Page 21 of Coerced

When she sat up like it was all over, I thought,And that’s my girl, too.

She didn’t understand fighting. She probably never would.

Don’t get me wrong. Gemma Shepherd was brave and strong and smart, but she had about as much aggression in her as a baby bunny. She never followed through after a takedown. I musta told her a hundred times that just because your enemy was down, it don’t mean he was out. And still, for her, it ended when her opponent was on the mat.

Fanishell rolled over and grabbed her shoulder, and I was still too effing far away. I had to watch as he coated her in black tar and her body went still and stiff.

I’d been pissed from the second I saw her lying there with him standing over her, but now I wasenraged.

As he got to his feet, I smashed my fist into the back of his skull. Although my knuckles split on impact, it was worth it: He catapulted three feet forward and landed flat on his face.

“Rescindthat, you prick!” I snarled.

Shaking out my hand, I dropped to one knee next to Gemma. Her eyes were open, but she wasn’t seeing anything. I brushed the back of my fingers over her cheek.

“Angel? Can you hear me?”

Nothing. She didn’t blink or even seem to be breathing. Fanishell had frozen her in time like he had Joss Dumar in the caf the other day.

“Gigi!” I hollered.

Lifting my head to look for her, I locked eyes with Noah Farley instead. He stood a few yards in front of me, bouncing a blue-white fireball in his hand. I threw up my shield and moved away from Gemma, wanting this fight far from her while she was so vulnerable.

“You’re dead,” Farley growled.

“Oh, am I glad it’s you.” Grinning, I spiked up. “I owe you a beating.”

He pitched the fireball straight toward my head. My shield didn’t even vibrate under the impact, and I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

“Weak, Farley.” I let the tiger out, just a little. “Lemme show you how it’s done.”

Flicking my wrist, I tossed a disc of power at him.

Either he hadn’t brought up a shield or it was as garbage as his fireball. My shot slammed into his stomach and lifted him off his feet and made him double over with a groan. The rest of the F-Fers hustled over and formed a half-circle around him. While two or three of them checked on him, the rest either powered up or glared at me with clenched fists.

Am I supposed to be intimidated?

“Get outta here.” I jerked my chin toward Farley. “And take your garbage with you.”

“Give us Cole, too,” one of them called.

“Not a chance. He’s gonna stay and explain to me why my girl’s on the ground. The rest of you need to leave.Now. Before I lose my temper.”

They didn’t move, so I decided to encourage them a bit. My control was worn to a thread, though, and what I intended as a warning flare over their heads roared out like a flamethrower and scorched the brick wall of the nearest dorm.

That made them scatter like the vermin they were.

Good. Now I’m free to finish this.

I went back to Fanishell, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and lifted his face to see if he was awake yet. It wouldn’t be worth torturing him until he was. The spikes on my fingers dug into his scalp and forehead, and the thin trickles of blood made me smile.

Uh-oh. You let the tiger out a little too much.

That tiny voice of warning was easy to ignore.

Hank’s voice, coming from my right, wasn’t.

“Kerry? Wardens are here now. Let them do their job.”

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