Page 77 of Death, Interrupted

“NO!” Sumner screamed, throwing her arms over her head as his fist came down. “STOP! PLEASE!”

But he didn’t stop. He hit her again. And again. Each blow sounded heavier than the last. Sharp and violent. Her body jerked under him, arms shaking as she tried to block his hits.

She tried to roll away, but he grabbed her hair and yanked her back, forcing her to face him. Her scream was loud in my ears, and the sounds she made were horrifying. My heart tore apart, and I hated myself for not getting up and helping her. I just couldn’t.

He punched her again, splitting her lip open, then again, right across the jaw. Her head snapped to the side.

I tried to yell, but my voice wouldn’t work. My chest wouldn’t expand right. The world tilted every time I tried to lift myself up. I was trapped in my own bodyand forced to watch.

He grabbed her by the throat and dragged her closer, then slammed her against the wet pavement next to me. The sound of her skull hitting concrete made fury rise in my throat.

She kicked out, a weak hit against his leg, and he growled like an animal. He caught her wrist, twisted it until she cried out, then kicked her in the ribs twice.

“Joey, stop!” she gasped. “Please—please—”

Her words were cut off by another hit, this time to her stomach. She folded, coughing, choking on the rainwater that mixed with blood running from her mouth.

He leaned down close to her, his face inches from hers, shouting horrible things. His hands shook with rage as he gripped her shoulders and shoved her back down one last time, and her head bounced off the ground again.

He’s right there.

Get up!

GET UP!

I tried again to move, to crawl, to do anything, but my body refused to work. My vision tunneled from the anger and irritation, and my pulse hammered in my head.

She tried one last time to reach up, to push him off. Her fingers brushed his arm. He raised his hand one more time and brought it down hard, and a loudcrack echoed around me.

Her arm dropped and she stopped moving.

Joey stayed crouched over her for a second, breathing hard, his chest heaving. Then he looked at me, and I could see the pure evil in his eyes. He studied me, probably thinking I was dead because I wasn’t moving. He didn’t bother saying anything to me, so he just left.

I gasped as something in my back clicked, sending a shock of pain through my body. My spine had taken a hard hit when we went down on the bike, and for a moment, it had frozen me completely. Every muscle had locked, leaving me paralyzed in place.

But then the pain shifted, and somehow that gave me enough leverage to move. I took of my helmet first, then my hands dug into the wet asphalt, fingers trembling as I pushed myself upright. My ribs screamed, my legs burned, but I forced myself forward, every inch agonizing. And then I reached her.

Her body was still, her chest barely rising, and her hair was plastered to her face with rain and blood. I sank to my knees beside her and pulled her up into my arms. I held her against me as tightly as I could without hurting her more. My own breath was ragged, but I whispered to her anyway. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you. You’re okay. You’re okay.”

Her eyes fluttered weakly, and she let out a shallow, shuddering breath. That tiny movement was enoughto set my pulse racing again.She’s alive. I held her, rocking slightly in the rain, unwilling to let go for even a second.

Headlights cut through the storm. A car skidded to a stop nearby, with the tires squealing. The door opened, and a man ran toward us. I didn’t care who he was; I only cared that help had come.

“Get her out of the rain!” he shouted.

“Let’s get them to the hospital,” another one said.

I looked down at her, brushing hair from her blood-covered face and pressed a hand against the side of her jaw. “It’s okay,” I whispered. “You’re safe.”

One of the two strangers helped me stand up, keeping a steady hand on my shoulder while I held Sumner in my arms. The other was on the phone, grabbing our helmets before jogging back to the car.

“Nice and slow,” the man said as I slid into the back seat, still clutching her close. “We’ll get you to the hospital, sweetheart.”

The car started moving, and I kept my focus on Sumner, counting every single one of her shallow breaths.

“What the hell happened?” the guy in the passenger seat asked, twisting around to look at us.

“That’s some heavy rain to ride a bike in,” the driver added, his tone sharp and accusing.