Free The Gladiator by Carla Capshaw

way?”
    â€œToward the city gates.”
    Quick steps took him to the bowels of the house. He strapped on a gladius and grabbed up a torch, then raced to the side door and into the night.
    The torch held high to guide him, he broke into a run. During the day, Rome was dangerous enough, but after dark the streets crawled with every sort of human vermin.
    If anything happened to her…He had to find her.
    He picked up his pace. Shouting and bawdy laughter echoed from the street up ahead, but it was the woman’s scream that raised the hackles on the back of his neck.
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    A grimy hand covered Pelonia’s mouth from behind and dragged her head back against a rock-hard shoulder. A knife blade pressed to her throat filled her with terror. “Be quiet, wench! Someone’ll think you don’t like us.”
    Raucous laughter rippled through the drunken gang surrounding her like rabid dogs. Paralyzed with fear, she felt a trickle of blood slide down her neck. The stench of sour mead made her gag. She frantically searched the darkness. Shiny, inebriated eyes leered at her from the shadows. How many men were there? Six? Seven?
    Dear God, please help me!
    â€œI want her first,” a deep voice slurred somewhere to her left.
    â€œYou’ll have to wait your turn,” another said, the words thick and muddled. Jeering laughter combined with lewd suggestions echoed through the street.
    The pack grew bolder. Groping hands snatched at her clothes, pinched her, yanked her braid. The cloth of her tunic ripped, exposing her shoulder to the damp night air.
    She squeezed her eyes shut. Unable to move or defend herself, she begged God for mercy.
    The giant tightened his hand on her mouth. The pressure against her teeth cut her lip. She tasted blood.
    He reached forward with the knife, the metal flashing in the moonlight between her face and the other wolves.
    â€œAll of you stand back,” the giant ordered. “The woman promised I could have her first. You’ll have to wait ’til I’ve had my taste.”
    What woman?
    A flurry of drunken curses and outraged complaintslittered the night, but the long knife aided the pack’s decision to slink backward.
    â€œSuch beautiful skin,” the giant slurred near her ear. His sour breath churned her stomach. She gagged until she thought she might retch. He moved his hand from her mouth and buried his wet lips against the pulse racing in her throat.
    She screamed. Her heel stomped his foot. He loosed his hold and the blade clanked on the stone street. Wild with fear, she jerked free from the drunk and ran.
    Threats from her pursuing attackers spurred her onward. Was someone calling her name? Without slacking her pace, she turned a corner, then another and another until she was lost. Too scared to stop running, she pressed on, her lungs burning, her heart pounding.
    Rapid footsteps gained ground behind her. The glow of a torch grew larger, lighting the narrow alleyway.
    â€œPelonia!”
    Caros? She faltered, tripped on an uneven stone, felt herself falling.
    A strong arm swooped around her middle, hauling her up just as her palms brushed the road. In a seamless movement, Caros turned her around, then pulled her against him. “Are you all right?”
    She locked her arms around his waist and buried her cheek against his chest. Like an angel sent from God, he’d come to save her.
    The heat of his torch warmed her skin, but did nothing to ease her chilling terror. He held her while she shivered and shook against him. For timeless moments, he rubbed her back until the tremors subsided.
    Caros cupped her face with his free hand and tipped her head back to search for injuries. He ran the pad of his thumb over the shallow cut on her throat. Thankfully, the blood haddried and the wound no longer bled. The image of his woman, a blade held against her jugular, would never leave him. If she hadn’t escaped those mongrels, he would have