back and eyes closed, Lexi took in deep harsh breaths, trying to calm her erratic heartbeat. Trying hard not to lose it, tears still slipped from the corners of her eyes, tracking down her cheeks.
“Ooo…look what we have here. A nice little piece of ass, if I ever saw one.” Lexi heard a masculine voice say near her ear.
Wrapped in a bubble of panic and fear, Lexi hadn’t noticed anyone coming up to her. Her eyes popped open and she saw a young brown haired white guy with rotting teeth, bad skin and grubby clothes standing next to her. His equally disheveled black friend walked up, curious to see what was going on. Their pupils were dilated and their bad skin and teeth signaled to Lexi that they were more than likely high on some form of powerful drug.
“Damn, Seth! Where in the hell did you find her?! Fuck, you lucky asshole!” His friend leered at her.
“She just came around the corner. Hey, man I don’t mind sharing. There is plenty of ass to go around.” Seth said as he reached around and grabbed a handful of Lexi’s ass cheek.
From the moment she had heard their voices, Lexi had been paralyzed with fear. Unable to move o r speak. But the touch of his hand on her propelled her into action. She swung her hand around to try to hit Seth, but a powerful hand grasped her wrist painfully. Seth’s friend slammed her hand back against the brick wall, pinning her arm to it, trapping her.
“Get your fucking hands off me!” Lexi yelled, hoping someone would hear.
One of their hands started to slide up her thigh and under her dress. Lexi bucked wildly trying to get the hand off of her. Dear God, this cannot be happening, Lexi thought to herself before she felt the air stir around her and she heard a yelp from one of the guys as he disappeared in front of her eyes.
Sloan stood in his place like an avenging dark angel.
~~~
Sloan hung around the park for quite a few hours hoping to get another chance to talk to Lexi or at least catch a glimpse of her, if for only for a moment. While waiting he played fetch with Tank with a giant stick he found on the ground and walked around the perimeter of the park a couple times, hoping that if he didn’t sit too long in one spot no one would call the cops on him for loitering.
After taking another stroll around the par k, Sloan walked back to his regular spot that had a clear view of Lexi’s bike across the street, and he saw Lexi on her phone with a pain-stricken look on her face a few feet from her bike. He couldn’t tell what she was saying to the person on the other end of the line, but her facial expressions spoke volumes.
Sloan watched with concern as she abruptly ended the call and disappeared around the side of a building , her face distraught. Sloan gave it a few minutes and when she didn’t reappear, he started to jog towards where she had bolted to, wanting to make sure that she was alright. Tank followed close behind. As he approached the alley her he heard her say, “Get your fucking hands off me!” That was the only queue he needed to hear to spur him into action. He signaled to Tank to stay put.
Rage burning through his veins, Sloan crept up on the unsuspecting addict that had his hands up Lexi’s dress and ripped him off of her. Seth turned to see Sloan and he grabbed Lexi from behind, holding her in front of him like a shield, like the coward that he was. And as Sloan faced him, trying to figure out the best way to advance without hurting Lexi, who looked at him with wide fearful green eyes, something hard hit the back of his head.
Barely flinching, Sloan turned to see the black kid with a plywood board in his hands. Sloan quickly dropped down and swept his leg around, kicking the druggie’s feet out from under him. The kid fell to the ground and Sloan was on him before he even realized what had happened.
Sloan’s fist slammed into his face several times before finally knocking him out. Sloan stood up and turned to face Lexi and
Lynn Hagen
K.L. Donn
André Dubus III
Denise Hunter
George R. R. Martin
Kelly Jamieson
Mandy Rosko
Christi Caldwell
Stuart M. Kaminsky
A London Season