The air in my lungs is the only defense I have.
I scream until my voice is hoarse. Until it’s no longer a scream but a cry.
Somewhere in the fray of grunts and curses and pleas and jerking hips, the shadows shift to my left. Out of nowhere, a stranger rushes around the hood of my car. In an instant, Daniel is yanked back by the collar and hurled into the next car over.
The sound of fists meeting flesh is the last thing I hear before I collapse.
12
breathe for me
Rowan
His body bouncesoff the car and shrivels to the ground.
The piercing sound of a woman’s scream echoes in my mind like a battle cry, driving the toe of my boot into his stomach, my fists into his face. My bodyweight overpowers his before he can throw a decent punch.
Knuckles crack against his cheek, his ribs. Again and again.
He cries out, begs me to stop. I show him the same courtesy he showed her—I don’t stop.
Groaning through the blood spilling from his mouth, he tries to get his feet under him, but another fist to his jaw lands him back on the ground. He shields his face with his arms as my blows keep coming.
We tussle on the ground, rolling until I have him face down in full submission. I yank his hands behind his back and lock them together in my grip, my knees bracketing his hips.
“Get the hell off me!” he grunts, body squirming.
I press a hand into the back of his head so he eats concrete. “Not a chance, asshole!”
He spits out blood and bits of loose asphalt. “Bitch was asking for it.”
His head slams into the pavement under the force of my hand. “Shut your fucking mouth!”
The asshole finally goes quiet, and I suck in my first full breath since I heard the screams from the other end of the parking lot. I didn’t think. I just ran.
The woman shifts in my periphery, pushing herself up off the ground. Hair hangs in shreds over her face. She’s panting and disoriented.
She maneuvers onto all fours. Her body trembles as she crawls, bare knees scraping the asphalt, one shoe missing.
“Miss,” I say quietly.
She pauses and sweeps a hand over her cheeks before she collapses to one hip. Long hair darkened by the shadows, curtains her face from view. Her entire body breaks out in tremors synced up with her quiet cries.
I tighten my grip on the attacker’s wrists as I repeat, “Miss?”
Her head lifts. Hair falls from her face. The distant glow of the parking lot light reveals her features one at a time. Eyes. Cheeks. Lips. My breath freezes in my lungs.
I’ll kill him. Right here, with my bare hands, I’ll end his life.
“Hannah?” I ask, voice low, thick with worry.
Awareness dawns as her eyes widen on mine. “Rowan.” A breath, a plea, and a demand all at once. The emotional dam breaks and she disintegrates into full body-wrecking sobs.
I forget everything else and rush toher.
Her attacker stumbles to his feet and runs off. I grind my molars but don’t move to chase after him. Hannah’s eyes keep me right here, imploring me to stay. Crouched down in front of her, she falls back against the wheel of the car, knees angled to one side.
“I need you to breathe for me, okay?”