Bitten (Once Bitten, Twice Shy #1)(21)

Before she could make herself to react – to somehow escape the clutches of the threatening thug – she heard it. A car engine. A vehicle was on the highway. She and the men surrounding her looked to the source of the sudden noise and Katherine nearly died of relief when she saw that it wasn’t a black BMW, but a huge green SUV. The man holding her against her car backed off a little as the vehicle turned into the gravel lot of the station, though he was still much too close for comfort.

To Katherine’s shock, she immediately recognized the man who stepped out of the SUV. Tall, muscular build. Wild black hair. Intense blue eyes. It was the stranger she had run into outside of Miller Road. The same man who had rescued her at her house. He was okay!

But… what was he doing here?

The man – as young as he looked Katherine couldn’t bring herself to call him a boy – didn’t hesitate in making his way over to them. The tense manner in which he held himself and the way his arm muscles strained gave him away. He was furious. “What’s going on here?” he asked coolly.

One of the men – the scrawny one with the rat-like face – sneered at him. “None of your business. Now get out of here, boy. There’s another gas station twenty miles up the road.”

The man ignored the thug completely, choosing instead to focus his attention on Katherine, who was still feeling rather lightheaded. “Are you okay?” he asked gently.

Gently? The last time he’d spoken to Katherine, the man had been downright cold towards her. But then he’d rescued her from those delusional men who’d hurt her parents. And now these ruffians.

Exactly who was this man?

Katherine wetted her lips and opened her mouth to respond, but the bandana-clad man still standing next to her roughly grabbed her wrist, stealing her attention away from her rescuer.

As it so happened, however, she didn’t need to answer Blue Eyes – she still had no idea what his name was – because as soon as he saw the man grab her, he quickly stepped forward so that he was nose-to-nose with the thug. “Let go of her,” he ordered.

The man scoffed in response and refused to relinquish his grip on her arm. “Oh yeah, and what are you gonna’ do about it?” To emphasis the control he thought he had over the situation, he tightened his hold on her arm and yanked her closer to him. The unexpected jerk caused Katherine to stumble and another wave of dizziness washed over her.

Before she could even regain her bearings, Blue Eyes had physically removed the man’s hand from her arm by throwing him against her car. The strength behind the shove dented the Chevy’s hood. “I said to keep your hands to yourself!”

The man was clearly surprised by the attack, but quickly recovered and shoved Blue Eyes back, a disgruntled expression on his face. “Mind your own business, boy, or blood’s gonna spill,” he threatened crossly.

Katherine felt her nausea return at the mention of blood, the last time she’d seen her father once again flashing in her mind. She almost missed it when her rescuer glared contemptuously back at the man and spat out, “Only yours.”

The man chuckled at the response. He glanced at his friends before turning a sardonic grin loose on his challenger. “You guys stay outta this,” he commanded his gang. “I wanna take this smartass down myself.”

Katherine stood silently by her car door, uncertain as to what she should do. The phone was still tightly clasped behind her back, but she couldn’t use it with the bandana-clad man’s friends still surrounding her. Should she try to help Blue Eyes take the man down? She had a feeling if she did that she’d be more of a hindrance than help. Before she could decide for sure, the thug threw the first punch – or tried to, at least – and the fight started.

It became obvious that the man most definitely did not need her help.

Blue Eyes took the other down easily. He was swift and brutal in his attack, sending powerful jabs to the man’s face and stomach before pouncing and instantly knocking him to the ground. Once he had him on the gravel, his hands immediately went for the man’s throat. His arm muscles bulged as he squeezed. The man underneath him flailed and struggled to take in air. Soon, however, the thrashing stopped and the he lay limp. If Katherine couldn’t clearly see his chest still rising and falling, she’d have thought the man was dead.

Blue Eyes picked himself up from the ground, showing not a bit of remorse over his actions. He looked to the man’s friends, who suddenly seemed to have lost their swagger. “Who’s next?” he demanded, a dark edge to his voice.

The grubby men bolted, leaving their fallen comrade where he lay on the gravel.

As soon as they’d run off, Blue Eyes turned his attention back to Katherine who was still watching the scene numbly, unsure how she was supposed to react. Thank him, her conscience insisted. You’re supposed to thank him. But her thoughts were fuzzy and her mouth was refusing to work. Blackness, too, was slowly creeping into the sides of her vision.

“Are you alright?” the man asked softly, repeating his earlier inquiry.

But Katherine never heard the question. The pounding of her head became too much and she felt the sensation of being caught by strong arms before everything finally went black.





CHAPTER SIX


Blue eyes again. A dark and blazing azure that threatened to consume her very being. Except – the eyes were no longer hard and demanding, but sad. Apologetic.