Chapter 65

• Author's POV
• The first man lunged, thinking she would fold easily. Laura sidestepped, her instincts kicking in, and drove her elbow hard into his jaw. The crack of bone meeting bone was sharp in the still night, followed by a muffled curse as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Another man came at her from the left—too close—so she pivoted and slammed her fist into his nose. There was a sickening crunch, and his howl filled the air.
• For a brief, breathless moment, Laura thought she might actually manage to hold her own. But that hope vanished when the others closed in at once. Boots scraped against gravel, the ring of their bodies tightening around her. One grabbed her arm, yanking it behind her back, while another hooked his arm around her throat. The smell of alcohol on their breath made her stomach churn.