His Secret Life

Fingers tangled in her hair, jerking her upright. “Come on.”

“Ouch! What’s the deal, man?” She tried to infuse fear into her voice, but mostly the words came out ticked off.

“The boss has a few questions for you.”

At least that meant she wasn’t going to eat a bullet just yet. Something to be thankful for.

“What boss?” She stumbled forward as he pushed her toward the road. “I told you I just need to call AAA. Whatever you guys are into is okay with me. I don’t want any trouble.” She was relatively certain that line wasn’t going to work so well this time.

“Tell it to the boss,” he growled, keeping her momentum going by thrusting her head forward.

For now it was one against one. When they met up with his pals, she might not get such even odds.

“Wait,” she whined. “You’re hurting me.”

He jerked her head back against his chin. “That’s the point,” he muttered in her ear.

She rammed her elbow into his ribs. Curled her leg around his and slammed her back into his chest.

He hit the ground with her on top of him. She scrambled away. Grabbed for the gun he’d dropped. His, not hers. Where the hell was hers? There…on the ground not three feet from him.

“Back off,” she warned when he made a dive for her. She held the gun with both hands. “Way back.”

As he scrambled backward, she snatched up the weapon he’d taken from her. “Give me my cell.”

“Get it yourself,” he growled.

The phone lay on the ground halfway between them. She wasn’t going for it. No way.

“Get up.” She pushed to her feet, keeping her aim steady on the bastard. “I said get up,” she repeated when he didn’t make a move to obey her order.

The smirk on his lips sent the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. She swung around.

Too late.

A hard forearm connected with her temple. She hit the ground.

“Put her in the trunk.”

Trying to mentally shake off the stars floating in front of her eyes, she crawled backward to escape the reach of big hands.

A kick to the ribs from the guy she’d taken down sent the burger and fries she’d eaten earlier hurling up her throat.

“Get that bitch in the car now!” the boss shouted.

Fingers tangled in her hair once more, dragged her to her feet. She gagged. Her stomach clenched.

“Move!”

Her head still throbbing and her equilibrium out of reach, she stumbled forward.

She fell to her knees once on the gravel road. The man holding her by the hair dragged her until she was able to scramble back to her feet. Her scalp throbbed.