Truth or Dare (12 page)

He lunged forward with a sickening grin on his face. He grabbed her and yanked her, causing her to stumble to her feet.

Luna cowered back. She couldn’t see the knife, but knew he had it on him. 

Her head jerked back and her face stung as his open palm struck her. She put up a fierce struggle, but she knew she was no match for him. He was clearly high on something. 

“I’m sorry!” Luna wailed. 

He struck her again, and fear like she’d never known engulfed her. He pulled her forward, dragging her across the gravel, her knees scraped on the ground, but that was the least of her worries. She yelled as loud as she could, but was only met with his harsh laughter.

“No one here to save you, party girl. You think you’re too good for me? I’ll show you.” 

Luna shook violently when he raised the knife again. A trickle of sweat trailed down the side of her face. Her hands were holding her up in an awkward position, but she didn’t dare move. The knife was so close, all it would take was a flick of his wrist. 

“If I were you, I would stand very still. I’ve had a bit too much to drink.” His grin was evil. He brought the knife closer, until it was resting between her breasts. She felt him dip the knife and she tried not to move, but she couldn’t stop the trembling. With a light jerk of his hand, she heard her dress tear. 

Tears flowed freely down her face. She was about to die at the hands of a mad man. And who knew what he would do to her before he got to that point. He took the knife and cut her bra strap, and her bra fell forward, exposing most of her breasts. With the edge of the knife he slid it down further. 

“Fuck you!” Luna roared. She lifted her leg, and with all her strength she kicked him as hard as she could in the knee. He screamed out in pain, but lunged toward her. She scrambled backwards, trying to get to her feet. 

Chapter Fifteen

Suddenly, Hunter’s voice cut through the air, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”  

Luna’s head snapped up. Never in her life had she been more grateful to see another human being. Tears filled her eyes. 

Savage rage twisted his features, but his eyes were as cold as steel. 

Hunter grabbed the asshole’s shoulder and jerked him away from her as if he weighed nothing.

In one fluid movement, Hunter slammed the asshole to the ground hard enough to knock the breath out of him. The knife fell out of his hand. Hunter straddled on top of the guy. A flurry of fists slammed into the guy’s face. Luna watched part mesmerized and part horrified as blood flew from the guys face every time Hunter’s fist connected. 

Next thing she knew, his hands were around the guy’s neck.

Her attacker’s face had gone a shade of purple and his eyes were bulging. 

Luna wanted to cover her face, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. 

When Hunter released his grip, the guy went into a coughing fit. When he tried to talk, his voice was hoarse. He muttered something about a whore. 

Hunter dug his thumb into the side of the guy’s throat and his face contorted in pain, but no sound came out. 

“I can do this all night,” Hunter said, his voice quiet. “I’m really good at causing pain.”

When he released his thumb, the guy tried to yell something, but it was hard to say what it was. If she had to guess, it was fuck you. 

Hunter yanked him forward with his shirt and his head snapped back when his fist connected to his jaw.

Next thing she knew, Hunter had the man’s knife in his hand and pressed the blade to the guy’s neck. Blood slowly trickled down his throat.

Luna’s chest heaved up and down and she backed up a step, astonished and frightened. “Hunter?”

 “Do you want me to slice him or call the cops?” Hunter asked, his voice laced with a steely edge. Luna had a feeling he would do whatever she said, and that he might even enjoy sliding the knife across the man’s throat. She hesitated, but only for a second. 

“I’ll call the cops,” Luna said, and reached into the back of her pocket with trembling hands, only to find she’d lost her phone. 

“I don’t have my phone.” Her voice shook even as she tried hard to conceal her fear. She took a deep composing breath. 

Hunter flipped the knife shut and slid it into his pocket. 

Then he yanked the guy to his feet, Hunter slammed his fist into the guy’s stomach a couple of times. Luna had to turn away. 

She heard several grunts and cries of agony. She should have been appalled by the brutal beating, but when she recalled how close she’d come to losing her life, she had no desire to stop him.

Hunter leaned in close. “If you ever so much as look at my girl again, I will rip your throat out. And
trust
me, I will be watching.” He let go and the guy crumbled to the ground. 

