"I guess there's no way you want him winning," I said. "If he gets first dibs, he might show you up."

He hit me so fast I didn't see it coming.

As I lay on the floor, Eddie shook his head, as if to say, What did you expect?

Noah had his coat off, boots still on, hair salted with snow. "What's going on?"

No one answered. I got up, swiped away blood trickling from a scrape on my elbow, grabbed my discarded towel and cleaned my fingers. Then I walked up to Tesler.

"Struck a sore spot, did I?" I said.

When he raised his hand to hit me again, I didn't flinch. Dismay flashed in his eyes before he tossed the empty can aside and stalked back to the kitchen.

I started to follow.

Noah caught my elbow. "Don't bait-"

I shook him off and walked into the kitchen. Tesler was rooting through the fridge.

"I can see why you'd be worried," I said. "He's seventeen. What he lacks in finesse, he'll make up for in vigor. He's in his sexual prime… And how old are you?"

He popped open a beer.

"About forty-five, I'd guess. Getting a little harder to, well, get harder, I bet."

He kept his gaze fixed on the fascinating contents of the refrigerator. To get angry would be to confirm it.

"That's about the same age as your hubby, isn't it?" he said. "Got some experience with little blue pills?"

I laughed. "Definitely not. Clay doesn't need pills-or rape-to get it up."

The look he turned on me was pure hatred. And I knew that I'd just sealed my fate. Blow this, and I wouldn't just be raped, I'd be raped, beaten and killed-and no swift painless death either. A cold ball of panic congealed in my stomach, the little girl voice screaming at me, demanding to know what the hell I was doing. I stifled it.

The key to not getting killed was not to blow this chance. Push, push and push until I got what I wanted, consequences be damned.

"No offense," I said, "but I'd prefer the kid."

He smiled, teeth bared. "I'm sure you would."

He guzzled the beer. I walked closer, making no attempt to cover my nakedness, and stopped a foot from him.

"How about you fight me instead?" I said.

He stopped with the can at his lips, then lowered it. "What?"

"Let me fight in the kid's place. That will make it fair. Same deal applies. I win, he gets me. You win… " I looked him in the eye. "I'm all yours."

He looked back at me and for the first time since we'd met, I wasn't afraid. Clay had been right-stand my ground and Tesler wouldn't stand his. His face darkened with fury, and I knew there was only one thing he could think about, only one thing he wanted: to regain control.

There was no logical reason to grant my request. Better to let Noah challenge him, beat the crap out of the kid and teach him a lesson. Take on me, and he could lose, opening himself up to the unbearable humiliation of losing to a woman.

But if he won, he would truly win, and the spark of defiance in my eyes would be doused forever. He could regain control, beat the crap out of me and even Eddie couldn't complain about it. Take me in a fair fight, then take his prize when it would taste the sweetest.

When Tesler opened his lips, I knew what was going to come out. Two words.

"You're on."

COMBAT

ONCE THE INITIAL thrill of success passed, I realized I was in deep shit. I might not have any external injuries from my plunge into icy water, but I felt like I'd swum across the English Channel. Every muscle ached and I was dead tired.

If I didn't fight, though, I could skip the "tired" part of that cliche. I'd just be plain old dead. And that's what I had to remember. Physical injuries were one thing, but I would not lose a fight for lack of will power. I just had to work past it. I could rest all I wanted later.

My odds of beating Tesler were about fifty-fifty. I could swing them a little more my way because I had seen him fight before, but I didn't want to get cocky.

If I lost, I'd be raped, beaten and killed… not necessarily in that order. There was still a chance Joey and Clay would find me in time, but my optimism on that front had faded the moment I sent Joey on his way. I'd led him to believe Clay would kill him horribly for his betrayal. And now I expected him to run back and tell Clay I was in the enemy's hands… and that he'd put me there?

I wouldn't be surprised if he'd hit the highway and kept going. In fact, I'd be shocked if he hadn't.

So I could only pray that fighting for my life would give me all the extra adrenaline I needed.

TESLER SEEMED PERFECTLY happy to make me fight naked-go figure. It was Eddie and Noah who argued-Noah protesting and Eddie acting as if his brother was obviously joking, which eventually forced Tesler to play along and say, sure, he was kidding and of course I could get dressed… as long as I wore my own clothes. What he didn't realize is that I'd draped them by the fireplace, so they were warm and partially dry.

Noah and Eddie cleared the living room, shoving the furniture against the walls. Then Tesler and I moved into the center of the room and faced off like boxers. He even bounced on his toes for good effect.

"Last chance to change your mind," he said. "Don't expect me to hold anything back just because you're a woman."

"I don't."

"You're going to come out of this feeling a helluva lot worse than you do right now."

"I expect to. And I appreciate you giving me the option, but I'm fine. I'll extend you the same courtesy, though, if you want to back out."

His expression sent a chill through me, and deep inside, that child's voice started screaming at me not to fight, never fight, I couldn't win, I'd only get hurt.

But I wasn't twelve years old anymore. I could beat this son of a bitch.

"You think you're tough, don't you?" Tesler said.

"No, not particul-"

He sprang, palms smacking into my shoulders. The floor disappeared under my feet and my head struck the floor with a crack that sent consciousness on a split-second holiday. I came to with Tesler towering over me, his hand wrapped in the front of my shirt. Before I could register what was happening, I was sailing through the air again. This time I slammed into the wall.