Melanie’s eyes widened and she stepped back and held her hands up. “No, I’d never do that.”
“You think you can stand in my face and tell me what to do, you stupid whore?” He shoved Melanie hard. She stumbled back and Chris grabbed her by the front of her shirt. He slammed his fist into her face. She crumbled to the ground.
Grace knelt on the ground, cradling the girl’s face between her hands. Blood streamed down her nose and her cheek was beginning to swell. “It’s okay Melanie. I’m calling the police.” Grace reached for her purse to grab her cellphone.
“You stupid bitch! Look what you made me do! This is your fault.” Chris grabbed her purse and hurled it and turned his rage on her.
“You’re not calling anyone, you bitch.” He grabbed Grace by the hair and forced her to her feet.
Grace cried out at the pain and dug her fingernails into his hand. It was no use. He wouldn’t let go.
He released her hair and wrapped his meaty hand around her neck. He tightened his grip. “You think you can come in to my town and tell lies on me? Don’t you know who the fuck I am? I own this town.”
Grace wheezed as she scratched her nails down the fingers that circled her throat. Panic filled her chest as oxygen diminished and she knew in a few more seconds she wasn’t going to be able to breathe at all.
Images of her ex hitting and beating her filled her head with such clarity that Chris’s face morphed into Michael’s. Frustrated and fed up, her panic turned to anger. She wouldn’t be a victim anymore.
Using all her strength, she kicked Chris as hard as she could in the crotch. He howled and loosened his grip. Grace crumpled to the ground in a heap.
“You fucking bitch.” Chris wheezed out and cupped himself. Sucking in a breath he glared at Grace and kicked her in the stomach.
She screamed at the pain and curled up in a ball to protect herself. Stars exploded behind her eyes before blackness clouded her vision.
***
Rage.
Sloan had never been so consumed with rage until the moment he saw Chris with his hand wrapped around Grace’s slender neck. He jumped out of his truck and sprinted across the football field. Chris kicked Grace in the stomach as she lay helpless on the ground. She screamed, the sound chilling the blood in his veins, and then she went still.
Why wasn’t she moving? As he raced across the field, every horrific explanation popped into his mind. Maybe her lung was punctured. Maybe her spleen was ruptured. Maybe her heart had stopped.
Sloan barreled into Chris, knocking him to the ground. He rolled Chris under him, reared his arm back, and plowed his fist into his face. Bone crunched under his knuckles and blood spurted out of his nose.
Sloan didn’t stop.
He pummeled the quarterback until he was crying, begging Sloan to stop.
The next thing Sloan knew, Mitch was pulling him off Chris.
“Sloan, ease up, man.”
“What are you doing here, Mitch?”
“I followed you out here to tell you that Chris’s dad is threatening to sue you. Check on Grace, Sloan. I’ve got this asshole.” Mitch forced Chris’s hands behind his back and cuffed him while the boy was screaming profanities.
That snapped Sloan out of his zombie-like trance. He froze when he spotted Grace lying motionless on the ground. Melanie knelt beside her, crying.
He cradled her head. He could barely get the words out. “Oh, God, is she okay?”
“I don’t know.” Melanie wept and held Grace’s hand.
“I’ve already called for backup and an ambulance,” Mitch called out.
Sloan ran his hand across the red finger marks on Grace’s throat. “That asshole was trying to choke her. He kicked her in the stomach before I got to him.”
“Then it’s a good thing you beat the shit out of him.” Mitch nodded and eased Melanie out of the way. “He hit you too, I see.”
Melanie avoided Mitch’s gaze and let him lead her over to the bleachers to sit.
Sloan hovered over Grace. “Please, sweetheart, open your eyes.”
Slowly her eyelids fluttered open. Sirens blared in the distance as they got near, but his only focus was Grace.
She tried to sit up but winced. Her arms circled her stomach protectively.
“Don’t move. The ambulance is on its way.”
Her eyes widened and she struggled to get up. “Where’s Melanie?”
“She’s fine. She’s over by the bleachers with Mitch.”
Grace managed to stand with his help and when she saw that Melanie was okay, she visibly relaxed.
“I’m going to sue you and the whole fucking police department, you son of a bitch.” Chris screamed out as he tried to stand. The handcuffs that Mitch had slapped on him hindered his progress and he rolled side to side like a walrus.
“I thought I was going to kill him, Grace.” He brushed his fingertips across her injured neck. “When I saw him choking you, all I thought about was beating him to death.”
She brushed his hand away. “How did you know he would be here?”
“I didn’t. I came here to see you.” His gut twisted. “I wish I had gotten here earlier.”