Page 67 of All He Sees
His words spiraled around her head. No--this was a worse fate than the helicopter crash. Nicky couldn't die here, not in front of a scumbag like Chad Medina.
"Stop," she managed. "If you kill me, you'll go to jail forever. My people are on the island, Chad. It's too late for you. Let me go and I can help you."
He pressed the blade harder on Nicky's throat. She tried not to show her fear as she gasped for air. She couldn't cry. She couldn't whimper. Her eyes had to be firm, her gaze unwavering. She needed to get out of this, but she couldn't even move her arms. He'd thrown her hands over her head, and if she tried to move, she'd cut herself.
"I'm not going to let you escape," Chad said. "Say goodbye, bitch."
The blade pressed harder into her neck, and Nicky felt her vision blur again. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, she couldn't react.
Chad lifted the knife—and brought it down
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Nicky took a chance--she dodged her head to the left, and the knife landed right beside her face. She looked up at Chad's face as he processed that his hit hadn't landed, and Nicky had one shot.
She drilled her knee upward, into Chad's groin. He howled in pain. He tried to bring up the knife, but Nicky was faster. She grabbed his wrist and elbowed him hard in the head. The knife fell from his hand, and Nicky pushed it away.
Chad had moved away from her, his hands covering his crotch. He was still on the ground, but he looked up at her with an expression of confused lust.
"What are you waiting for, bitch?" he said, looking at Nicky with bloodshot eyes. "Kill me."
But Nicky didn't. She just stared at him, the knife in her hand.
"Kill me," Chad repeated. "Kill me."
"This doesn't have to be how it ends," Nicky said.
"It does," Chad said. "Kill me."
"No," Nicky said, shaking her head. "I'm not going to."
She whipped her handcuffs out. “Chad Medina, you're going to jail for a long time--"
Before Nicky could finish her sentence, Chad was on his feet again. Both of them were disarmed. Nicky saw the knife, gleaming in what little light seeped into the tunnel. There were the three guns, but they'd all been knocked away in the chaos. Chad's two friends were both unconscious.
But Mira was gone--that much was certain. Nicky hoped she'd get away. She hoped she'd find Ken. Maybe they'd come back to help. Either way, as long as Mira was safe--Nicky would be okay.
Even if she had to fight Chad to the death.
She and Chad circled each other, each one of them trying to gain an advantage. They didn't talk. They didn't smile. They just stared at each other, sizing each other up. Chad wanted to fight, Nicky could tell. He didn't like being humiliated. He didn't like the idea of being taken in by the cops.
And he didn't like the idea of being killed.
Nicky saw his eyes dart to the knife. She saw him move slightly toward it. She saw his body tense for a strike.
Nicky put up her fists, and she waited.
Chad looked at her, and he smirked.
Then he rushed her.
Nicky's mind was a flurry of punches and kicks. She had to go full defense as Chad unleashed everything. All she could see was Chad, and all she could feel was his fist against her body. She'd blocked as many of his attacks as she could, then shot her leg up in an attempt to kick him. He was alarmingly fast--but Nicky was trained for this.
She was prepared.
He was not.
Nicky saw her opportunity and she took it. She jabbed him in the stomach, then brought her knee up into his face. Chad stumbled backward, clutching his nose. Nicky moved in for the kill--but he recovered quickly, and before she knew it, he had her in a headlock.
