Her Unexpected Hero (Unexpected Heroes #1)(28)
Author: Melody Anne

“I’ll buy you a new one if it did, sweet thing,” he said, and he reached for her.

“What are you doing, Hank?” This wasn’t the man she’d gotten to know in the last few months. He must have drunk way too much tonight.

“I don’t think you should do that, Hank.” Cody moved closer to Alyssa.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing, kid? This is adult business. Stay out of it.” Hank pushed against Cody’s chest, making him stumble back.

Hank turned, snaked an arm around Alyssa’s back, and pulled her up against his chest. “Fine. If you don’t want me to drive, you can just sit in my truck with me,” he said, and then leaned down and kissed her.

Alyssa pulled back and screamed. She wasn’t just pissed now, she was downright frightened. The man was beyond intoxicated, and she was clearly the next thing on his menu.

“Leave her alone,” Cody yelled as he rushed back and tugged fruitlessly against Hank’s beefy arm.

“You’re like a pesky little fly,” Hank growled. He released his hold on Alyssa so he could grab Cody by his shirtfront.

“Don’t!” Alyssa screamed, but it was too late. Hank pulled back his free hand and slammed his fist into poor Cody’s face. Blood immediately began pouring from the young man’s nose and mouth as he slumped to the ground.

“You’re disgusting, Hank.” Flinging herself at him, Alyssa scratched his face.

“Now it’s your turn,” Hank said. He restrained her hands easily and dragged her to his truck.

Alyssa screamed again as he wrenched open the passenger door and tried to shove her inside. She wasn’t getting into that truck. If she did, she knew it would be all over.

“Shut up and get inside,” Hank roared, and he backhanded her so hard in the face that she went flying to the ground. Her head instantly began pulsing. She reached up to her face and wiped away blood.

Not even caring that her head hurt, or that blood was oozing from her mouth, Alyssa’s hand immediately went to her stomach. A slight cramp had her worried. It wasn’t bad, but she knew if Hank got his hands on her again, she might not be able to protect her unborn child.

“Get up!” Hank hollered.

He grabbed her hair and yanked, trying to drag her to her feet. Her eyes firmly shut, Alyssa locked herself into a ball and hoped to heaven that he’d give up. With her head pounding and her scalp aching, she couldn’t concentrate on fighting him. Tears stung her eyes.

When he let go of her hair, she cringed, waiting for the next blow. But it didn’t come. Instead, she heard a groan and then what sounded like snapping twigs.

“You worthless son of a bitch! How dare you assault a woman!”

Alyssa opened her eyes and looked over to see Jackson’s fist slamming into Hank’s jaw. The man dropped, then lay on the ground in a heap.

“You broke my arm,” he whined.

“I should break a lot more.” But instead of following through on that, Jackson dashed over to Alyssa. “Are you okay?” he asked, then shook his head. “Of course you’re not okay. I’m sorry I didn’t get out here sooner. I only just found out you left.”

A moan caught his attention, and that’s when he saw Cody. “Ah, Alyssa, you and the kid? That bastard better get some major jail time for this.” Jackson grabbed his cell phone and dialed the sheriff.

“Send an ambulance, too,” he said before disconnecting the call.

“Where do you hurt, Alyssa?” he asked as he felt her arms and legs.

“My . . . my head is pounding, but I think I’m fine. Please check on Cody. He got hit hard.”

“Dammit! You got hit hard, too. You’re going to have a black eye and a bruised cheek. I want the paramedics to check you.”

“I’m fine. Please, please check Cody,” she insisted. She felt a stirring in her stomach and knew her baby was okay. A couple of Tylenol and her head would be all right. She hoped the same could be said about Cody.

“He’s fine, I’m sure. I’m more worried about you,” Jackson said, though he looked over at the boy as if torn.

“Cody . . .” she insisted, and Jackson let out a frustrated breath.

Several people came out of the bar at that moment, then froze at what they saw. “See how Cody’s doing,” Jackson ordered, and they ran over to the kid. “He’s not alone now.”

Alyssa watched as Cody began to stir. “I tried to protect her,” Cody choked out as blood sprayed from his mouth.

“That’s right, Cody. You tried. You did good,” someone assured Cody.

Alyssa sagged with relief when Cody spoke. He was going to be just fine. She began to tremble as the reality of the situation settled in. This could have been so much worse. Sure, she and Cody would both feel a bit of pain, but it didn’t look as if there would be major injuries.

When the ambulance pulled up, one man rushed to Cody and one moved over to Alyssa. “Where do you hurt, ma’am?” the paramedic asked after he kneeled down and began taking her pulse.

“My head is throbbing, but I’m sure I just need Tylenol,” she said shakily, then looked over at Jackson, who wasn’t going anywhere. She needed them to check the baby, but she didn’t want to say it in front of him. Still, she couldn’t risk her baby’s health just to keep her secret. “Please make sure my baby is okay,” she practically whispered, refusing to look in Jackson’s eyes. She was hoping he wouldn’t hear, but there was no way that was possible, not with how close he was to her.

The paramedic did an exam on her and, after about ten minutes, said everything sounded good. They could take her to the hospital if she wanted, but if she would rather go to her regular physician in the morning, that would probably be fine.

“I’ll go to my doctor tomorrow,” she said, still not looking at Jackson.

What was going to happen next? Fear now overwhelmed her, but at least it made her physical pain less acute. The ambulance finally departed after Cody refused to go with them, and the sheriff took statements from her and Cody and then arrested a groaning Hank, Alyssa found herself sitting on Jackson’s tailgate, wondering what she was going to say next.

“We have some serious talking to do, Alyssa,” Jackson said, his brows furrowed.

“I’m so tired, Jackson. I really just need to sleep,” she pleaded. Now was not the time. She had to regroup.

Before he could say anything else, Alyssa watched headlights approach and sagged with relief when her father’s truck pulled up. Her parents jumped from the cab and rushed over to her.