Charlie was trapped, and she knew it.

Goddamn it, now what? Think, Charlie. Think.

She darted a look to either side, but there was nothing - just the unforgiving walls hemming her in. She glanced back at Lester and his two goons, noting with grim satisfaction that his face and shoulder were still bleeding that thick, dark blood. His nice suit was ruined, and she might have felt sorry for him if he wasn’t about to rip her apart.

Slipping her hand into her purse, her fingers closed around her only real defense: a small can of pepper spray. One can, three thugs. Wonderful odds. Yay me.

As the trio closed in, she braced herself, ready to pull the spray and go for his eyes - maybe that’d give her a chance to slip through and dash back toward the entrance of the alley.

"My dear, dear Charlie," Lester purred, his voice dripping with condescension. "You left before I could share my little secret with you. I swear, you’ll really like it."

He and his goons stopped about ten feet away. Despite the distance, she knew they could close it in a flash.

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“Oh, and what’s that, Lester? That your breath stinks? Or is it that you’re so afraid of a little girl like me that you need a couple of extra goons for backup? Tsk, tsk. Must be sad to be a beta male.” She put on her best smirk, hoping to goad him into making a mistake. Any mistake. Because right now, she was out of options, and they all knew it.

Lester smirked and gave a subtle gesture. Both goons took a step back, leaving him to move closer, arms outstretched, as if he were surrendering to her.

“You’re cute, my dear. But no, my secret is nothing so trivial.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she shot back, raising an eyebrow. “I saw how scared you were when your boss was talking to you. I could practically taste your fear.”

Lester’s eyes flashed, but he chuckled. “Full of surprises, aren’t you? But everyone has their masters, Charlie. And if you want to survive, you learn to play the beaten supplicant when your master’s in a foul mood.”

He took another deliberate step forward.

“Back off, buddy,” she warned, raising the pepper spray. “Unless you want a face full of ghost pepper.”

Lester tilted his head, his smirk widening as he lowered his arms. “You really think that little can will stop me?”

With another step, he moved closer, and this time, she noticed his teeth - they were no longer blunt, but elongated, gleaming in the dim alley light. He bared them in a cruel, predatory grin, and her fingers went slack, the pepper spray slipping from her hand to the ground.

Shit.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something dark block the alley’s entrance, silhouetted against the bright lights of the street beyond. She squinted, but she couldn’t make out more than a shadowy figure standing there, motionless.

Now what?