Page 33 of Fall Hard

“No need to be rude,” he called again as he walked closer. “All I want is a smile.”

Jamie seemed content to just walk past him and I breathed a sigh of relief, until he screamed at her almost directly in her face.

“Hey, bitch. I said,smile.”

Fuck.

Jamie froze on the spot and if I didn’t know her better, I might have assumed fear had seized her muscles. But I did know her better and it was anger, not fear, that kept her rooted to the ground as she slowly turned her head and offered the man the sweetest, most dazzling, smile that he almost didn’t seem to register her words.

“Go fuck yourself, you sack of shit.”

I had the feeling this was going to end badly.

Sure enough, the guy’s white face reddened as he stepped forward and got into Jamie’s space, spittle flying from his mouth as he tried to intimidate her. I could have saved him a lot of time if he’d bothered to ask, because there wasn’t a chance in Hell that Jamie was going to back down and that was bad news for all of us.

“Think you’re tough, little girl? Stupid bitch. Wouldn’t want to fuck you anyway.” His hands were balled into fists and with every word he seemed to try and crowd into her space even more.

I reached for Bryn, gripping her hand tightly as I tried to assess the situation.Should we run? Call the cops?

Jamie didn’t move away, just smiled again but this time with a razor sharp edge as she spat in his face, “Cunt.”

He swung and I screamed. It was broad daylight! This shit shouldn’t happen at all, but something about the sun shining cheerily overhead made it all feel worse.

His fist never connected. One second he was twisting his body and the next he was on the floor, writhing in pain.

I looked at Jamie, dropping Bryn’s hand as I moved to her. “Are you okay?” I grabbed her shoulders and examined her, but she seemed fine, if a little shaken that the guy had leapt at her like that. I checked her hand and blinked when I didn’t see a wound.

“Stay down,” a sharp voice said and my mouth dropped open when I turned to see Kat pinning him to the ground, a fierce expression on her face that I’d never seen before.

“Kat,” I breathed, unsure what to do or how to help. “What do you need?”

“Should we call the cops?” Bryn’s face was paler than usual and I moved closer to her, not liking the way her hands were shaking.

“He didn’t technically do anything,” Kat said reluctantly. “I had him on the ground before he made contact.”

“How did you do that?” I didn’t think I’d ever admired her more than I did at that moment. She was like a freaking superhero.

The guy on the ground seemed to have passed out from whatever hold Kat had put him in and she nodded to the pathway ahead of us as she let him go. “I’ve been taking self-defense classes, didn’t think I’d really have to put it into practice though.”

We left the guy on the ground as we walked quickly away until he was out of sight around a bend in the pathway and then Bryn rounded on Jamie.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

I realized somewhat belatedly that the shaking of her hands had been anger, not fear, as she stepped into Jamie’s space and stared her down.

“Me?Iwasn’t the one screaming in our faces, that was the other guy.”

Bryn’s jaw tightened and, as her fists clenched, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen her so mad. I hesitantly tried to step between them and Bryn pressed a cautionary hand on the front of my shoulder, holding me away. “You put us all at risk with your stupid fucking antics. If Kat hadn’t saved your ass we might have all ended up seriously hurt. You might not care about your own safety, but have a little thought for the people around you. Jesus.”

Bryn turned away without another word and marched off.

Jamie looked at Kat and me with big eyes. “What was her problem?”

I frowned. Sure, that guy had been out of line, but Jamie had been as well for baiting him. What if he’d had a gun? “Sometimes, I wish you’d think a little more about the situation and other people before you go around pissing people off.”

“Liv—”

I held up a hand. “No. I’m sorry, but Bryn was right.” I hesitated before stepping forward and gently squeezing Jamie’s arm. “Sometimes the safer thing for everyone is just to let things go.”

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