A rumble of laughter went up among the men as she stopped next to the car.
"I have somewhere to be," she said calmly. "Show's over. It's time to go."
Baseball Hat Guy narrowed his eyes. "No, it's not. I asked you a question, baby."
Holly stared back at him. This tool thought he was such hot shit, showing off in front of his goofy goon squad. "I'm not your baby. Now step away from the car."
"Yeah? Or what? What are you going to do,baby?"
His friends snickered as Baseball Hat Guy inched closer to her.
She crossed her arms. "If you don't leave me alone and get the fuck away from my car, I'm going to scream my face off, for starters."
He took a step forward, blowing his hot, foul smelling breath in her face. "Yeah? Do it, and I'll give you something to scream about. Seven fucking inches, in fact."
Holly tried to move away, but he backed her up against the side of the sports car, blocking her in place with both hands.
"I bet you're a totally wild fuck, aren't you?"
She'd gone from being mildly aggravated to utterly terrified in the span of a heartbeat. There had to be at least six stores in this plaza, and yet there was no one around.
One of the men standing nearby lit a cigarette. "Dude, forget this bitch. We gotta go to Jack's and get the money he owes us."
"You guys go. I'm not done here. I'm gonna have some fun first."
He grinned at her, and her stomach roiled at the sight of his rotten teeth.
Mustering up the last shred of bravery she had, she looked him square in the eyes. "Get away from me, asshole. You're a second away from getting a knee to your balls."
He dug his fingers into her upper arm, making her cry out.
"Yeah? Well, I mean business, too, baby."
Fear and adrenaline rocketed through her body, sending her into fight mode. She tried to push him away, but her arms hung at her sides, useless. She couldn't lift them at all.
No!No, not this again. Not now.
When she opened her mouth to scream, nothing came out except a long hiss of air. Her thoughts raced along with her pounding heart as she scanned the parking lot, looking for someone—anyone—to help.
In a moment of clarity, she managed to press the panic button on the key fob, and the car's alarm screeched to life.
Baseball Hat Guy jumped back as she stumbled away, holding the fob out in front of her like a weapon. She slowly backed around the car toward the driver's side, but the group had taken off running. By the time she was inside with the doors locked, they were gone.
Leaning her head against the steering wheel, she blinked hard, trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall. Her lower lip began to tremble as she looked at herself in the rearview mirror.
When her phone beeped, she jumped and let out a shriek.
Eli. He was waiting for her.
Unfortunately, he was going to have to wait a little longer, because she was in no condition to drive. Physically or emotionally.
"You're safe," she whispered. "They're gone. You're safe."
Jesus, she was spooked.
She tried to lift her arms to put them on the steering wheel, but once again, nothing worked.
"Fuck!" she yelled. What the hell was going on with her?