“Just go home and sleep it off, Lance.” She didn’t even ask how he got in, despite this being a private party.
“You know, I thought I’d have to get into some kind of back alley fight with your fucking lackey hanging around.” He looked over at where Alex was still talking to her father. “But everyone is drunk enough that it was easy as hell, Mary.” He chuckled but it was distorted and humorless.
“I made myself clear that I want nothing more to do with you, Lance. My family made it clear too when they revoked your wedding invite.” Done with this, she made her way toward the party to head straight toward security, where she could tell them to collect Lance and take his ass out of here.
But before she could walk more than a couple of steps, Lance gripped her wrist hard enough she gasped. He pulled her back into the shadows before she could fight him off, and spun her around to press her against the privacy trellis in the gardens. The lattice shook from the force in which he shoved her against it, and she exhaled when he pressed his body to hers, his liquor-smelling breath wafting over the side of her face.
“You made me look like a fucking fool in front of everyone.” His voice was nothing but a sneer against her ear. “And now I have to put your ass in its place, Mary, have to show you that you’re not stronger than me. You never were and you never will be.” He reached between them and started fumbling with his belt.
Oh God. Oh God, no.
She struggled, but in a move quicker than she thought his drunken ass could do, he had his hand on her throat and tightened it until she could only suck in a minimal amount of air.
The sound of his zipper sliding down seemed loud against the silence that suddenly surrounded her. Mary’s heart thundered, and she knew if she didn’t react quick things would go from bad to worse. She opened her mouth, but he slapped his hand over it, now not only cutting off her airflow but also any chance of calling out for help.
He grunted when she tried to shift out of his hold, her knee coming up and barely kicking him where it counted, but not hard enough to do the damage she needed done. Mary clawed at his hand on her throat, trying to remove it, trying to suck in air through her nose but failing miserably.
“I’m getting off on you struggling, Mary.” He leaned forward and ran his tongue up her cheek, and if she could have, she would have gagged. “Make me really work for it, Mary.” He let go of her throat to grab at the bottom of her dress and pull it up, but he struggled because he was drunk, and she used that moment to her advantage.
She shifted again, and this time was able to knee him in the balls hard enough he grunted and loosened his hold on her.
He moved a step backward and cupped himself, and she didn’t waste a minute to push him back hard enough he tripped over one of the benches and crashed to the ground.
She took off, but he reached out and grabbed her ankle, pulling her back. She screamed and kicked out, trying to dislodge herself from his grasp. Mary fell forward and braced her hands on the ground as she went down hard. Pain speared up her palms to her forearms, but she didn’t let it consume her. She clawed at the ground, grass and dirt embedding under her nails as she frantically tried to get away.
“Get the fuck off of me,” she screamed again, and rolled onto her back to kick at him, her heel connecting with his throat. He barked out a garbled sound and let go to grip his neck, and just as she was about to make a run for it, strong arms wrapped around her waist and she was hauled up.
The scent of Alex washed through her and she sagged, her body aching, her arms and legs feeling like lead, and Alex the only thing keeping her up. And when she looked at Alex, she saw his murderous gaze latched onto Lance.
“I’m going to fucking kill you,” he said dangerously low. Alex leaned down and kissed the top of her head, his focus never leaving Lance, who was still on the ground gasping and gargling for breath from the kick to his neck.
And then he was suddenly letting go of her and on Lance a second later. He had Lance by the throat and lifted him off the ground in the next heartbeat. Then he was hitting him in the face over and over again, and all she could do was stand there and watch without any guilt.