Code Conspiracy. Carol Ericson

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       Chapter Three

      The man drove his shoulder into her ribs as he smashed against her, pushing the air from her lungs. Her attention had been distracted by the appearance of Gray in the alley, but she couldn’t wait for him to come to the rescue.

      Her gaze shifted to the glint of steel on the ground. At least she’d knocked the knife from his hand when she bashed her fist against his nose.

      She sucked in some air, coiled her thigh muscles and kneed her attacker between the legs. She didn’t get as high or as much power as she’d wanted, but her lips twisted into a smile when he grunted.

      The grunt turned into a wheeze when Gray materialized behind him and physically and forcibly removed him from her sphere.

      Her assailant’s body seemed to fly through the air, and his eyes bugged out of his skull. He yelled an expletive when he landed with a sickening thud, but he had enough strength or determination to extend his fingers toward his knife.

      “Gray! The knife!” She panted as she slid down the wall into a crouch, all the strength seeping from her body.

      Gray whipped around and stomped on the man’s wrist with his boot.

      The guy let out a howl that echoed down the alleyway and some shouting answered from the street on one end.

      Gray scooped up the knife and turned his back to the broken man writhing on the ground. He kneeled in front of her. “Are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?”

      “No. No police or ambulance.” She clutched at Gray’s shirt with both hands. “He’s getting away. Don’t let him get away. He has Amit.”

      He cupped her sore face with one hand. “I’m not leaving you in this alley by yourself. He might have an accomplice.”

      She struggled to stand as her attacker staggered to his feet and limped off at a surprising clip, holding his arm.

      “Is there a problem? What’s going on?” Two men peered over Gray’s shoulder, and he slipped the switchblade into his pocket.

      “That guy was assaulting this woman.” Gray jerked his thumb over his shoulder, but her attacker had already made it out of the alley and had turned the corner. “Now get lost.”

      The men immediately drew back in unison and muttered to each other as they took a hike.

      Gray helped her to her feet. “Are you sure you’re okay? I can take you to the emergency room and you can tell them you had a fall. You’re good at covering up.”

      She hopped up on one foot, hanging onto his shirt. “I’m not okay. You just let the guy who was following Amit and attacked me escape. He has Amit and we let him walk away.”

      “He was limping away and how do you know he has Amit?” He rubbed her arms, brushing the dirt from her jacket.

      “He texted me from Amit’s phone. How do you think I wound up out here?” She gestured with her arm and winced.

      “What I’m wondering is why the hell you scurried out to a dark alley based on a text without telling me.” He ran his fingers through the hair hanging over her shoulder. “Dirt.”

      “I did tell you I was going outside. I guess you didn’t hear me because you were so focused on ordering your chocolate croissant.” She started toward the street, pressing one hand against her midsection.

      “Where are you going and where are you injured?”

      She leveled a finger at the street, teeming with traffic just beyond the alley. “I’m gonna look for the guy who bruised my ribs.”

      “You’re not going to find him now, Jerrica.” He patted the pocket of his shirt. “But I have his fingerprints. He wasn’t wearing gloves.”

      She stopped and leaned against Gray’s shoulder. “You’re right. I’m not going to find him out there.”

      His arm came around her, and she put more pressure against his body, soaking in his warmth and power.

      He squeezed her and his voice roughened as he said, “He had that knife. How’d you get out of it? When I got here, you had the upper hand.”

      “My senses were already on high alert. When СКАЧАТЬ