Jagger digs the knife even deeper. A tear trickles down the woman’s cheek. “Brett, do something.”
Time trickles like sand.Brettdoesn’t budge in his hold on me. The gun never lowers. The glass I’ve been holding digs into my flesh. Warm, wet crimson drips down my fingers. What I hoped would be a weapon is nothing more than an addition to my pain. Until his grip loosens, I can’t use it.
The standoff seems to last forever.
Then my eyes leap past Jagger.
This isn’t a standoff, it’s a distraction.
My eyes widen as a man approaches Jagger, gun raised. I bite into the flesh wrapped around my mouth, knowing the reaction might not be in my favor, but needing to do something.
He does as I hoped, releasing me for a second. Just long enough for me to yell Jagger’s name as I bury the glass into Brett’s thigh. “Behind you.” I lunge for him, but I’m jerked back, slamming against the concrete with a disturbing thud. For a moment, my vision darkens, and stars dance. My ears ring with a high-pitched vibrato. Pain blasts through my head, vibrating down my body like a jackhammer.
I turn, needing to find Jagger. To make sure he’s okay. My vision clears just enough to see dark liquid spreading beneath a fallen figure. My stomach drops.. The cut on my hand aches as I place it on the concrete, trying to push myself to my knees so I can crawl. Before I can get up, someone grabs me.
I’m tired. I’m weak. Everything hurts.
But I’m sick and fucking tired of people grabbing me.
My elbow jabs into something hard. The grip on me loosens enough that I manage to stomp my foot into my captor’s. It’s a pitiful effort, but it’s an effort that works enough for me to get five steps away before I’m grabbed again.
“Poppy.” My ears are still ringing, but I calm down at the familiar tone. “Calm down.”
But I don’t because what I see in front of me terrifies me and breaks my heart. Jagger is on top of Brett, the same look in his eyes I saw the night of his fight. Unhinged and out of control. His fists land against the man’s face like death and destruction.
“Let me go,” I demand, my voice sounding raw and thick as I use what energy I have left to kick and thrash in his hold. I need to go after him, to stop him from doing something he will regret, but Will’s arms are a cage around me. “I have to stop him.”
“You can’t, Poppy. You’ll get hurt.”
“Then you stop him!”
“Fuck,” he hisses, letting me go. He clears the distance between us and Jagger in a millisecond. It takes several attempts to pull him off the man, and when he finally does, Jagger swings at him. He lands a solid hit to Will’s chin and another to his jaw. Will manages to dodge the third attempt, but Jagger doesn’t stop coming.
Not knowing what else to do, I race toward them, throwing myself between them. Will pushes me away just as fast,cursing and telling me to stay away.
Doors open and footsteps sound through the vast garage. My heart pounds, expecting more reinforcements from Brett. Or maybe even the police. Instead, Henry comes rushing in with a man I don’t recognize, leading the other guy who broke into my apartment at gun point.
