Page 149 of Rescued by the Single Dad

She was startled at first, but recovered faster than he anticipated, surging to her feet and, with a growl of rage, charged Clint. She made contact with him, and this pushed them both closer to the uneven edge.

“NO!” Brooke screamed, having moved further away from the cliff edge. “Clint, no!”

He didn’t want to hurt Inez. The woman deserved to go to prison for what she’d done.

He fought her just as much as he fought to stay upright and away from the fucking cliff edge.

They couldn’t both tumble over the side.

He needed to get them the fuck away from the crumbling ledge.

She was a dirty fighter. Screaming and clawing at him. Scratches burned his arms and face. He fought to protect himself. To deflect her blows and guide her backward toward the parking lot. Her hair flew wildly around them. Then she grabbed at his hair and ripped out a chunk.

He roared from the pain, and Brooke’s cries in the background barely registered with him as he battled the unhinged woman, who was hellbent on killing him.

He finally managed to grab her by the wrists and started to walk her backward, her disheveled hair covering her face as she growled, but then she did the dirtiest of all moves and kneed him hard in the groin.

He went down to his knees with a groan, cupping himself.

Everything hurt.

He was going to puke.

Opening his eyes briefly, he realized he was on the edge. Half a roll to the right and he’d be flying—it’d be a short flight though and with a crash landing.

Behind him, the sound of women fighting drew his attention. Brooke and Inez were locked in a death battle. They had each other by the shoulders. Brooke kept trying to get them further away from the edge, while Inez had lost her goddamn mind and was just trying to inflict as much damage and pain as possible. It was clear she had no endgame any more.

She had Brooke by the hair; both women were screaming. The pain between his legs dwindled, and he no longer felt like he was going to throw up. It was tougher than he thought to get back to his feet, but he managed. Inez’s foot slipped, and the earth crumbled away from her. Her eyes went wide as terror shot through her.

She grappled for Brooke.

Brooke went into savior mode instantly, trying to pull her back.

“Help me,” Inez screamed.

“I ... I’m trying,” Brooke said.

Clint scrambled over to where they were.

“What are you doing?” Brooke asked Inez, as Inez grabbed onto Brooke’s arm with both hands and started to pull. One of her feet dangled over the crashing surf and rocks below.

A demonic glint flickered in Inez’s eyes. “Two for one?” She pulled harder, and Brooke lost her footing and started to fall forward with Inez. Inez let go and fell, just as Clint got there and grabbed Brooke, hauling her backward so they tumbled and fell to the earth with a thud, her on top of him.

Their chests heaved.

Her ear was against his heart, and they lay there for a moment.

A seagull screeched overhead, then the sound of sirens filled the air.

Car doors slammed and heavy boots running toward them made the ground vibrate.

“What the fuck is going on?” came the dark rumble of Officer Everett Jacobs. “We got a call from some cop in Seattle saying we needed to get here ASAP.”

“Clint?” said the second cop, who Clint recognized as Officer Myla Bruce.

He gave Brooke a tight, reassuring squeeze, then she slowly climbed off him.

“Brooke Barker?” asked Officer Jacobs in surprise.

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