I was getting a little fidgety.

My opportunity wasn’t arising and I was beginning to get scared.

Therefore, I hesitated.

He took the gun away from my head and squeezed off a round.

I jumped, thinking he’d shot me but realized he’d fired away from me.

He put the gun back to my head.

“Undo your f**kin’ jeans.”

I did what I was told. Maybe death before defilement was the way to go but I couldn’t think at that moment.

The minute I unbuckled my belt and slid the zip down my jeans, he whipped me around and forced my torso to the hood of the car. He pressed his crotch into my behind, the rest of his body against my back and the gun against my temple.

“Gonna f**k you against the car, then I’l do you doggie style,” he said into my ear.

My heart was racing, my breath coming in jerks and my mind was absolutely blank.

He wasn’t done.

“Then, got me a bottle and I’m gonna f**k you with that too, break it and f**k you with it. Hard. Tear you apart. The next time your wetback boyfriend puts his dick in you, you’l f**kin’ scream.”

It was then I decided death before defilement was the way to go.

“First, you gotta beg,” he said.

He tried to pul down my jeans. Problem was, it wasn’t easy with one hand pointing a gun to my head and my body bent at the hips.

“Beg, bitch!” he demanded.

Real y.

Enough was enough.

“Fuck you!” I shouted and then did a backwards head butt, catching him somewhere pointy and I hoped it hurt because, for me it hurt like hel .

I lifted up, taking him with me.

He tried to force me back and I started to go with him but I got turned a bit and was wedged sideways against him and the car.

I struggled, managed to slide around front-to-front and got my hand on the gun.

Both our hands scrabbling for control of the gun, I put my ass on the car, forced my knees up, put my feet to his bel y and pushed.

He went flying and I came off the car and jumped on top of him before he could recover.

Maybe I should have run, but I didn’t. I was way too pissed off to run. He’d made my life a living hel and that’s al that was in my head. It was probably stupid but I didn’t real y care. I straddled him, reared back a fist and slammed it into his face.

“Fucking bitch!” he snarled and brought up the gun, trying to point it at me. I saw it, did a sideswipe, hit his forearm and the gun went flying.

“Motherfucker!” I shouted, my hands going to either side of his head, I lifted it up and cracked it against the cement.

I’d never cracked anyone’s head against cement and it caused a weird sensation that could only be described as a repulsive, but kickass rush.

I didn’t have to ask myself if I was a bad person. At that moment I just was.

My arm went back, cocked at the elbow to hit him in the face again, but he grabbed my wrist, bucked and rol ed me over onto my back, him on top.

Hmm.

This was probably not an advantageous position.

I had little time to muse on it because one second he was there, the next second he was flying through the air.

I blinked and looked up.

Mace was standing over me, looking down, face rock-hard. He must have ascertained I was okay because he moved around my body and advanced on Vince.

I laid there a beat, breathing hard and feeling weird as the sudden relief that I wasn’t alone tore through my body.

Okay, so I learned my lesson.

God didn’t deal with the piddly-ass stuff, God kicked in when shit was important.

Good to know.

Good to know.

I got up shaky and realized we were not only not alone.

We were really not alone.

People where forming from shadows. Darius came forward and so did Lee. Hank came from behind me. Wil ie Moses, the police officer that came to Eddie’s house what seemed ages ago, also materialized, this time, in plain-clothes.

Eddie was also there. By the time I’d scanned the scene, he already had Vince cuffed and pressed against the hood of the car exactly as Vince had pressed me (except for obvious differences).

A squad car, driven by Wil ie’s partner Brian, quietly swung in next to Vince’s car.

“Holy crap,” I whispered.

It was like the Justice League of Super Heroes but instead it was the Justice League of Hot Guys.

My heart was stil racing and I was stil panting and I felt strangely super-cold.

I stood there staring at them al , stunned immobile, except for the trembling.

Eddie looked at me, yanked Vince from the car and shoved him toward Wil ie, turning away from him and not looking back.

Then he came to me.

He got close, blocking everyone from view and his hands went to my jeans. I didn’t move, maybe didn’t even breathe as he buttoned then zipped them up and did the buckle, his eyes looking into mine the whole time.

“You okay?” he asked when he was done.

I nodded.

It was a lie. I was seriously ful of shit. I wasn’t okay. I was terrified.

“I’d be more assured if you’d breathe,” Eddie said.

I let out of a gush of air.

He closed his eyes, put his forehead to mine, then opened them.

“Better,” he murmured.

“Takin’ him to the station,” Wil ie cal ed.

Eddie turned and nodded. Wil ie walked away, talking to Vince and Brian had the backdoor of the squad car open.

It was over.

Dear Lord, it was final y over.

I didn’t know what to do, laugh out loud or burst out crying.

I didn’t have a chance to decide.

Lee got close.

Eddie turned to Lee, his face changing, registering anger, as in, a lot of anger.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t over.

“You and me got to have words,” Eddie said.

Uh-oh. Words with Eddie.

Eek!

“It was under control,” Lee returned.

I looked from one to the other in confusion. Confusion was good, I was embracing confusion, it made the super-cold and the trembling go away.

Darius, Hank and Mace also got close, but I think they got close in case Lee and Eddie came to blows.

“Hombre, he shouldn’t’ve got his hands on her and he definitely shouldn’t’ve got her pants unzipped,” Eddie said in Scary Eddie voice.

Maybe Eddie wasn’t feeling anger, maybe it was something else a few notches above anger.

“He went from two counts of kidnapping to two counts of kidnapping and attempted rape with her pants unzipped,” Lee answered, calm as you please.

I blinked.

Um… pardon me?

“Pardon?” I whispered.