Page 140 of Play Book

Our eyes lock and I see she’s afraid, but we don’t have time for that.

I give her the slightest nod of my head and then I turn, launching myself at Russell.

“Ally, run!”

“Ugh!” Russell is stocky, but not tall, and we go over my desk and topple onto the ground when I tackle him. The gun goes flying—thank fuck—but Russell is pissed.

“Whore! You fucking little—” He smacks me in the side of the face, but my only goal is to find his balls. Because I’m going to knee them so far up into his groin, he’ll need medical intervention to get them out.

I’m on my stomach on top of him, and he’s wiggling like an oiled pig, so it’s hard to get any momentum with my knee. He yanks a fistful of my hair, throwing my head back, but adrenaline is pulsing through my veins. I’m not going down without a fight.

Pain explodes in my jaw as he punches me, but I don’t have the luxury of giving in. If I don’t find a way to get away from him, he’s going to hurt me.

“You little cunt!”

He still has my hair in his fist and I’m rapidly running out of strength, but I can’t give up. I squirm, desperate to get away, but his grip on my hair is biting and painful.

Somehow, he flips us, so I’m beneath him and then he has his hand on my throat.

“Stupid whore—you think you outsmarted me? You belong to me! And if you won’t come willingly, I won’t hesitate to make you wish you had.” He squeezes harder and I gasp, trying to breathe. My vision blurs and I realize I’m going to lose.

He’s going to kill me.

At least Ally got away.

That’s all I can think about as the blackness starts to overtake me.

“Motherfucker!”

A loud, familiar voice startles me, and suddenly Russell is yanked off me. I’m still half out of it, gasping as I take a breath.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Canyon.

That’s Canyon’s voice.

I try to move but my body is weak.

All I can do is continue to pull in slow, deep breaths.

There’s the sound of bone crunching, someone cries out, and then a crash.

“Saylor.” This voice isn’t Canyon’s.

Soft fingers on my cheek.

“Saylor, wake up.”

Ally.

Oh, fuck.

She probably thinks I’m dead.

“Saylor, please wake up!” Her voice breaks, the sound penetrating my hazy thoughts.

“I’m…okay.” My voice is a raspy whisper.

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