Tasting, Finding, Keeping: The Story of Never Read Online Free Page A

wicked, blooming across his face like a disease. Lacey obeys with a sob, turning over and letting herself pool into a shaking mess of nerves and self-pity. He bends down, nice and slow, deliberate, and points his gun at the back of her head. When he reaches out to touch her with his other hand, something inside of me just friggin' snaps.
    I launch myself forward without a sound, wound up with adrenaline and anger and fear and I hit Guy Two right in the chest, knocking him to his back on the floor. The gun goes off and fires a single shot towards the front of the store, missing my face by a fraction of an inch. The massive window comes down in a sheet of shards and seconds later, an alarm rings out, sharp and piercing. My ears are already ringing and this new sound is enough to paralyze me for just a moment, just long enough that Guy Two can pull his arm back and use the butt of his gun to hit me in the face. I fall back with a shout, hit the ground with my shoulder and roll away, terrified that at any moment, one of the other two thugs is going to shoot me in the back.
    “Goddamn bitch,” Guy Two says as he struggles to his feet, and I look up just in time to see that his gun is pointed straight at my face. Another shot goes off behind me, whizzes past Guy Two and breaks down a second window. When I glance over my shoulder, I see Gun Girl slumped on the floor near Ty's feet. He's got her gun in his hand and has it pointed at Guy Two. Guy One is nowhere to be seen, and I can only guess that he's already fled. I suppose that whole Honor among thieves thing doesn't always hold true.
    Ty is breathing pretty hard, and there's blood on his chest, whether from Gun Girl or someone else, I don't know, but it scares me. However much I might dislike the guy for what he said to me, he didn't flee the building like I'd thought. Instead, he chose to stay and fight. Anyone that's willing to do something like that is someone that the world can't afford to lose.
    I panic when I see Guy Two turn towards him and kick out hard, hitting the man in the shin. He stumbles and fires off another shot. I don't have time to see where it goes because the gun is now swinging towards me. People are screaming and there's movement all around me. I think I see a flash of color as Lacey flees the building, but I'm not sure. All I know in that moment is that I have to survive. I don't know why, and I don't have time to analyze it, all I can do is stand and throw my body at Guy Two. I hit him in the stomach, but he doesn't go down, not this time. We struggle for control of the gun, and I pull out every trick I've ever learned to deal with rowdy college guys. I knee him in the balls and pull at his hair with the hand that isn't wrapped around his wrist, fighting to keep the gun pointed at the ceiling and away from Ty, his friends, and me.
    It seems this goes on forever, but I'm guessing it's merely seconds. Just as I think I'm about to lose control, Ty appears from out of nowhere and smashes the butt of Gun Girl's weapon into Guy Two's skull. He falters for just a second, long enough for me to knock his gun to the floor where it skids across the tiles and comes to a stop near a display of sunflower seeds. Guy Two uses the last of his strength to push me back; I stumble into the broken glass and feel my feet slide out from beneath me, sending me to my back in the shards with a hiss of pain.
    Ty spins Guy Two around and pulls back his fist, hitting him in the face with knuckles loaded with rings. I hope it hurts like hell, I think as I watch Guy Two stumble. Ty doesn't stop. He grabs Guy Two by the shirt and hits him again. And again. And again. Finally, Guy Two drops to the floor like a sack of garbage, and Ty shakes out his hand like it hurts. I stare at the wet spot on his chest, afraid that he's been shot and struggle to sit up. Broken glass cuts into my hands and feet, and I gasp, drawing his attention to me. Other than Gun Girl and Guy Two (who are both