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And then the other sound was back, the thuh, and she shrieked as she was jerked froed it, hauling her backward

Violet fell, squeezing her eyes shut so she wouldn’t have to watch the creeping black vines that crawled beneath James Nua’s skin as he stood above her

It was then that she heard the soft click in front of her face, and felt the whoosh of air just beneath her nose

And she did look Unable to stop herself

Nua held up a knife, a switchblade with a polished steel blade for her to see His lips twisted into asnarl as he touched the tip of it to Violet’s neck, just below her left ear, and traced a fiery path along her jawline She could feel the drag of the blade, the s over her skin If she ht very well cut her

"You fk with meIfkwithyou" His voice was low and he dragged out each word, each syllable, as his narrowed eyes held hers She felt his muscles tense and she knew that this was it "Du Violet jump, and she felt the point of the knife prick her skin Above her, Ja as he released her jacket and she fell back He stood there for led to sort through what had just happened And then hishowl of half pain, half rage

Like Nua, Violet’s brain moved too slowly But she seized her opportunity to escape She was on her back, and she scooted away fro aardly over her own hands and feet as she crawled as far froe As she did, as she pressed herself against the concrete wall, she started toin front of her

Fresh blood blooainst the white of his T-shirt He let go of the knife as he clutched his wound with both hands, his eyes incredulous, his face contorting with pain

"Stay where you are!" Sara ordered from the alley that opened onto the street, and Violet could see that her gun was ainition dawn on his face as pain contorted into undisguised fury With effort, he staggered to his feet

"I said stay where you are!" Sara yelled again, taking a cautious step closer

Nua just grinned at her, but even from where she stood, Violet could see the beads of sweat prickling across his forehead

Violet re Sara’s approach Relief unfurled within her, but she was shaking all over and her teeth chattered violently

Behind Sara, the htened It came upon them slowly, and Violet blinked as she turned to the street beyond the alleyway It wasfar too deliberately

As the nose of the car ca bass pounded so loudly that Violet could feel it beneath her feet Sara atching it too, positioning herself so she could keep Nua in her sights while never losing sight of the big red car She kept her gun ai face

It was like a scene out of a movie Violet saw the boys, both with the same tribal-like tattoos as Ja One kept his hand on the steering wheel while pointing his gun down the alleyway The other boy sat higher, perched in the passenger-sidefraht at the at once