Page 55 of Protecting What Is Mine

This guy is supposed to be scary? Leo fell for the exact same trap…once…when he was ten.

Clint frantically pulls at my arm as he gasps for air.

Amateur.

But then he does something none of my brothers ever did. He uses his gorilla-like brute strength to bend forward, lifting me off the ground before he throws me over his shoulder.

I’ve got a split second to decide my next move. If I don’t let go, I know I’m going to the ground. And it’s going to hurt. But I also know if I don’t release my choke hold, he’s coming with me. Head first. And that damn well ought to hurt him more.

I choose to keep my arm wrapped tight around his neck. He may be built like an ape, but try all he wants, I doubt he’s stopping the momentum of two grown men falling. I hit the ground with a heavy thud, but Clint isn’t far behind. When his head hits the dirt, he lets out a groan.

I’d say that had the desired effect.

Landing on my back knocks the wind out of me, which seriously impedes my plan to be the first man back on his feet. As soon as Clint lifts himself onto his hands and knees, I fight through the pain to stand. Still gasping for air, I raise my fists and yell, “Come on motherfucker, we’re not done yet!”

This is no gentlemen’s quarrel. This is a bad guy who’s long overdue for a lesson in boundaries. So, the rules don’t apply. Before he has any more time to pick himself up, I slam my boot into his ribs.

Hard.

So hard, I’d bet a hundred dollars at least one is broken.

Clint falls back to the ground and lies there. Still.

I give him a moment, then two, but nothing. “That all the fight you’ve got? What, you’re only tough when you’re threatening women? Not so much when someone pushes back though, huh? Get up!”

Silence.

Finally, I step closer to check that he’s breathing. As I lean down to listen, I hear a grunt as he kicks my leg, knocking me off balance. I land on the ground beside him. As quickly as I fall, he’s on top of me with his hands firmly wrapped around my throat.

Through a glimmer of light, I see his face above me. His eyes are wide and consumed with rage. His face is stained with blood from a gash on his forehead. The combination of his weight on my chest and his hands on my neck is too much. I can’t breathe, and I can’t wriggle out from under him. A fuzzy kind of darkness begins creeping in at the edge of my vision and I recognize the sensation.

If I don’t do something quick, I’m done for. Worse still, if I’m not there, who’s going to protect Mollie from this piece of shit and others like him?

Numbness inches up my arms and legs. I ball my hand into a fist but can barely feel my fingers enough to know when it is. I channel all the strength I have left into Clint’s ribs. He instantly releases his grip on my throat as he falls off of me and curls into a ball.

We lay on the ground, no more than a foot apart, both desperately gulping for air—albeit for very different reasons.

“Hank?” I hear the worry in Mollie’s voice, but I can’t speak. All I’m capable of is coughing and gasping. Slowly, as oxygen works its way back into my blood, I’m able to sit up. I hear footsteps pattering against the sidewalk. “Hank? Are you okay? I was so worried. Please God, let him be okay.”

I try to speak, but my throat is on fire. The best I can do is a moderate, painful whisper. “I’m getting there.”

Mollie takes my arm, leaning back as she pulls to help me stand. “We need to get you to a hospital.”

“Nah.” My voice is hoarse and gritty. “I’ve had worse.”

Still curled in a ball, Clint writhes on the ground in front of me. Piece of shit, I’m tempted to kick him again for good measure. And if he even thinks about getting back on his feet I will, but for now I’m just glad he isn’t dead.

The tension in my body begins to dissipate at the sound of sirens in the distance. I wrap an arm over Mollie’s shoulder.

“Is that for us?” she whispers.

“I think so.”

She looks at Clint lying on the ground. “What do we tell them about what happened?”

“The truth, babe.” I rub my throat as I speak. “We just tell them the truth.”

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