Page 72 of New Year

He didn’t know what he hollered as he tackled Austin to the ground. His mind twisted into a storm of black fury, his other weapons were forgotten, and nothing mattered except gaining control of that knife. Plunging it into Austin’s throat and twisting. Then maybe into his dick for good measure.

But Zack wasn’t a fighter. Self-defense wasn’t the same as down-and-dirty, backyard brawling, which was exactly what Austin was dishing out. Austin had Zack on his back, the bloody knife a violent push-pull between them. The Taser was in his pocket, but Zack needed both hands to keep that knife at bay.

Zack made the mistake of looking into Austin’s black, empty eyes. Eyes that radiated coldness and determination and Zack’s looming death.

His entire body jolted from the sound of the gunshot, as much from the noise as the sheer shock. Who was shooting? The sheriff? Austin stopped trying to stab him, and a second shot sent Austin careening sideways, taking the knife with him. Zack lurched in the opposite direction and crabbed a few feet away. Austin had blood on his bare chest, and he wasn’t moving.

“Zack?”

Nat.

“Nat?” He twisted onto his hands and knees, and his stunned brain took a moment to catch up with his eyes. Nat was sitting straight up, blood and dirt covering his bare chest and soaking into his khaki shorts. He held a black handgun straight out, arms shaking from the effort, wild-eyed and pale. His shoulder was bleeding, his left hand was wrapped in ripped, bloody fabric, and Zack was sure he saw bruising on Nat’s throat, too. “Christ, Nat.”

“Is he dead?” Zack saw the question more than he heard it, Nat’s voice was stretch so thin.

“Um.” The last thing Zack wanted to do right now was touch Austin, but he crawled over to the man. Pulled the knife from his limp fingers and tossed it toward his feet. Austin’s eyes were closed, his chest still. Zack pressed his fingers first to Austin’s wrist, then to his neck. “I think so. No pulse.”

“Fuuuuuck.” Nat’s soul-deep wail chilled Zack to the bone, and his heart seized up when Nat collapsed. He hit the ground in a heap and didn’t move.

“Nat!” Zack’s cell began vibrating in his pocket, but he ignored it as he scrambled over to Nat. Nat stared up at the sky with wide, wet eyes, his throat working without producing words. Zack yanked his own shirt off and pressed it over the wound on Nat’s chest, the skin cris-crossed with dozens of red welts. Zack’s own fear and panic tried to override his better senses. “Fuck, what did he do to you?”

Nat blinked twice, then raised a trembling hand to wrap around Zack’s wrist. “How are you here?”

“Chase called me.”

“Chase. Is he okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine.” The utter relief in Nat’s eyes added even more fuel to Zack’s already blazing hatred for Austin, who’d obviously tortured Nat with not knowing what he’d done to Chase. “He called and said you guys heard a car alarm going off, but it wasn’t his car. You went outside to check out the noise. After a while, it stopped, but you never came back. When Chase finally got to the door, the car was gone, so he called me.”

“He snuck up on me. Choked me out. Woke up in the car.”

Zack snarled. He stroked Nat’s forehead and cheek with his free hand, careful of the red, damaged skin around his cracked lips. “I am so goddamn sorry, sweetheart.”

“You didn’t do this.”

“Maybe not, but I didn’t stop him from hurting you.”

“Never will again.” Tears spilled from both eyes and down the sides of his face. “Hurts.”

“I know.” Zack pulled out his phone, ignored the texts and voice message, and called the deputy’s number. “Yes, it’s Zack Matteson. I found Nathaniel and Austin. I don’t know our exact direction from the creek, but I think I walked north.”

“All right, Mr. Matteson, are either parties injured?” the deputy asked.

“Yes, they’re both injured.” Zack couldn’t bring himself to say Austin was dead. That was technically for a coroner to declare, and Nat was barely keeping himself together. “I can’t wait for you to find us. I’m going to carry Nat out of here.”

“What about the other person? Can he walk out?”

“No. I don’t give a shit what happens to him.”

“Mr. Matteson, can you leave some sort of marker for search and rescue to find? Something in one of the trees.”

“I’ll find something.”

“All right. You know, it really is safer for you to stay put and let us come to you. When you’re lost in the woods?—”

“I’ll leave something.” Zack ended the call then cast about, but all he saw were trees, branches, brush, grass, and nothing very colorful. Austin and Nat were both shirtless, and Zack wasn’t going to steal a dead man’s jeans. In the end, he took off his undershirt and tied it as high up in a tree as he could, wiped some blood on it, and made the display as obvious as possible. If rescue didn’t find Austin before the wildlife did…well, not Zack’s problem.

“Come on, up we go.” Zack tried to be gentle as he gathered Nat into his arms, but Nat still screamed and openly sobbed as Zack stood and got him situated. Nat wasn’t heavy, exactly, but he was upset, shaking, and they were on very uneven ground. Nat buried his face in Zack’s neck and cried loud, wrenching sobs that seemed to come from a deep, dark place. So much deeper than just today’s assault.

---