“We can’t leave you alone in the rain when you’re injured and defenseless,” Julius said.
I had to hold in a laugh at the word “defenseless.” He didn’t have a clue. Even injured, I had little doubt I’d be able to hold my own against one of them, maybe even two. I could have broken the hand the blond guy still had on me if I’d really wanted to, if I wasn’t trying to play normal in case they were ordinary bystanders after all.
Instead, I just tugged my arm away from him, and to my relief, he let me go.
“Look, I’d rather be on my own than surrounded by strangers,” I said. “I’m just a little bruised up. I’ve got to deal with the car and the rest of this mess, but I can handle that. You can all go back to whatever you were doing.”
The blond guy’s head cocked. He stepped back with a shrug. “Fine, if that’s what you really want.”
“It is,” I said, turning toward the sidewalk—and a sharp pinch bit into my lower spine.
The last thing I was aware of was the give of my knees as blackness swam up over my vision and completely blanked my mind.