Page 30 of Falling for the Beast

But as she neared, the man’s face came into view. Gavin. Her heart stopped.

Chapter 14

Gavin grabbed her arm. “Yourfreak boyfriend almost killed me.” He twisted her arm and she cried out in pain.

“Let go.”

“No.” Gavin pulled her along the trail toward the parking lot.

Where was Thaddeus? Had something happened to him? “Where are you taking me?” she asked, glancing behind them.

Gavin didn’t say anything. He continued to pull her along the trail, fury in his eyes. His grip on her tightened when she slowed. “Keep up,” he demanded.

“You can’t force me to go with you.”

He glared at her but didn’t let her go.

Her mouth went dry and she glanced wildly around. “What did you do to him?”

An evil look came across Gavin’s face. “My friends took care of him.”

“No!” She tried to wiggle free, but he held her arm in a vice grip. She needed to go back. To see what had happened. Were they still beating him up? Would they kill him? Her foot landed on a rock, and her ankle twisted. A sharp pain stabbed through her leg. Her knees buckled and she fell to the dirt path.

Gavin yanked on her arm, trying to tug her to her feet, but she crumpled to the ground. “Get up.”

“Let me go!” she yelled, but her voice gave out and it didn’t have the power she was hoping.

The trees beside the path rustled and Thaddeus jumped out, his face murderous. Blood trickled down the side of his face from a cut on his forehead. His muscles bulged and he looked like he wanted to rip Gavin apart. He pounced on Gavin, who finally let go of Aribelle’s arm. She scrambled back, a small rock biting into the palm of her left hand.

Thaddeus punched Gavin in the face, and Gavin dropped, unconscious. Thaddeus turned to her, crouching beside her. His eyebrows pulled together in worry. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. What happened?” She reached up to his forehead. “How bad are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.” He gently touched her ankle and she winced. “I think it’s broken.” He picked her up and started walking down the path.

“Are they…?” She couldn’t ask the question.

“They’re alive,” he said simply and left it at that.

She tightened her hold around his neck, laying her head on his chest. “Thank you. For coming for me.”

He didn’t answer. He picked up his pace, glancing back over his shoulder.

“What?”

“One of them is coming after us.”

She closed her eyes. This couldn’t be happening. Gavin and his stupid friends were rude, but she’d never thought them capable of doing something so horrible. She didn’t want to think about what might have happened if Thaddeus hadn’t gotten her away from Gavin.

They reached the clearing and he gently slid her onto the motorcycle seat. A man burst forth from the forest, running toward them.

Thaddeus picked him up and threw him. He flew into the air towards the parking lot. When he came down, his head smacked a log, making a sickening cracking sound. Thaddeus cursed and ran toward the man.

“What are you doing?”

“I didn’t mean for him to hit his head.” Thaddeus knelt down and placed a hand on the man’s forehead. Pain flooded Thaddeus’s face for a second before he jumped up. “We have to leave. Now. Someone else is coming.”

He swung his leg over the motorcycle and she grabbed his abdomen. He started the engine and the bike jerked forward. Before they turned down the road, she glanced back to see Gavin running out into the clearing. His eyes were wild with rage.

---