Clasping my head with his large hands, he forces a kiss on my unwilling lips. Then he bashes my head back onto the concrete. I try to make my mouth work, but it doesn’t cooperate. I can’t even scream. I’m dazed . . . I start blinking rapidly, fighting with everything in me to keep my eyes open. If I lose consciousness there’s no telling what he will do to me. He slams my head into the ground again and my eyelids close. Darkness takes over . . .
I don’t know how long it is until my eyes flutter open again. I blink the rain out of my eyes. I test my legs. They work. My hands obey when I ask them to move. That’s good. I groan in pain and I know my voice is back. My little nap has given me enough strength to fight him. Small blessings.
“Get off me!” I scream as I attempt to wiggle out from underneath him.
It’s then that I realize my clothes are off me. Swallowing the bile in my throat, I touch my hip. I nearly cry in relief when I feel my rain soaked panties. He hasn’t raped me. Yet.
Kohen laughs at me. His weight holds down my body. One hand presses against my throat making breathing difficult, while his other makes a rough grab for any part of my body that he can touch. His intentions become all too clear when his hand roams below my belly button. I start bucking like crazy, trying to toss him off me. Kohen leans down so he can lick my cheek, the same one he punched moments ago.
Something in me snaps. With his face still close to mine, I turn my head towards his and bite the first thing that my mouth comes into contact with, which happens to be his ear. Perfect. I bite down as hard as I can. Kohen’s agonizing screams gives me a sickening pleasure. I won’t go easy. If he wants me, he can come and get me. Kohen slams my head back down on the concrete, causing me to release his ear. I spit blood in his face when he comes back into view and smile at him.
“You’re going to pay for that, Adalynn.”
I smirk at him. “Wort—”
All words die when he bangs my head down again. The world goes black.
My head is spinning, it feels like I got hit by a bus and then a soccer team decided to use my head as a ball. Not good. I try to wipe the rain from my eyes but I can’t. Kohen . . . Oh God! Lightning lights up the sky and I scream but no noise comes out. Kohen has his hands wrapped around my neck. His hands dig into my throat. I can see it in his eyes, he’s going to murder me.
I start thrashing around, but nothing happens. All it does is make Kohen grasp my neck tighter. Kohen smiles down at me, showing the most haunting grin I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t let him kill me. My knee connects with his tailbone. He winces, but doesn’t release his hold on my neck.
I claw at his hands. The evil smirk on his face lets me know that he’s enjoying this. He loves that I’m helpless, underneath him and he’s in control. He has all the power. It’s up to him if I live.
I don’t stop fighting him as I picture everyone I love. I close my eyes so their faces are the last thing I see, not Kohen’s. I picture Jax’s face last. The memory of him is so vivid I can almost hear him shouting my name.
Out of nowhere Kohen is shoved off me. Gasping air, I hold my neck. It’s more than tender to the touch. Someone gently presses fingers to the pulse point on my neck. I keep gasping in air. I have no idea how Kohen is off me, but I know the danger isn’t over. I need to get away from him fast, before he recovers and finishes me off.
Instinctively my head turns to the right to follow the sounds of pounding and grunting. I spot two men fighting. One limps, not fighting back as the other man pounds into his face. It’s too dark to make out who’s who, but I pray that the person on the ground is Kohen. As lightning strikes again, my eyes widen and the tears finally start to come.
Jax.
Jax stands over Kohen, beating the shit out of him. After wiping the rain and tears from my eyes, I attempt to stand, but my legs collapse underneath me. I desperately need to be near Jax, like I need oxygen to breathe. I crawl my way toward the biggest mistake of my life and the love of my life.
When I finally manage to crawl to them, I notice that Kohen is out cold. He’s unrecognizable. All I see is blood. Everywhere. Blood covers Jax’s hands and streams down Kohen’s face. I try to call out to Jax, for him to stop, but nothing comes out. Not a sound. My voice won’t work.
I don’t give up. I can’t. As much as I want Jax to kill Kohen, he can’t. Jax will end up in jail if he kills him. Kohen isn’t worth it. I try again to stand, but my leg isn’t working. Whenever I put pressure on my ankle, I fall over. I know it’s broken. When Jax drops an unconscious Kohen onto the ground I think the attack is over. It’s not. Jax grips Kohen’s head in both hands. Seeing his intentions, I will my voice to work this time.
“Jax,” I choke out.
It’s barely audible to my own ears. I have no hope that Jax hears me, especially with the roaring noise of the storm over us. By some miracle, at the last second, Jax whips his head in my direction. Kohen forgotten, Jax lets go of his lifeless body and rushes to me.
“Ads,” Jax says quietly as he crouches beside me.
He lifts a red hand to my face. I cringe from instinct, from memory. My body remembers being hit, again and again. Jax mistakes me shuddering away from the blood and drops his hand. I grab his hand that is pulling away from my face and press it to my swollen cheek. Even with the rain soaking his hair, dripping in his face, washing the blood away, he is still the most breathtaking man I’ve ever seen.
As my mind realizes that I’m not in immediate danger, the adrenaline pumping through my veins recedes, and in it’s place is pain. All the pain I was pushing down, ignoring so that I could escape from Kohen, rushes forward. Tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.
Silently I scream. No noise comes out thanks to Kohen crushing my windpipe.
I’m safe. Jax is here. I can rest.
“Don’t close your eyes!” Jax yells above the storm.
Blinking, I try to focus on him but I can’t. With a will of their own, my eyes flutter shut. Vaguely I’m aware of the ground moving underneath me, making my head spin and intensifying the nausea I’ve been feeling all night. My gag reflex has had a workout tonight so when another wave of nausea hits, I can’t swallow it down as I’ve been forced to do all night. Nope, instead I turn my head and throw up all over the warmth that is surrounding me.
In the back of my mind, I’m aware that the warmth that I’m throwing up on is Jax, my savior. Time slips away from me after all of the bile is out. One minute Jax is squatting down on the ground with me in his lap while he holds my hair out of my face, and the next I’m sitting in his car with the lights on, his phone flashlight in his hand, as he regards me with pure hatred.
I shrink back. I’ve never seen him look at me like this, or anyone before, even Wyatt. On closer inspection, I notice that he isn’t glaring at me, not really. He’s glaring at my neck, I can only imagine what it looks like. Jax holds his hands up, silently letting me know that he won’t hurt me. I know that. Jax could never hurt me. Yeah, like Kohen could never hurt me. Gah! I’m so stupid!
“I would never hurt you, Adalynn,” Jax says, reading my mind.
Closing my eyes, I nod. I know this. I hate how much he is suffering, how angry he is. I know it’s not directed at me, but it’s my fault. If I wasn’t so consumed with having someone love me, truly love me, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be bleeding, in pain, and unable to talk because the man who’s been telling me he loves me had his hands around my neck.
“Open your eyes, Adalynn,” Jax pleads.
I comply, hating that he didn’t use his nickname for me. My eyes water again, but I force them not to spill. I will not cry. I’m a survivor. I won’t cry because of Kohen. Turning off the flashlight on his phone, Jax stares at me, all signs of hatred gone.