Page 103 of Mountain Daddy

I roll away. Dazed. The leader gasps for air, crawling away.

Another man stands behind me. Must have come in during the fight. Holding a metal pipe.

He swings again.

I block with my forearm. Pain radiates up to my shoulder.

The pipe comes down again. I grab it. Yank.

He stumbles forward. Into my rising knee.

His nose shatters. Blood fountains.

I wrench the pipe from his hands. Swing it like a baseball bat.

It connects with the side of his head. The sound is wet. Final.

He crumples.

Where's the leader?

Movement by the door. He's running. Limping. One hand at his throat.

I start after him, then stop.

Lilly.

She's more important.

I turn back. Run to her. She's half-conscious now. Mumbling. Trying to lift her head.

“Lilly.” I cup her face. Check her pupils. Dilated. Drugged. “Lilly, it's me.”

Her eyes try to focus. “Nik...?”

“I'm here.” I cut the ropes binding her wrists. Her ankles. “I've got you.”

“Chleo,” she whispers. “They said... they were going to?—”

“He's safe.” I gather her against my chest. “He's with Maksim. No one will touch him.”

She sags against me. Relief making her boneless.

“Can you walk?”

She tries to stand. Wobbles. Falls back into my arms.

“S'okay,” I say. “I've got you.”

I scoop her up. Carry her like she weighs nothing. Her head rests against my shoulder. Arms around my neck.

“You came,” she murmurs. “You found me.”

“Always.”

I carry her out of that hell.

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