The hammer hung frozen in the air, its shadow stretching long and dark over my face.
For one endless heartbeat, time stopped. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the crushing blow, waiting for the pain …and then it never came.
Instead, a sound like thunder cracked through the room.
A fist slammed into the side of his head with such force that the man's whole body jerked into the nearest wall.The hammer slipped from his fingers, clattering loudly against the tiled floor
I gasped, falling to the floor in shock. My heart hammered so hard against my chest I thought it might burst through my ribs.
Standing over the fallen attacker was Darius.
His chest heaved, his shoulders rigid, every muscle coiled tight as a spring. His knuckles were split and bleeding, his jaw set so hard the muscle jumped beneath his skin. He didn't even glance at the man on the floor…his eyes were locked only on me, burning with a mix of rage and something far more terrifying.
Fear.
