Chapter 25
Elara
I ran.
The alley narrowed. Brick walls on both sides. My sneakers hit oil-stained pavement. Behind me, heavy footsteps. Two sets. Getting closer.
My backpack slammed against my spine with each stride. My lungs burned. I couldn't get enough air. The alley turned. I took the corner fast. My shoulder scraped brick. The pain was sharp but I kept going.
A hand caught my jacket. Yanked hard.
I went down. My knees hit concrete first. Then broken glass. The impact sent pain shooting up my legs. My backpack flew off. Everything scattered—the broken watch, my phone, paintbrushes, money.
"Fucking hell, she's fast." The voice came from above me. Brooklyn accent. Rough.
I tried to push myself up. A boot pressed between my shoulder blades. Shoved me flat. My palms scraped against asphalt. I tasted blood. Had I bitten my tongue?
"Stay down, princess."
I turned my head. Saw him in the dim light from the street. Gray jacket. Heavy build. Maybe mid-thirties. The other one bent down to pick up my things. He held up my phone. The screen was shattered.
"Vane family girl, right?" The boot pressed harder. I couldn't breathe properly. "Someone wants you taught a lesson."
I forced the words out. "Let me go. I'll give you money. Whatever you want."
He laughed. "We already got paid, sweetheart."
The second man moved closer. His eyes went over my face. Something changed in his expression. He saw me clearly now. Really looked at me.
"Yo, check her face." He nudged the other one. "She's... damn. Didn't realize the target was this pretty."
The weight lifted off my back. I sucked in air. My lungs hurt. Before I could move, hands grabbed my arms. Flipped me over. My head hit the concrete. Everything went white for a second. Then I saw stars. Then their faces above me.
"Hold up." The first man leaned down. His breath smelled of cigarettes and something sour. "Boss said teach her a lesson. Didn't say we couldn't have some fun first."
My whole body went cold. I thrashed. My hand came up. My nails caught his face. He jerked back. I saw blood on his cheek.
"Bitch!" His palm shattered across my face. My head snapped to the side. More blood in my mouth. My own this time.
The second man grabbed my wrists. Pushed them above my head. His weight pressed down on me. "Calm down. You're just making it harder on yourself."
I kicked. My foot connected. He grunted. His grip loosened for a second. I yanked one hand free. Went for his eyes.
He hit me. My ribs. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Just pure panic.
Then I made myself stop. Forced my body to go still.
My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would break through my chest. But I needed to think. I needed to know.
"Wait." My voice shook. I couldn't control it. But I made myself speak clearly. Loudly. "I need to know something. Who hired you? Was it Victoria Vane?"
They looked at each other. Just for a second. But that second told me everything.
"Smart girl." The first one smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "Too smart for your own good."
His hand reached for my shirt. Started pulling at the buttons. The fabric tore.
I couldn't think anymore. I just moved. Shoved him as hard as I could. He stumbled. I rolled. Grabbed my heavy paintbox from the ground and threw it at the second man. The paintbox hit his head. He cursed. My fingers brushed against my phone on the gritty pavement, and I snatched it, shoving it into my pocket as I scrambled to my feet.
I ran.
My hands shook as I pulled my phone from my pocket. The screen was shattered but it still lit up. I unlocked it. Hit Julian's name. The only emergency contact I had. I hadn't changed it yet.
It rang once. Twice. My breath came in gasps.
"Elara?" His voice was different. Sharp. Awake. "What's going on? Where are you?"
"Julian! Help me! They're trying to—"
Hands grabbed me from behind. Pulled me down. The phone flew from my hand. Slid across the pavement.
"Elara?!" His voice came from the phone. Distant but loud. "ELARA!"
A boot came down on the phone. The screen went black. Went silent.
"Grab that bitch!"
I fought. Kicked. Screamed. One of them got his arm around my neck. Squeezed. Everything started to blur. I couldn't breathe. My vision darkened at the edges.
Then—
"Get the fuck away from her!"
The arm let go. I fell forward. Hit the ground. Air rushed into my lungs. It hurt. Through the tears in my eyes I saw someone tall. He had a baseball bat. He swung it. Hard. The sound when it connected was awful. One of the men went down. Screaming.
"Try me." The voice was young. Steady. "I'm on the fucking baseball team."
The second man backed up. "You'll regret this, kid. You know whose girl this is?"
"I don't give a shit. Get out. Now. Before I call the cops."
They ran. Both of them. One was limping. They disappeared into the dark.
The bat hit the ground. Hands touched my shoulders. Gentle. "Jesus. Are you okay? Did they—"
"No." I shook my head. My voice didn't sound right. "You stopped them. You stopped them in time."
He pulled off his St. Valerius baseball team jacket and put it over my shoulders, covering my torn shirt. He was careful. Didn't touch me more than he had to.
"I'm Mason Parker." He started picking up my things. Found the broken watch. Held it carefully. "Same school as you. I've seen you around. I saw them following you for a few blocks."
I took the watch from him. My hands were shaking. I couldn't make them stop. "Thank you. Thank you so much."
He looked at my face. At the blood. The marks. His expression changed. Got angry. "We need to call the police. And get you to a hospital."
"No. No hospital." The words came out fast. "Please. Can you just... can you take me somewhere safe? Just for tonight?"
He studied me for a moment. Then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. Come on. Can you walk?"
I could. Barely. My legs felt weak. He kept his hand near my elbow. Not touching. Just there in case.