Chapter 8
Before he could grab hold of her, someone slammed into his side, sending him crashing onto the ground.
Ralen.
Oh, thank God. A sob of relief escaped her.
Ralen quickly turned the guy over and then punched him in the face several times before standing back and shaking out his hand.
The guy who’d attacked her was still.
Ralen was breathing heavily as he turned to her. “Are you all right, Addie?”
She nodded her head frantically and pointed back around the truck. He needed to stop paying attention to her and go help Cash.
Ralen nodded and took off around the truck.
Shaking, knowing that she probably wouldn’t be able to walk, Addie crawled her way around to see that both Ralen and Cash had their backs to each other as they fought off the three men. Those were still unfair odds, though, and she needed to help even them up.
Addie dragged herself up onto her feet and reached under the tarp again.
There it was. The elusive crowbar.
Grabbing hold of it in both hands, she managed to make her way to the guy on shaky legs. Cash was now fighting off two men, while Ralen had taken on the biggest of the three. She moved up behind one guy and smacked the crowbar down on the back of his head with a thud.
Oh, God. Oh, God.
She hadn’t thought about what she might do if the guy didn’t actually fall over.
Slowly, he turned and stared at her.
Oh, jeez. Oh, jeez. Oh, jeez.
What the hell was she going to do now? She took a step back, and then another one, before Cash grabbed the crowbar out of her hand and smacked it across the asshole’s face.
“Addie, look away,” Cash commanded.
Addie closed her eyes, trying to block out the sound of metal hitting skin. Those cries of pain were going to stay with her for a long time.
And then it was silent, except for a loud sob. Who was that? One of the men? Was it Cash? Was it Ralen?
She really needed to open her eyes and check.
Someone grabbed her by the upper arms, and she screamed again, trying to fight her way free.
“Addie, Addie, it’s me. Open your eyes. It’s me,” Cash said.
Forcing her eyes open, she stared up into his concerned face. She was breathing heavily, her entire body trembling in shock as she stared up at him.
Addie sobbed as he drew her into his chest. Only this time, she didn’t get such a feeling of safety. Not because of Cash, but because this night had been pure hell. And she wasn’t certain that she would ever feel safe again.
“Jesus, you took your time, didn’t you?” Cash asked.
Was he talking to her? She’d hurried as quickly as she could to grab the crowbar. It wasn’t her fault that she couldn’t find it.
But then Ralen spoke, and she realized Cash had been speaking to him, not her.
“I stopped for a pee. And something to eat. Sorry, man. If I knew there was a fight going on back here, I would’ve rushed back quicker.”
“Christ, I didn’t think I was going to be able to take them all.”
“Yeah, well, you probably shouldn’t have tried,” Ralen told him.
That was something she agreed with him on.
“It was fight them or let them take Crystal and Addie.”
Crystal? Who the heck was Crystal?
“Yeah, we couldn’t let them do that, could we? What the fuck are we going to do with these four?” Ralen said.
“Leave them here,” Cash suggested.
“Seems like the best idea,” Ralen said. “One good thing is I no longer feel like vomiting. How about you, Addie?”
She turned away from Cash’s chest and stared at Ralen. Huh. He was right. She no longer felt like vomiting.
Passing out? Crying? Screaming?
Yep. All of those.
Was she trembling like a leaf? Did her throat ache? Yep.
But it seemed her stomach had actually settled.
“I need a fucking drink,” Cash said.
“Me too,” said Ralen. “Shall we stop at a bar?”
She leaned back to stare at them both incredulously.
Cash grinned down at her. “Don’t worry, Addie. We don’t need to stop at a bar. Ink has likely got something in his office.”
She nodded in relief. Thank goodness.
Wait, who was Ink?