Page 138 of Crash

One deep breath.

Then I lunged.

In that fraction of a second, Eli turned. His eyes went wide, but it was too late. I locked my left arm around his throat in a choke hold and seized his right wrist in an iron grip.

Eli thrashed wildly, fighting to free his arm. The awkward angle and his desperate jerking threatened to break my hold, but I tightened my elbow around his throat, trying to resist snapping it.

“It was you,” I growled. “All along, it was you hurting her.”

A piercing shriek cut through the air.

“Let him go!” An elderly woman burst into the vestibule, her oversize purse clutched against her chest. Her eyes blazed with misplaced righteousness as she took in the scene. Me, the apparent attacker, my arm locked around Eli’s throat.

More faces appeared in the doorway, a wall of horrified onlookers.

“Stay back!” I shouted. “He has a syringe!”

Either the old woman didn’t hear me or didn’t care. Her focus locked on to my arm around Eli’s throat, and to my horror, she charged forward, ramming her heavy purse against my back.

“Stop!” I roared. “He has a fucking needle. If it jabs you, you’re dead!”

Eli took advantage of the commotion, twisting until his arm slipped through my fingers. The old woman hovered just inches away, perfectly positioned for him to strike her, and now, a middle-aged man lunged into the kill zone too. His arms were outstretched to drag her back so I could regain control.

But it was too late.

Eli slithered through my grip like a snake.

He stumbled back, brandishing the syringe like a knife.

“Everyone, leave,” I commanded the frozen crowd of five.

“No one leaves,” Eli snarled.

When they didn’t move, I bellowed, “For God’s sake, he doesn’t have a gun! You can outrun a syringe!”

But fear does strange things to people. They huddled together, wide-eyed and trembling. I positioned myself between them and Eli, becoming a human shield.

“Leave. Now,” I ordered over my shoulder, never taking my eyes off Eli. “This might be your last chance.”

The sirens grew closer. Finally, mercifully, the five spectators scurried away, leaving me alone with the monster who’d tried to kill Tessa.

One snap of his neck, and he’d be dead. Even if he injected me, I might be able to end him before I lost consciousness.

“What did you give her?” My voice was deadly calm.

Eli’s lips curled into a sneer. “Come closer, and I’ll tell you.”

“Tell me what you gave her, and I’ll let you live.”

“Am I supposed to be scared?”

“But if you don’t tell me.” I let ice creep into my tone. “I will make your death unimaginably painful.”

“You’re a doctor.” He scoffed.

“Being a doctor gives me the exact skills I need to make your death excruciating.”

For the first time, a flicker of uncertainty crossed his face. Evidently, the monster cared about his own survival.