Page 88 of Deathmarch

Zane went down like the sack of shit that he was, and he stayed down too.

“Is he the one who hit you with his car? Rose asked, breathing hard, standing fierce.

Allie had to fight to catch her own breath. “Brittany Wallingford confessed to that.”

Rose’s eyebrows took wing. “When?”

“An hour ago?”

Rose shook her head, then stepped closer to Zane to peer at his face. “Did I kill him?”

Allie sank back against the black SUV behind her to take the weight of her throbbing ankle. “I’m not sure I care.”

“Mom!” Kennan came running across the parking lot, pool cue in hand, looking around for more attackers, ready to fight an army. “What happened?”

“Call your brother.” Rose whipped off her apron and moved over to dab the blood seeping from Allie’s nose. “I didn’t have a chance to grab my phone before I ran out.”

Kennan was dialing already. “Somebody just tried to grab Allie.” Pause. “She’s fine. Mom’s cleaning up her face.”

Rose worked gently. “Your lip is split.”

Allie ran her tongue over the throbbing spot. Flinched. “Could be worse.”

“I don’t know what happened,” Kennan said into the phone. “Other than I just watched our mother beat a guy unconscious in the parking lot.” Another pause, then he held out the phone to Allie. “He wants to talk to you.”

“It’s Zane,” was the first thing she said.

“Are you hurt?”

“A scratch.”

He swore. Paused. “I’ll be right there.”

“You don’t have to—”

But he’d already hung up, so she handed the phone back to Kennan, who stepped closer to look at her injury, saying, “If the asshole isn’t dead, Harper’s going to kill him. And I’m going to help him hide the body.”

Allie wasn’t normally a fan of violence, but the unconditional offer of support made her feel better. She gave him a tremulous smile, feeling shaky, a delayed reaction.Danger is over,she told herself, but her body needed a minute to catch up.

While Kennan called for an ambulance, Rose gave Allie’s chin another pat with the red-stained cloth, and stepped back. “It’s better if Harper doesn’t see you all bloodied up. Are you still dizzy?”

“I just said that to distract Zane from you sneaking up behind him.”

“Smart move. Quick thinking. My heart about stopped when I saw you from the window. I didn’t know if I would reach you in time.”

Kennan grumbled at his mother as he hung up, “You should have called me instead of running out. What if the idiot had a gun?”

Rose looked sheepish for a moment, for the first time that Allie remembered.

“If he had a gun, he would have had it out,” Rose said then. “Anyway, there was no time to think. He had her at his car. I had to reach him before he jumped behind the wheel and took off.”

Kennan pulled her into a bear hug, held her, rested his chiseled chin on the top of her head. “You’re giving me gray hairs, Ma.”

Rose huffed, hugging him back. “You gave me half of mine, so there you have it. Payback.”

Allie watched them, fascinated with the loving family interaction. She envied the bond, the warmth, the sense of belonging, and the sure knowledge that people had your back, would come running if you needed help.

Although Rosehadcome running. As if Allie was family. And didn’t that just blow her mind?