She looked down and he was lying very still. Blood poured out of his nose, his eyes were already starting to swell, and his jaw was at an unnatural angle. 

“Is he alive?” she asked.

“He’s alive.” 

She stood shaking while staring down at the body.

“Luna.” He said the name softly, as if saying a prayer. His face settled in a deep frown. “Come here.” 

She stared at him. His steady voice dampened the panic …

“Come here,” he repeated softly. 

She hesitated for a moment. Tears welled in her eyes. Her body hurt and her lips were swollen. Running her tongue along her lower lip, she tasted blood. 

She took a hesitant step forward. He reached out and took her by the elbows, pulling her toward him. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t get here earlier.” His expression was tormented, but his eyes were full of tenderness. 

Then he lowered his lips to her forehead and pressed a feather-soft kiss there. His hand gently brushed the hair at her temple away from her eyes. 

His hand came up reflexively, cupped the back of her head, and he searched her face before pressing her face into the crook of his shoulder. 

Her fingers curled inward, pulling at his shirt. “Please, get me out of here.” 

Luna clung to him desperately, bordering on hysteria. 

“Shh, I’m here. I’ll protect you.”

“He almost ki-killed me,” Luna sobbed. 

Heart still racing, Luna threw her arms around his waist and clung to him like a life vest. Still trembling all over, she waited for the terror to subside. Tears streamed down her face, and a distant part of her mind was horrified that Hunter was seeing her so vulnerable.

He held her close, gently stroking her hair. 

“Do you want to file charges? I could call the cops.”

Luna looked behind her at the guy crumbled on the ground, her eyes filled with anxiety. She shook her head. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“Do you really think I give a shit about that? He’s lucky I didn’t slice his throat with his own knife.”

Hunter brushed a strand of hair out of her face and ran his thumb down the side of her cheek. “You’re trembling. Are you afraid of me?”

“You don’t scare me. I know you’d never hurt me.”

He reached down and swung her up into his arms. Luna clutched at the front of his shirt to remind herself that he was real and she was safe. It felt a little silly being carried off this way, but she was too shook up to complain. 

“Hunter, if you hadn’t shown up—” She stopped suddenly, and her body shook.

“Shh, it’s over. Let’s get you cleaned up.” 

He carried her too his truck and gently set her down in the back seat. Grabbing a bag off the floor, he began to pull out medical supplies: bandages, anti-bacterial salve, and cotton swabs. 

She looked down at her legs, which were covered in abrasions and dirt. Her clothes were in tatters; blood mixed with dirt ran down her legs. Pebbles were embedded in her skin. It stung like hell, but she didn’t want to act like a baby in front of Hunter.

First, he soaked a wad of cotton in alcohol. When he cleaned the wounds, she jerked from the sting. Gripping the sides of the seat, she was determined not to scream. 

“Are you okay?”

“Just get it over with.”

She could tell he was trying to be gentle as he began to painstakingly pull out the small debris, and she grimaced beneath his touch. Afterward he smeared some kind of salve on the cuts and the pain eased. 

“Medic?” Luna managed to ask. Marcus was a medic and he always had his trauma bag with him.

“Yeah. You should probably get a tetanus shot. Just in case.” 

Luna hated needles. “If it starts to look infected I’ll go in.” 

Hunter didn’t reply, he just continued to clean and wrap gauze around her cuts. 

“Thank you,” Luna said softly, her throat closing up. She knew if Hunter hadn’t shown up she’d have been raped and maybe even killed. 

Hunter methodically replaced his supplies and tossed it back on the floor. Easing himself between her legs, he slowly stroked her neck with his thumb. “I wanted to kill that bastard.” 

“You almost did,” Luna whispered, trembling slightly. 

“Yes, I almost did. Does that scare you, Luna? The first night at the bar, you called me a barbarian and you weren’t far off from the truth.”

“Did I?” She didn’t recall much from their initial meeting. She shook her head. “You don’t scare me, Hunter.” 

His hand stopped moving and his eyes locked on hers. Throwing her arms around him, she laid her head on his shoulder. He pulled her closer and she molded pliantly against him, clinging to his chest and listening to the steady beat of his heart. 

