I hope you're worth it.

I grabbed the bat, creeping through the shadows in a wide arc and coming behind them near Lonny's car. I pressed one hand on the hood and hauled myself up, planting my feet wide, steeling myself for the stupid, crazy thing I was about to do.

I raised the bat over my head.

"Let him go!" I shouted. "Or I'll destroy your fucking car!" Loose hair whipped around my face. I looked into their eyes, one by one, then held Lonny's stare. I wouldn't let go.

Reece's chin rested on his chest, bleeding into his shirt. Oleksa looked back and forth between me and Lonny, hands twitching at his side. Lonny shook his head with a bemused disbelief.

"My, my." His voice was silky sweet and it terrified me as much as his smile. "Isn't this something?"

He stepped toward me and every cell in my body screamed at me to run. Reece raised his head slowly, his eyes half closed and unfocused. His gaze sharpened on the hood of Lonny's car. On me. His face paled, as if he were looking at a ghost. He opened his mouth to speak and struggled to one knee, but Oleksa kicked him in the gut, doubling him over.

"I said let him go!" I raised the bat higher, aimed at the windshield.

Lonny chuckled, but nobody moved. He was stalling. Calling my bluff. I tested the weight of the bat, letting it roll in my palms. Lonny raised an eyebrow.

"I heard about your run-in with DiMorello today. Heard Whelan came to your rescue. Is he your man now? Or are you just here to return the favor?"

I calculated my words carefully. Lonny was already suspicious of Reece. The wrong answer could get him killed.

"What I do with Reece is none of your business."

"Maybe it should be, Boswell. Your boyfriend is looking for some pretty nasty little pills. Nasty little pills that make sweet girls like you do really nasty things." Lonny shrugged. "But what do I care? Maybe you already do."

His eyes skimmed over me, lingering on my breasts and hips in a way that made me feel sick inside. He ran his tongue over his teeth and toyed with the barbell above his chin, pushing and pulling it through the hole in his lip while he considered me.

"You keep your boyfriend on the right side of my street. I'm not sure I like him." Lonny gestured to his goons. The stocky one tossed Reece's limp body to the ground.

"You, however . . ." Lonny shook his finger at me. ". . . I am definitely beginning to like. Now get your skinny ass off my car. Next time you pull a stunt like this, I'll break your pretty legs."

I had no doubt he'd make good on the threat. Bat in hand, I jumped down the side of the car farther from him and backed away.

"You have your girlfriend to thank for this," Lonny said, tossing a clear bag of pills between Reece's knees. Reece swayed, slick with blood and sweat, red drops spattering against the plastic.

Lonny's gaze was heavy on me as he angled into his car. "I won't forget this, Boswell."

The Lexus ghosted out of Sunny View. I tossed the bat and dropped to the ground beside Reece, afraid to touch him. He cradled his ribs, each breath harsh and shallow.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He spit blood in the dirt, then snatched up the bag and jammed it in his pocket. "He could have killed you!"

"What the hell was I thinking? What the hell were you thinking? Look at you!"

An angry gash split his lip and dripped off the end of his chin, and blood trickled from his left eyebrow. He was caked in dirt and blood, but he'd been lucky. Oleksa had been righthanded, sparing Reece's piercings. "We need to get you to a hospital. Can you stand?"

"No! I can't go to a hospital. They'll call the cops." His face contorted in pain as he tried to straighten himself. "I'm fine. Just help me up."

Reece wrapped his left arm around his ribs. I grabbed his right, and together we eased him to his feet. Groaning, he maneuvered himself out of his jacket and peeled his T-shirt over his head. Angry black bruises were blooming over his ribs.

I watched, helpless, as he balled up the shirt, then pressed it to his head to staunch the bleeding. With labored breaths, he worked his arms back into his jacket and eased himself onto the bike.

"Come on." The order rasped in his throat as he released the kickstand.

He could go to hell. I kicked through the tall grass, snatching my bat off the ground. "I'm going home."

"Leigh, wait!" The kickstand snapped back into place and I heard his boots behind me.

I kept walking.

"Leigh! I'm sorry." His apology echoed off the trailers. "You can't go home. You shouldn't be there alone tonight. It's not safe."

I swung around. His blood was streaked across my hoodie and my hands. "I can take care of myself !"

He looked at me-really looked at me-for the first time. And I wanted him to. I wanted him to understand what I had been ready to sacrifice, though I wasn't sure why.