Page 68 of Stolen Summer
My vision darkened along the edges, my lungs shrieking. “H-he’s not here,” I stammered, my eyes stuck on the knife. Is he here to kill Cole?
Taking me by the throat, he slammed me into the wall again. “Don’t lie to me. His car is parked outside.”
“I’m not. I swear. I’m here with Cole.”
“You're dead if I find out you’re lying.”
My eyes widened right before my assailant’s eyes did., Cold steel was now pressed to my attacker’s temple. The cocking of the gun echoed like a bomb in the kitchen. “Let her go or I blow your brains out. Your choice but choose quickly. I won’t wait long,” Cole said, his voice steady but laced with icy fury.
Chapter Twenty-One
The fingers pressing into my throat loosened, and I sucked in ravenous gulps of air, filling my lungs. I coughed, the burn scorching my esophagus.
“Drop the fucking knife.” The violence in Cole’s eyes made my chest hurt. I wasn’t sure who I should fear more. Him? Or the intruder? He dug the barrel of the gun deeper into the side of my attacker’s skull.
My assailant started to surrender, lifting his hands in the air, but he had yet to release the blade. I had a bad feeling.
Feral cruelty descended over Cole’s features. “Back the fuck up from her.”
With slow steps, he walked backward. Once. Twice. On the third step, shit hit the fan.
Pivoting, my attacker swung out with his knife at Cole, aiming for his stomach. Cole dodged by jumping back a few inches, but the blade still sliced through his shirt, grazing his lower belly.
Something snapped inside me. Terror. Rage. Instinct. Who knew what propelled me forward. Using both my hands, I latched on to the arm clutching the weapon, using every ounce of strength I had left in me to keep him from striking out at Cole a second time.
“Get off me, trash,” the intruder seethed, throwing me into the wall with a force that knocked me breathless, and I dropped to the floor.
“Arie,” Cole growled.
My head felt so damn heavy from being banged around that I couldn’t lift it to see what happened next, but I knew Cole and the intruder were fighting. I wanted to curl into a little ball, find a corner, and cower there, but I couldn’t leave Cole alone. If anything happened to him…
The thought of him hurt or worse stimulated a courage I didn’t know I had. Adrenaline could supply the body with hidden untapped energy. It was wild.
As was this whole fucking nightmare.
And boy did I want this to be nothing but tormented dreams. God knew I had enough of them.
Flattening my palms on the wooden floors, I pushed up, my head feeling as if it weighed a hundred pounds. Would the ringing in my ears ever stop? My vision blurred, but I sat up, pressing my back into the wall.
I couldn’t hear Cole and the invader.
And I couldn’t see them either.
Where the hell did they go?
Worry spiked in my blood as I whipped my head left and right, searching the kitchen. My head protested at the quick movements. Get to your feet, Arie. You need to help Cole. You need to pull it together.
Using the wall to bear most of my weight and steady myself, I inched to my feet. I had to take a few moments to boost my fortitude, and then I used the wall to walk, keeping one hand braced in case the dizziness took me.
I made it to the open sliding doors leading to the pool when Cole appeared.
His eyes searched my face. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Did he touch you?”
I shook my head. “No,” I croaked, unsure which question I was answering.
Cole pulled me into him, and I let him, wanting the strength of his arms and body. Mine couldn’t stop trembling. I fucking hurt everywhere, but I endured the pain so I could be comforted.
My face pressed into the side of his neck. “He was looking for Crew.”