“Ooof.” All the air rushed from her in a painful expulsion as her upper body folded forward. The grips on her arms didn’t lessen even a fraction, and her shoulders pulled in an agonizing stretch as her body tried to curl in on itself but was held captive by two jerkoffs.
Trying to inhale, all Izzy could manage was a high-pitched wheeze. There went the idea of screaming for Zach, which had been plan B if taking the goons out didn’t work. Perhaps it should have been plan A before she got socked in the stomach.
There wasn’t time to feel fear, only anger and frustration at being helpless. While she struggled to right herself, a long-fingered hand wrapped around her throat and pushed her upper-body back against the car.
The men on her sides hooked their feet around hers, spreading her legs and holding her completely immobile. Now the fear slithered in. Three men, spread legs, unable to move…not a good position for a woman to be in. The only consolation she had was that someone would have to let go of her to remove her clothing. And that’s when she’d strike.
Even though it was a wasted effort, she thrashed against their hold. Maybe she’d be smarter to conserve her energy, but she didn’t want these pieces of shit to think she was weak for one second.
The hand on her throat tightened, and she stared into the eyes of a guy who couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. As he continued to increase the constricting pressure, he said, “This would go a lot easier and faster if you’d stop thrashing around.”
“Fuck…you,” she whispered, because it was the loudest sound she could manage.
He smirked and squeezed tighter, completely cutting off her ability to speak. And breathe. If she hadn’t trained for years, hadn’t had her neck in a choke hold countless times, she’d have fallen into a complete panic. Instead, she embraced the feeling and concentrated on looking for an opportunity.
“Now, we have about thirty seconds before you pass out, so listen closely. I need you to deliver a message to your friends for me. Tell them no amount of fencing and little boys on watch will keep their clubhouse safe. Our business is booming, and Lefty won’t let anything fuck with that. If he has to kill every one of those motherfucking bikers, he will, and there ain’t a thing they can do to stop him.”
Darkness closed in on her vision, tunneling it down to a pinpoint as she wrenched her neck and tried to break free.
“See how easy it is to catch someone off guard?” he whispered against her ear right before releasing her neck.
Izzy sagged and immediately sucked in giant lungsful of air. Her vision returned and the buzzing in her ear died out. She was so focused on oxygen and not passing out, she missed the continued attack. Another fist plowed into her stomach. This time, the men liberated her arms, but she was weak from lack of breath and the second punch.
She collapsed to the ground just as a booted foot connected with her side. Once, twice, she absorbed the punishment as best she could, curling up to protect her vital organs.
Shouting could be heard in the distance, but it was mostly drowned out by the buzzing in her ears.
“Fuck! Move out,” the leader said as he delivered one last kick, this time to her low back. Suddenly they were gone, and Izzy’s body went limp against the asphalt.
“What the ever-loving fuck?” From her position on the ground, Izzy caught sight of Zach’s running shoes speeding in her direction. As best she could, she rolled to her back and, within seconds, he stood above her, a wooden bat in his hands.
Opening her mouth, she tried to speak, but all that came out was a frog-like croak that began a round of painful coughing. She tried to sit, but her stomach muscles wouldn’t obey.
“Holy fuck, babe.” Zach dropped to his knees beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t move.”
She ignored the order and, once she was sitting, rested against the wheel well of her car and shook her head. “I’m okay,” she rasped. Her throat felt like it’d been raked over a cheese grater.
“Your neck’s a mess. I’m calling an ambulance.”
“No,” she tried to yell, then winced.
“Sorry, babe. It’s the hospital for you.” He yanked out his phone, called nine-one-one, and two minutes later was tucking the cell back in his pocket. “What the fuck happened? I heard a bang, so I grabbed Louie and ran out.”
She nodded. “Three guys.” Even to herself, it sounded like she’d swallowed a bucket full of rocks. Hopefully, there wasn’t any permeant damage to her vocal cords. “Tried to fight them, but…” She shrugged. “Three.”
Zach let out a mirthless laugh. “You may be a badass, but even you aren’t superwoman.”