Page 133 of Vengeful Guard

I was so focused on what was happening with the Escalade I had missed them. A look in the rearview mirror shows me the second car stopped, and men are walking to the Escalade.

The car in front of me slams the breaks and out of instinct, so do I.

And that is my doom. All three cars box me in, and men pour out of them.

I lock my car doors, hoping it will buy me some time, and I can only hope it’s enough to get Kael here. Because I know he’s coming. He has to.

I start to pull my phone out of my pocket, but it’s not there.

Fuck.

How will I call Kael or Declan?

I look around me everywhere, but I can’t find my phone.

Where is it?

A thump comes from the passenger-side door, and my eyes fly there.

A man with a pickaxe is going at the window.

It doesn’t last long.

As soon as the glass shatters, he uses his fist to open a big enough space to unlock the doors.

The man on my side, opens my door while the first man opens the passenger-side door and removes my seatbelt. I have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

Kael, where are you? I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you.

The man on my side rips me from the car and throws me on the floor.

Fear is clouding my judgment. I just want to crawl into a hole and hide until Kael comes for me, but I can’t.

I hop onto my feet, take a long breath, and get into the stance that Kael taught me, praying with all my might that I can remember what he said.

Breathe out. Use your whole body weight. Put strength into that punch, little princess. Hit me harder.

The solar plexus, the throat, the nose, knees to the bollocks. Fight dirty, Paige. Don’t let them take you.

It is not a fair fight, not by a mile. There’s two of them and only one of me. But I won’t go down without throwing a few punches.

I grit my teeth as the first guy approaches. He’s wiry, slimmer than the other one.

This guy is smaller than Kael, and I’ve taken Kael down before.

You can do this, princess.

Kael’s lightly accented voice in my mind calms me as I let the man get close.

When he’s about to reach me, I move forward on my right foot, throwing a left hand up into his jaw. I connect, and his teeth snap together, sounding like they cracked.

As he stumbles backward, I pull up my knee and hit him right in the balls.

He squeaks, doubling over, and the other man’s laughing, just waiting for his turn, I think.

“You’re getting beat down by a little girl.” The fatter man cackles as my attacker looks at me, hatred seething from him.

I punch him in the nose. Hard.

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