Acquiring Trouble

herself.
    Morgan struggled to fill her lungs with air and garnering all the strength she had, she flung her elbow backward toward the man’s gut. She heard him grunt and loosen his hands around her throat enough for her to break his hold. Not waiting to see what he’d do next , Morgan tried to run but the man had managed to snag her shirt.
    “Going somewhere, pet?” His menacing voice turned her blood to ice. She dug her heels into the ground and used all her weight to try to force him to lose his grip on her shirt. Instead the man let go and she stumbled forward, landing on her knee. A branch from a tree hit her in the face as she reached out to try to sav e herself from fa lling completely to the ground.
    “Feisty, aren’t we?” h e laughed. Morgan took a breath and hung her head in defeat. She waited until the man stood in front of her and then launc hed herself at him. Fists flew and she connected but couldn’t tell where. Pain shot up her arm as she continued the assault.
    The man wrenched her hand that was clawing at his face. B efor e she could protect herself , she fel t the back of his hand hit her. Pain blossomed and spread across her face. Tears sprang involuntarily from her eyes and she felt blood drip from her nose and down her split lip. She sudden ly understood the meaning of “ having your bell rung .”  
    “You think that’ s going to break me you dumb son of a bitch?” Morgan wiped the blood from her face and smiled. She widened her grin when she saw his confidence falter momentarily.
    Out of the corner of her eye she saw the gun Miles had given her lying on the ground. Taking advantage of his brief hesitation Morgan lunged for the gun. She felt him reach out to grab her. The side of the shirt ripped under his grasp causing her to fall short of the gun. It was just a foot away, but the man in black was standing over her now. She had blown her one chance.
    “It’s al most a shame I have to kill you, ” he seethed.
    Morgan rolled over and looked up at the man.
    “ Too bad a lmost doesn’t count in life or death .” He pulled out a gun and aimed it at he r as he stood over her, clearly enjoying her fear.
    Bill bayed as he nipped at the man’s ankles. The man just kicked him away. Bill cried out in pain as the man’s kick connected and sent him through the air.
    Rage overtook Morgan. The man was still laughing at the dog’s injury when Morgan used every o u nce of her strength to kick her leg up and bust his balls.
    “Son of a bitch!” t he man gasped , as he grabbed his injured boys and bent over taking deep breaths.
    Morgan pushed herself forward and grabbe d the gun. She fumbled with it as she turned and aimed up toward the man. He looked up and in shock , aimed his gun at her , and went to fire, but not before Morgan pulled the trigger twice . The man fell to his knees. E yes full of anger and shock locked with hers before he f ell face-first into the ground at her feet.
    Morgan scrambled to her feet and rushed over to Bill. “You’re such a good boy. Let’s get out of here.” Fearing to release the dog that saved her life, Morgan scooped Bill u p and stumbled forward with him in her arms. She picked up her pace and jogged throu gh the trees. S ticks and branches were hitting her as she ran past th em , no longer recognizing the slicing pain.
    Morgan pushed through a row of boxwood bushes and stumbled onto a dirt road. She heard tires slide on dirt as brakes were slammed. Bright lights suddenly blinded her as she struggled to hold Bill.
    “ Jesus H. Christ, ” s he heard a man say.
    Mo rgan held the dog close and aimed the gun. She could see a man approaching her. “Stop or I’ll shoot you.”
    “Morgan? It’s Pierce . Put that down!”
    “Pierce?” Morgan gasped.
    “What happened to you?” Morgan dropped to her knees, the exhaustion overtaking her. Bill whimpered and kissed her face. “Come on, let’s get you to my mom’s house,” he said gently.
    Morgan felt him try to lift the dog out of her arms, but when she refused to let go he lifted them together , carrying them to his truck . “No! You have to help Miles! Just leave me here!” He tucked her safely into his truck and quickly turned it around and headed up the dirt road.
    “What’s going on Morgan?”
    She was starting to get irritated with his calm voice. “The men I told you about, they came! Miles tried to hold them off so I could escape, but one of th e men found me in the woods .” Pierce