Free Meagan (I Dare You Book 3) by Jennifer Labelle Page A

growled.
    Meagan managed to move just enough to free her right leg, and with all the strength she could muster, she kneed him in the groin. He groaned and loosened his grip on her just enough so that she could take large gulps of air.
    “Ashley, run,” Meagan squeaked and tried desperately to overstep Greg and into safety, but it wasn’t enough. He lunged for her throat again and knocked them both to the ground. Darkness threatened to consume her, and small lights flashed behind her eyelids.
    “Coop! Cory! Help …” Ashley’s voice faded in the background as Meagan’s struggle continued.
    No! She tried to throw her leg up again. Only this time he was ready for it; he blocked her attempt. She tried to scramble away, to do anything she possibly could to create some distance, but it was worthless. She was at the mercy of a madman.
    Meagan could feel all of the scrapes on her skin from the friction of the pavement. Pain in her head from falling, the marks he was leaving on her throat. Just as she was beginning to lose hope, she was finally freed.
    She was pinned beneath him one minute, and in the next moment she was being lifted away. It was all so surreal, and she panicked again. “Relax, Meagan. It’s Cory, honey. I’m just going to bring you back to the bar with Ashley. You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
    “B-but Greg, h-he…”
    “I know, honey. Shhh.” Cory rubbed the back of her head. “Coop and Brett have him covered until the police get here. Don’t worry, he’s not going unpunished for this.” The last part came out as a frustrated growl.
    Meagan looked up and started to cry once she realized that even Cory wanted to go out there and kick his ass. Hell, she wanted to as well, and when Ashley’s shaking arms came around her as soon as Cory gently placed her in a chair, the reality of it hit her like a ton of bricks. That asshole had tried to rape her, could have killed her, and if it weren’t for these people right here, he might have succeeded. They’d come to her rescue again.
    “God, Meagan, I was scared to death.” Ashley’s voice shook as she looked her over. “You look terrible.”
    “Thanks, I feel it.”
    “Cory, can you go get the first aid kit while we wait for the ambulance to get here? She’s got scrapes and bruises everywhere.” Ashley stood as Cory left the room and began to try to fix Meagan’s tangled hair.
    “My throat hurts the most. How does it look?”
    “Very red. I could almost make out his hand print. It’ll probably leave a good bruise.” She knelt in front of her and looked her over more thoroughly.
    “Speaking of bruises,” Cory said. He handed Meagan a baggie filled with ice before he gave Ashley the first aid kit. “Why don’t you put this on your cheek? It’s red, too, and it looks a little puffy. The ice will help with the swelling.”
    Meagan nodded. It hurt too much to speak anymore. Her crying started again, and she wanted to be alone.
    But it didn’t work out that way.
    The police and an ambulance arrived shortly after. They took her to the hospital first and then got a statement from her.
    Coop stayed with her the whole time, supportive when she needed him to be and at a distance when she needed the same.
    Ashley and Cory followed, calling a frantic Nathan and Heidi. As per hospital policy, she had a limited amount of visitors allowed to see her at one time, and it took everything to convince Nathan that she was all right enough for him to go on ahead home. Ashley and Cory took the hint and left with them when they were assured she would be okay as well.
    But Coop stayed the whole time, and for that she was grateful. He’d saved her yet again, and it was him she wanted to be with anyway. So after careful observation and the doctors determining it was just a bunch of scrapes and bruises, she received her discharge in the morning later and followed him home at his insistence instead of going back to her own.
    * * * *
    Sunlight peeked through the