He doesn’t want anything from Alex, I realized. My heart thudded faster. Harder.He only wants revenge.
My tires squealed as I made the sharp turn into the parking lot of Alex’s apartment. Halogen headlights flooded the area, my highbeams bringing light to everything nearby. I came toa screeching halt as a head popped up from behind Alex’s car. Ricky. Where was Alex?
I threw the car into Park and popped out of the car so fast the door bounced and strained against the hinges. I rounded the car and came to Ricky at a dead sprint. My feet didn’t falter as I tracked him, the periphery of my vision taking in someone bloody and motionless on the ground.
I funneled my rage. Tunneled my vision. Zeroed in on Ricky.
And helaughed. Held up his hands and motioned for me to come at him. I faltered for only a second, suddenly unsure. I had almost a foot in height on the guy. Surely my size would just plow him over?
I ran right at him, figuring my size would do the work for me. He waited. Almost patiently. The moment I stepped inside his guard, Ricky’s right hand went up, the palm of his hand connecting hard under my chin. My neck exploded backward and my entire head went numb. My legs continued forward but my upper half came to a cold stop from that sudden strike. I went down hard on my ass with anoomf.
Ricky’s boot connected with my stomach and it drove all the wind from my lungs. Dazed, unable to breathe.
Don’t care.
I’ve fought through worse pain. I sprang to my feet and Ricky let out a surprised chortle.
“Slugger here has some spirit,” he said appreciatively.
I put my hands up in a fighting position. I had never done this before, but all I needed to do was buy time for the cops to show up. If I could put Ricky’s entire focus on me, he wouldn’t touch Alex.
“Don’t care,” I said and tasted blood on my lips. “Release those pictures. I don’t care.”
He shrugged and turned out his lower lip. “Honestly? Neither do I. I just wanted to see the little fucking slut here onelast time so I could kick the shit out of him. Such a pussy. Just like you.”
He moved like a cobra. I swear I couldn’t even track his movements. One moment he stood there, and the next he dashed forward and his fist caught me in the face from a right hook. I felt something split just over my eyebrow as a ribbon of blood arced through the air. He followed with driving the heel of his left palm into my solar plexus. My entire body petrified in electric shock as pain radiated from between my ribs.
Ricky left me no moment to recover. Just as quickly as he hit me in the chest, he delivered an earth-shattering right uppercut to my gut that lifted me from my feet. I doubled over as spit flew from my mouth. Staring only at his lower half, I watched him dance back, spin, and then the greatest explosion of pain yet as his foot connected with my kidney. I dropped, where he kicked me three times in the side.
Taken out. In less than five heartbeats.
My kidneys screamed like they had been doused with gasoline and set on fire. There wasn’t a single patch of me that didn’t hurt. No, this was beyond hurt. I had never experienced pain like this. A thousand pricks from a red-hot poker traced my body. Could I even move?
Slowly, grunting through it, I rolled until I hit all fours, then crawled toward my car. Ricky laughed and laughed.
“Look at this fucking bitch-ass pussy,” he said through fits of raucous laughter. “Running away?” He looked at Alex as if Alex could respond. “Thisis what you want? This fucking pussy? Can’t even stay to fight?”
I crawled past the open driver side door and used the frame to climb back to my feet. Ricky went back over to Alex and I felt renewed energy surge through me. Carrying me.
To the trunk.
Popped it open.
My favorite aluminum practice bat.
Walked back toward Ricky, who had returned to Alex.
I wound up. Ready to strike him right to the moon.
Ricky could punch, yes. He could kick. He could dance around me all day, all night. He could even place the perfect strike on my jaw.
But I’d hit two hundred and ninety-two home runs in my career andI knew how to fucking slug.
“Hey, asshole!” I shouted.He started to turn…
The bat took Ricky right in the chest.
His eyes almost popped from his head as he doubled over from a metal baseball bat hitting his chest at ninety miles per hour. Spit sprayed from his mouth like a geyser. The satisfyingcrunchandthudresounded all at the same time. I had no doubt ribs broke.
