Page 7 of Rivals & Revenge

My hands shook as I raised them to press against him, trying to dislodge his heavy frame from mine so I could drag in a full breath.

A sharp pain flared in my side, and my eyes snapped to the side. I had been so distracted by my target; I had forgotten he was likely not the only person in the woods tonight.

He kicked me again as I struggled to free myself. My lungs, already straining for breath, screamed for oxygen.

Finally, he shifted, his dead weight rolling onto the foot that was rudely kicking my side. I rolled the opposite direction, hoping to put some distance between me and my attacker only to have something hard slam into my ribs.

A sickening crack confirmed my worst fears, at least one broken rib.

I looked up, seeing two men blacked out from head to toe. Seemingly in a holding pattern, I guess it was no fun kicking me when I was down.

My teeth ground together. I pushed through the blinding pain, dragging myself up to my forearms, scooting my knees up as far as I could before the burning pain flared again.

This was going to fucking suck,I gruffed internally.

I exploded up from the ground, in one swift motion hooking my fingers through the rings of my backups that were still sheathed on my thighs, wrapping my hands around the handle, feeling some semblance of control return to me, even as my vision swam and my stomach lurched, the light meal I’d had before coming here threatening to come back up.

As one, they made their move, closing the distance between us fast. Throwing out my right leg, I struck hard, stomping on one of their tibias, only missing a shot to the face by a hair’s breadth as I dropped low.

I lashed out, swinging my arm with every bit of force I could muster, satisfied when I felt the blade connect, slicing through him with a backhand stroke.

The other man, I would just refer to him as “asshole number two”, struggled to his feet, his eyes trained on mine. I lunged for him, praying he had minimal protection like his friend.

I slashed across his chest with my right blade, then the left, my hooked blade digging in deeply with each stroke before dancing away to reassess this clusterfuck.

Asshole number one was on his knees, his hands clutching at his throat, desperate to stem the flow of blood. I guess that meant my wild swing had been truer than I planned.

“Who the fuck are you?” number two ground out between clenched teeth, still on his feet despite the gaping wounds to his chest.

“Who me? I’m just an innocent girl, out for an evening stroll in the park. Probably shoulda kept your hands to yourself though, huh?” I growled, stepping forward and dragging the blade across his throat before he could react.

My teeth clacked together, my entire body shaking as I emptied the contents of my stomach on the ground between the three men.

“Fuck!” I screamed.

In an instant, my mind cleared. More men were coming. It started with one, then two more. Who could tell how many more might be coming, not to speak of the authorities? I couldn’t stay here.

As my breathing slowed and my adrenaline began to stabilize, the full weight of my injuries crashed into me, overwhelming my senses.

My arms wrapped around myself, tight across my ribs as I stumbled through the brush, afraid to stay anywhere near the pathway.

Spots formed across my vision; the shallow breaths of thin, frigid air were not enough oxygen to keep my brain working.

I stumbled, forcing myself to stay upright. If I could just get to the highway, I could call for help.

Realization hit me, sinking like a stone dropped into a lake. There was no one to call. Help wasn’t coming.

I barked out a laugh, wincing as the sharp pain stabbed into me. I was thoroughly fucked.

Every step was a jolt of pain, a bright white flash behind my eyes. My legs wobbled, slipping on wet pine needles. My fingers clawed at branches, pulling me forward when my feet began to drag.

The toe of my boot caught on a root; my feet got tangled, sending me crashing to the forest floor.

My entire being shook as I crawled arm over arm in the direction I hoped was civilization.

A pair of black leather boots came into view, and I froze, craning my neck up to meet the eyes of the last person I wanted to meet when I was wounded.

“Well, well. What do we have here?” Rossdale mused, a wry smirk playing at his lips.

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