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“Keep your asses here until we’re gone, and no one will be hurt Try to play hero, and we’ll take ourselves a prize” His lecherous gaze turns my stomach

Over o anywhere with them

“You won’t have any problems for us” Ollie steps back until rabs my hip

Leaning into him, I clutch his plaid shirt like a lifeline as I rub the tip ofne is my favorite smell in the world

The thugs begin to blend back into the blackness one by one The ring leader keeps the barrel of the gun aimed at Ollie as he retreats into the alley He stops My knees shake and nearly give as I suc

k air into s When did I hold my breath?

“I changedfor the road”

My blood pressure sky rockets as es and ins puht slams into me like a two-ton wild beast

“We don’t have anything else to give,” Ollie says coolly

“But you do,” he replies, fixing aze as he licks his chapped lips

I scan the area, seeking out a place to run I’d never ht up to ht

“Like I said, we have nothing else” Ollie stands to his full height, and I brace myself

“Take her,” the man sneers

Ollie surges forward, wrestling for the gun, and I let the pepper spray fly Time blurs as my brain is overloaded with fear, cries of pain, andmy eyes sealed shut as I spray blindly and pray I don’t hit Ollie who I try to keep in front of h as the spray penetrates my nostrils by force A loud pop stills all ht, yellow light The h flesh that follows pries my eyelids open Water obscures lass

Feet pound over the pave I swipe at my eyes, desperate to restore nize Ollie’s prone figure A dark stain blossoms on his plaid shirt I kneel beside him