“Jesus Christ, Luna. Are you okay?”

Luna turned toward the familiar voice. Without thinking, she threw herself into his arms and her eyes blurred with tears. 

Marcus held her for a few moments before pushing her back at arm’s length, and searched her up and down. “What the hell happened?” 

His eyes cut to Hunter and gave him a withering glance. “Did you do this to her?” 

Hunter’s stance tightened, but he didn’t say anything, just returned the flat, cold stare. 

“Calm down, Marcus. Hunter saved me, not hurt me.” 

“Saved you from what?”

Luna tilted her head in the direction of where the altercation had taken place. The guy was no longer knocked out on the ground, he must have awoken while Hunter was tending to her wounds. “Some drunk asshole attacked me.”

“What!” Marcus’s breathing increased and his usually warm eyes turned as cold as ice. “Where the fuck is he?” He released her and stepped back his chest heaving.

“Please calm down,” she begged. “He’s long gone by now. I’ve had enough testosterone for the evening.” 

Marcus’s face softened. “Let me take you home. I’ll cook you some soup and we can watch one of those ridiculous movies you love so much.” 

Luna was conflicted. Marcus was her friend, her only friend, and yet she felt she should be with Hunter. He did save her. 

Exhausted from the adrenaline rush, she leaned against Marcus. When she looked over at Hunter, his eyes were clouded over. She couldn’t tell if it was from hurt, anger, or disappointment. She disengaged herself from Marcus. 

“I think I’m going to go home with Hunter.” 

Her mouth went dry while she waited for his response. After a moment, he nodded his head. 

Marcus’s face she could read clearly, his feelings were hurt. 

Luna threw her arms around him again and gave him a tight squeeze. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? We’re still on for lunch?”

“We’re still on for lunch,” he said grudgingly. “If you need me tonight, you know how to reach me.” 

Marcus and Hunter exchanged a stare.

Luna nodded and watched as her friend walked away. He turned around once, and she waved.

“Why the hell wasn’t he with you?” Hunter asked in a low voice. 

Luna sighed. She was still too shaken up from the attack to be worried about this nonsense. “I really can’t deal with this right now. Marcus is not at fault. I’m the one that stupidly came outside by myself.” 

Despite the heat, a cold numbness took over her. Her body sagged and Hunter placed his arm around her to keep her upright. “Do you want to go to your place or mine?”

She thought it over, the idea of going back to her tiny apartment and lumpy futon were not appealing. “Your place if you don’t mind.” 

“My place it is.” 

“Do you think you could find my phone? I know that’s a stupid thing to ask, but my sister will be worried if she doesn’t hear from me.”

Hunter nodded. “Lock the doors.”

Luna forced a smile. When he shut the door, he waited until he heard the door lock before moving forward.

He came back a few moments later with her phone.

They drove to his house mostly in silence. Luna kept replaying the attack over in her head. She’d come so close to dying tonight. She’d never really given death much thought, but when a knife was leveled at her, it sorta put things in perspective. She’d been living her life like a goddamn fool. Walking on the edge of danger. How many men had she’d gone home with, without knowing anything about them? If she hadn’t been involved with Hunter, who knows, she might have given that asshole the time of day. That thought scared the hell out of her. 

“Penny for your thoughts.”

Luna turned slightly. “My mom says that all the time.” 

“Is that your way of telling me to mind my own business?”

Luna glanced down at her hands. “Just thinking how close I came to dying tonight. If it weren’t for you …”

His jaw flexed. “Don’t remind me.” 

Hunter pulled the car into his normal parking spot and ran around the truck to let her out. He reached up and scooped her into his arms. 

“You don’t have to do that. I can walk.”

“It’s a lot of stairs. This will be easier.”

She was too tired to argue. The evening had emotionally and mentally drained her.

He moved with ease, carrying her as if she weighed nothing. 

 “You really are my dark knight,” she whispered, dropping her head to his shoulder.

Hunter stopped in his tracks, but didn’t say anything. After a second he continued up the steps. 

Chapter Sixteen

Once they reached his apartment. Hunter set her down gently so he could unlock the door. She was surprised to find her legs were still shaky.