The man laughs. “Oh, and you’re going to stop me?”
This is Dyl’s big entrance, Caden! Derail it!
He steps forward and takes a wild grab at Juliet. She jumps out of the way. If I do nothing, Dyl wins. I clench my hands into fists. This is the one time breaking character is a viable option, because I need to make sure I don’t play along with Dyl’s plan. He’ll expect me to play Nice, and I can’t do what he expects me to do. Then again, Juliet is in danger, and a Nice would turn to violence to protect her. It’s the only time a Nice ever would. From the corner of my eye I see a single beam of light, a motorbike, coming toward us. Dyl, on his way to “save” us.
Screw that noise.
I step forward and punch the guy right in the face.
His nose cracks as a bolt of pain shoots from my knuckles to my wrist. He staggers backward, pinching his nose, which is pumping blood. Pure pain sings under my skin. I wave my hand through the air, biting my lip to stop the scream that’s turning my chest to meaty shreds.
The guy I punched is glaring at me. “Kill him,” he barks.
Shit!
The two others leap toward me. I bring my hands up to protect my head. Hits come from everywhere and I fall, hard, to the ground. A steel-toed boot digs into my stomach, sinking in so deep his toe touches my spine. I roll onto my back. A boot stomps down on my chest. I grab his foot and try to trip him, to bring him to my level so I can punch him somewhere soft, but another kick hits my ribs and my arms go slack. That’s it, my ribs are broken. I curl into a ball. Juliet flings herself at one of them, getting in a strong punch. She’s clinging to his back, hitting him in the face, scratching at his cheeks. He throws her away with one hand. She tumbles and falls.
Right into Dyl’s chest.
Dyl shoves her away and pushes up his sleeves. He punches the guy kicking me, and it’s a perfect punch. It hits the guy in the jaw and then his fist carries on downward. The goon spins and falls. The other guy charges, but Dyl recovers and sends a quick jab into his throat. The man coughs and splutters, then stumbles backward and falls to the ground.
Dyl straightens up, his chest heaving. In and out, in and out. He raises his hand, sweeping a few strands of dark hair back into place. Someone must’ve pulled on his collar in the chaos of the attack, because now a jagged line is cut into his shirt, revealing his collarbone and a small, but definitely noteworthy, stretch of skin. He doesn’t seem to have noticed it, but I can’t look away. Was it on purpose? Did Judy do it to show off his body? I stare at the exposed part of his chest and my mouth goes dry.
Dyl turns and steps over me to reach Juliet, who is sitting on the grass. He looks like a freaking badass superhero. And he saved me. I was hurting and he stopped it. All I want to do is thank him, but Juliet is right there, so I can only watch.
He offers Juliet his hand.
And she takes it.
“Thank you,” she says. “Who are you?”
“Doesn’t matter. Are you all right?”
She bobs her head up and down.
“Good. It was stupid of you to be out here alone. Don’t do it again.”
He walks away, ignoring her flabbergasted expression, and grabs his bike, lifting it up from where he ditched it. He swings his leg over it and sits down.
“Wait,” she says. “Don’t talk to me like that. And I wasn’t alone, obviously. Caden is right there! So are you blind as well as rude?”
Dyl looks down at me and sneers. “Close enough. Do you go to Mapleton?”
Close enough? What the…? I breathe in through my nostrils. It’s not him, not really. This is the Bad version of Dyl. He doesn’t mean what he says. He’s acting. My heartbeat slows.
“I do.” There’s a definite edge to her voice.
Good, I think. He didn’t get away with insulting me. I’m glad, because if she hadn’t said anything I might’ve, and that would be way out of character.
“Great,” he says, his voice rich and deep. “I start there tomorrow. Maybe you could buy me lunch or something. You owe me for saving you.”
“I don’t owe you anything.”
“Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.” He spins his shiny black helmet in his hands.
Juliet scowls as Dyl puts the helmet on. He revs the throttle and then, without another word, rides off into the night. Juliet stands in his exhaust fumes, her hair a mess, her chest heaving.
I push myself up off the road and make my way over to her, pinching my nose to stop the bleeding.
“Oh my gosh, Caden.” She rushes toward me and places her hand on my face. “Are you okay? Wait, I’ll call an ambulance.”
“There’s no need, Juliet, I’m totally fine.”
I need to get control of this, because spending tonight in the hospital is the furthest thing from romantic. Plus, I need to show her that I’m dependable and safe. I need to show her that if she makes plans I’ll be there for them.
“It doesn’t hurt that bad. And, honestly, hospitals freak me out. I’ll heal better away from there, trust me.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. I’ll call one for them, though, just to make sure they’re okay.”
They got what they deserved, but I figure a Nice would care about them no matter what. The guy I punched lets out a moan that almost makes me feel bad for him. The key word being almost: I’m pretty sure he’s the reason my left kidney is currently stabbing my other organs. I pretend to dial 911, then tell the “operator” what happened and our location. If I thought they actually needed help, I’d call the real line, but my guess is that they’re just pretending to be injured. Even if I called the real number they’d clear out of here before the ambulance arrived.
Once the “call” is over, I make my way over to Juliet. “The ambulance is on the way. We don’t have to hang around, though.”
“Really? Won’t they have questions?”
“They said it’s fine, they’ll call me if they need more info. We can leave.”
That’s a lie, but luckily she buys it, and we head toward her place.
Once we reach her house, Juliet opens the door. A woman, presumably her mother, is in the foyer. She’s dressed in a dark-green wool turtleneck.
Her name is Daphne, call her that. She’ll be surprised you remember. Also, shake her hand. She likes professional greetings.
“Daphne,” I say as I offer my hand. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
She shakes my hand, then turns to Juliet, her eyes narrowing. Did I do something wrong?
“Don’t stress,” says Juliet. “We’re fine.”
Daphne spins and glares at me.
I raise my hands in surrender. “I’m fine. Honest.”
“You don’t look fine, Caden! You’re going to bleed all over my carpet! Juliet, I need answers. Right now. What happened to you?”
“Fine, Mom, on the way over some guys tried to take my bag. Caden and a bystander stopped them. It’s not a big deal, even Caden thinks so.”