Page 50 of Treacherous

This was different.

Noah was like the terminator. I'd never seen a man's fists move like I did in that moment. He was everywhere, the crowd were deafening, and I realized pretty quickly that I was in the middle of something I really didn't want to be involved in.

The display of brutality I had just witnessed wasn't normal. There was a level of viciousness in Noah's dark eyes as he pounded his knuckles into opponent's face that chilled my blood.

Turning my back on the fight, I tried to push my way through the mob, but no one would budge. I banged off some huge guy's chest and twisted around, trying to steady myself, but I was shoved in the back and then I did something incredibly unattractive.

I fell forward into the makeshift ring and face-planted the ground.

I tried to climb to my feet but the people behind me surged forward, either too engrossed in the fight or too ignorant to care that I was still on the ground, leaving me with no choice but to curl into a ball and protect my head with my hands.

People rushed forward, some stepping on me, and I held my breath in fear. I felt a sudden sharp spike of pain when some asshole's boot connected with my face. Another one stepped down on my ankle, hard enough to make me cry out, and I braced myself for the stampede, every muscle in my body locked and coiled tight in fearful anticipation. You could imagine my surprise when I felt a hand wrap around my arm and drag me along the dirty, blood-stained gravel and out from underneath the masses.

"Have you got a goddamn death wish?" Noah demanded as he dragged me roughly to my feet.

The second he let me go and stepped away I fell forward, unable and unwilling to put any weight on my ankle.

It was hurting so bad and I was having a mini-breakdown.

I nearly died.

I could have died.

I almost died.

Oh Jesus…

Noah cursed under his breath and caught me again, slipping his arm around my back to hold me up. "You're a goddamn thorn in my side," he snarled as he walked me over to where a small group of men were standing beside a sweet looking wine colored Subaru.

I tried to limp along with him but failed miserably and after another muttered curse Noah lifted me into his arms.

"She yours, Messina?" I heard a man ask but I couldn't hear Noah's response.

To be honest I was still in shock that he'd dragged me to safety in the first place. Noah hated me enough to leave me there – he'd said it himself; I was a thorn in his side – and I doubted I would have helped him or Ellie if I'd been in his position.

With my chest-heaving I tried to catch my breath, but I could feel the blood trickling from my lip and that didnothingto calm my emotions.

When we reached the men Noah sat me down on the hood of a car.

The metal was cold against my bare thighs and I welcomed the feeling. The backs of my legs were burning from being crushed, the front of my thighs were stinging from being dragged over gravel, I was covered in dirt, and my hair was knotted and hanging limply over my breasts.

Yeah, I wasn't a pretty sight.

Noah clutched my jaw for a brief moment as he studied my face with eyes full of anger. He gently ran his thumb over my lip and wiped some blood away before dropping his hand from my face. He growled and ran a hand roughly through his thick black hair.

His chest was bare, his knuckles were swollen and the white tape covering them was blood encrusted. He had a nasty looking cut over his eyebrow that had started to clot, and the faded jeans he had on were covered in a mixture of blood and dirt.

"Do you mind telling me what the hell you're doing here?" Noah demanded, eyes wild and frantic as he pushed his black hair out of his eyes.

I opened my mouth to respond but a sharp stinging sensation caused me to shut it fast.

Noah shook his head in disgust and stalked around me. He opened the door of the car I was sitting on, and rooted around for a couple of seconds before coming back to where I was sitting and dropping a white shirt on my lap.

I immediately picked it up and pressed it to my mouth, desperate to rid myself of the horrible taste of blood – blood that I suspected was coming from my lip. "I'm looking for…Cameron!"

I spotted Hope's brother less that ten yards away from us and tossed the t-shirt at Noah before shimmying off the hood of the car. "Hey, Cameron, get back here."

Landing awkwardly on my ankle I bent forward and placed my hands on the ground to stop myself from falling. I tried to stand but my ankle wouldn't hold me, so I stood there for a moment with my butt in the air, contemplating what the hell I was going to do next.

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