Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
I leap back and let out a scream when Zack throws himself at the men.
I never dreamed a man of Zack’s size and weight could move so fast.
He blurs forward like he’s possessed by some ancient warrior spirit, like there’s a freaking Viking berserker inside of him or something.
Jerry cries out when Zack brings his fist around in a stiff hook, catching him on the side of the face.
The impact is loud, a bone-crushing snap, and then Zack spins away to the man with the scar on his face.
He moves like a tornado, whipping his elbow around in a movement of devastating momentum.
His elbow crushes into the man’s jaw with another bony crushing noise, and then the three closest men leap on him.
I bring my hand to my mouth, letting out a jagged cry of fear, no idea what to do, what I can do to support my man.
But even as the men aim nasty-looking swings at Zack, he ducks aside, just out of reach, and then unloads with a flurry of punches. He catches two of the men in the face and smashes the third man in the stomach over and over.
Jerry stumbles against the wall, dazed from his blow, and then glowers and moves toward me.
Zack leaps at him and wraps his arm around his throat.
A distant part of me notes that only a few seconds have passed, and yet it feels like forever, as though time is slowing down to torture me with the sight of my man’s possible death.
Zack swings Jerry around, using him like a battering ram as he charges forward and smashes him into the group of men. They yell and then Zack lets Jerry go, punching and kicking with the skill of a champion MMA fighter, spinning around and elbowing one man in the jaw, crushing one man’s cheek with a right hook, and then springing back to aim a stiff kick at another man’s stomach as he tries to advance.
Zack returns to his place in front of me, breathing heavily, as the men moan and nurse their injuries. I didn’t see it – he was moving so fast – but Zack has somehow gotten his hands on one of their guns amid the mayhem.
He raises it as Jerry makes to step forward, shaking his head. “Maybe you’re not allowed to shoot. But I am. It’d be self-defense, motherfucker.”
“You’re not going to do shit—”
Bang.
Jerry lets out a shivering scream as the gunshot blows out his kneecap and he stumbles to the floor. “You shot me. You fucking shot me.”
“What about the rest of you?” Zack snarls, waving the gun back and forth across the room. “Want to try for round two? Or you can drop your fucking guns and get out of here before the police arrive. Your choice.”
The men exchange glances, looks of disbelief on their bloody and battered faces. And then they spin and dart for the door, the clack-clack-clack of their dropped weapons filling the air, the door crashing closed loudly behind them.
I stare in awe as Zack stalks over to Jerry and falls atop him, driving his knee into his back and pressing the gun into the back of his head.
His blue eyes are suddenly filled with flames, searing hotly, as though everything in him is willing him to blow the back of Jerry’s head to bits. His muscles swell and his face and arms are flecked with blood from the fight.
But it’s not his blood. It belongs to the men he just beat the hell out of.
Six of them, and my man came out on top.
I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it.
“You don’t deserve to live, you sick fuck,” Zack snarls. “You don’t deserve to breathe after what you did to Zoey.”
“Please, please,” Jerry whines, looking pathetic and not at all frightening anymore as he paws at the floor, as his voice becomes whiny and desperate. “Don’t shoot me again. Shit, shit, don’t shoot me.”
Zack stares hard, every part of him burning with murder. I can tell how badly he wants to end this with Jerry’s death.
“Zack,” I say, finally finding my voice. “Zack, don’t. This isn’t self-defense anymore. You might get arrested. I can’t…” I fight back a sob which tries to claim my voice. “I can’t live without you.”
He looks up at me after a long moment, his jaw clenched tight, his temples pulsing like they could tear his skin to pieces. Even when we were making love he didn’t look this feral, this overfull with animalistic rage.
“He deserves it,” Zack growls, voice shaky. “After what he did to you…”
“I know. But we deserve a life together, and we might not get that chance if you go through with this.”
He looks torn as he looks down at Jerry and then back up to me, and then he lets out a dark sigh.