Now or Never(39)

“What? I’m trying to—”

“Mason.” Something in her voice caught his attention and he shoved back out from under the car just as the men surrounded them.

“Car trouble?” The guy in front of Mason, wearing a green and white bandana tied around his greasy hair and a white hoodie nearly long enough to cover up the fact that his jeans were hanging halfway down his ass, folded his arms and settled back on his heels.

“We’re all set. Just leaving.” Mason tugged Ash closer to the car as one of the other’s stepped closer.

“Actually . . . you aren’t.” Green and white bandana smirked, untucking a handgun from the back of his belt.

“We don’t want any trouble.” Mason gripped Em’s elbow, pushing her closer to Ashlyn.

“Trouble isn’t what we’re looking for. Cash, cards, jewelry. Not trouble. So hand it over and we can all go on our way.”

“Okay. You got it.” Mason pulled out his wallet and passed it to the guy standing beside Ashlyn.

He wore a similar cliché get-up. Matching bandana secured over his scraggly blonde hair that turned up at his ears. Gray hoodie. No coats, despite the cold. His pants weren’t quite as loose fitting, though. These were the details Em’s mind chose to latch onto, ignoring the more frightening aspects of the encounter. Hands shaking, she unclasped the necklace and bracelet Ash had given her.

“What else you got?” The one with the gun seemed to be the spokesman for the group. Made sense.

“Nothing, man. I gave you my wallet. That’s it.”

“What about you?” He flipped the gun toward Ash and she yipped, tugging her clutch out from under her sweater and passing it off to her personal robber.

“You?” The gun turned her way and Em’s vision narrowed until all she saw was the barrel of the weapon pointed her way.

“She gave you everything.” Mason tried to step in front of her, but the third guy—the one Em hadn’t even realized had come up right beside her—shoved him away.

All she could see was the black sweatshirt that met her eye level, but she felt certain if she’d been brave enough to look up he’d be wearing the same kind of hair accessory as his friends.

“Where’s your purse, pretty?” His breath reeked of tobacco and alcohol.

“I-I don’t have one.”

“You wouldn’t be lying to me, now would you? Because that would be very, very stupid.”

“She’s not!” Ash’s cry went largely ignored.

“You got your cash in your pockets?”

“I d-don’t have pockets. O-or cash.”

“Is that so?” In one swift move, he spun her around and had her front plastered against the side of the car.

“Get off her!”

“She doesn’t have anything!”

Em could hear Ashlyn and Mason beside her, but they sounded very far away as her pulse roared in her ears. A steel band wrapped viciously around her chest and her heart went from racing to skipping beats entirely.

“Then it shouldn’t matter if we search her.”

Hot breath washed down the back of her neck and hands roamed over her body. Hands. Touching. Demanding. Holding. Hurting. Everywhere.

Em frantically searched her dark surroundings and the band cinched tighter, compressing the last of the air from her lungs when she realized who she was looking for. And that he wasn’t there. When a hand closed over her breast dark spots danced in her vision. Everything blurred as her head began to spin and her knees gave out.

“Em?”

“Hey, what the hell’s wrong with her, man?” The hands receded.

All of their voices seemed to be coming to her from underwater. She could barely make out what they were saying over the ringing in her ears.

“I don’t know. Em? Em, are you all right?”

“Yo, let’s get outta here, man.”

“I think she’s having a panic attack.” The sound of running footsteps overshadowed the concern in Ashlyn’s voice. “Come on, Em. Breathe. Come on.” Ash took a deep breath, and Em attempted to do the same. It was like trying to breathe through a straw. “There you go. Just like that. Again.”

Ashlyn held her hand while Mason stood over the two of them casting anxious glances down the sidewalk as Em fought to drag oxygen into her angry lungs.

Slowly, the air started flowing. In and out. In and out. The burning in her lungs eased, but her chest still ached from the strain.

Mason squatted in front of her, tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. “Better?”

Em nodded, still not trusting her voice enough to speak.

“It’s okay, Em. They’re gone now. It was just a little money. Nothing to panic over.” He offered her a strained smile.