My life is finally over.

Jax. I summon strength from him even though he’s nowhere near me and run with all my might. Kohen follows, but slips on the mud and grazes my elbow with his fingers. Not enough to catch me.

I run out in the middle of the road and wave my hand towards the oncoming car. I close my eyes from the blinding headlights and hope that he stops. I’m not moving. The driver will either stop or he will kill me. Either way I’ve found my escape from Kohen.

The rain makes it harder for the car to stop and it’s still heading towards me as the driver slams on his brakes. The screech of the tires drowns out the storm.

The car is coming right at me, but I stand my ground. I’d rather it hit me than drive off and leave me here with Kohen. I refuse to let that outcome happen. No, the car will either stop or it will hit me.

One or the other.

Fitting, a car will either save me or kill me. Oh, the irony.

The lights come closer . . . closer. The car isn’t stopping. I close my eyes and brace for the impact. Screaming finally pierces my ears, my screaming.

Chapter Thirty-Three

My body bends from something slamming into my side. Hands fasten on me. I open my eyes right before my face smashes into the cement. My arms reach forward, trying to crawl away from Kohen, but it’s pointless with him on top of me. He flips me over and licks the blood running down my cheek.

The car crashing, can’t dilute the noise of Kohen’s malicious laughter in my ear. I manage to kick him in the balls. He leans back as he howls in pain, cupping himself. I jump to my feet and start to run. I fall to the ground . . . hard. Screaming from the internal pain, I grasp for my ankle. Before I can check the damage, Kohen stands me up.

He slaps me. “You’re going to be sorry.”

I spit in his face. “Fuck you!”

He smiles as he wipes off the spit. I swallow my fear. I lost. Kohen is going to kill me. As if reading my mind, Kohen punches me in the face. My head connects with the pavement as I fall. He makes me feel helpless as he climbs on top of me. I told myself I would never feel helpless again. He stole yet another thing from me.

Clasping my head with his large hands, he forces a kiss on my unwilling lips. Then he bashes my head back onto the concrete. I try to make my mouth work, but it doesn’t cooperate. I can’t even scream. I’m dazed . . . I start blinking rapidly, fighting with everything in me to keep my eyes open. If I lose consciousness there’s no telling what he will do to me. He slams my head into the ground again and my eyelids close. Darkness takes over . . .

I don’t know how long it is until my eyes flutter open again. I blink the rain out of my eyes. I test my legs. They work. My hands obey when I ask them to move. That’s good. I groan in pain and I know my voice is back. My little nap has given me enough strength to fight him. Small blessings.

“Get off me!” I scream as I attempt to wiggle out from underneath him.

It’s then that I realize my clothes are off me. Swallowing the bile in my throat, I touch my hip. I nearly cry in relief when I feel my rain soaked panties. He hasn’t raped me. Yet.

Kohen laughs at me. His weight holds down my body. One hand presses against my throat making breathing difficult, while his other makes a rough grab for any part of my body that he can touch. His intentions become all too clear when his hand roams below my belly button. I start bucking like crazy, trying to toss him off me. Kohen leans down so he can lick my cheek, the same one he punched moments ago.

Something in me snaps. With his face still close to mine, I turn my head towards his and bite the first thing that my mouth comes into contact with, which happens to be his ear. Perfect. I bite down as hard as I can. Kohen’s agonizing screams gives me a sickening pleasure. I won’t go easy. If he wants me, he can come and get me. Kohen slams my head back down on the concrete, causing me to release his ear. I spit blood in his face when he comes back into view and smile at him.

“You’re going to pay for that, Adalynn.”

I smirk at him. “Wort—”

All words die when he bangs my head down again. The world goes black.

My head is spinning, it feels like I got hit by a bus and then a soccer team decided to use my head as a ball. Not good. I try to wipe the rain from my eyes but I can’t. Kohen . . . Oh God! Lightning lights up the sky and I scream but no noise comes out. Kohen has his hands wrapped around my neck. His hands dig into my throat. I can see it in his eyes, he’s going to murder me.

I start thrashing around, but nothing happens. All it does is make Kohen grasp my neck tighter. Kohen smiles down at me, showing the most haunting grin I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t let him kill me. My knee connects with his tailbone. He winces, but doesn’t release his hold on my neck.

I claw at his hands. The evil smirk on his face lets me know that he’s enjoying this. He loves that I’m helpless, underneath him and he’s in control. He has all the power. It’s up to him if I live.

I don’t stop fighting him as I picture everyone I love. I close my eyes so their faces are the last thing I see, not Kohen’s. I picture Jax’s face last. The memory of him is so vivid I can almost hear him shouting my name.

Out of nowhere Kohen is shoved off me. Gasping air, I hold my neck. It’s more than tender to the touch. Someone gently presses fingers to the pulse point on my neck. I keep gasping in air. I have no idea how Kohen is off me, but I know the danger isn’t over. I need to get away from him fast, before he recovers and finishes me off.

Instinctively my head turns to the right to follow the sounds of pounding and grunting. I spot two men fighting. One limps, not fighting back as the other man pounds into his face. It’s too dark to make out who’s who, but I pray that the person on the ground is Kohen. As lightning strikes again, my eyes widen and the tears finally start to come.

Jax.

Jax stands over Kohen, beating the shit out of him. After wiping the rain and tears from my eyes, I attempt to stand, but my legs collapse underneath me. I desperately need to be near Jax, like I need oxygen to breathe. I crawl my way toward the biggest mistake of my life and the love of my life.

When I finally manage to crawl to them, I notice that Kohen is out cold. He’s unrecognizable. All I see is blood. Everywhere. Blood covers Jax’s hands and streams down Kohen’s face. I try to call out to Jax, for him to stop, but nothing comes out. Not a sound. My voice won’t work.

I don’t give up. I can’t. As much as I want Jax to kill Kohen, he can’t. Jax will end up in jail if he kills him. Kohen isn’t worth it. I try again to stand, but my leg isn’t working. Whenever I put pressure on my ankle, I fall over. I know it’s broken. When Jax drops an unconscious Kohen onto the ground I think the attack is over. It’s not. Jax grips Kohen’s head in both hands. Seeing his intentions, I will my voice to work this time.

“Jax,” I choke out.

It’s barely audible to my own ears. I have no hope that Jax hears me, especially with the roaring noise of the storm over us. By some miracle, at the last second, Jax whips his head in my direction. Kohen forgotten, Jax lets go of his lifeless body and rushes to me.

“Ads,” Jax says quietly as he crouches beside me.

He lifts a red hand to my face. I cringe from instinct, from memory. My body remembers being hit, again and again. Jax mistakes me shuddering away from the blood and drops his hand. I grab his hand that is pulling away from my face and press it to my swollen cheek. Even with the rain soaking his hair, dripping in his face, washing the blood away, he is still the most breathtaking man I’ve ever seen.