Hope sprung at the sound of the voice. “Clyde!” I screamed, putting everything into throwing my weight to the side by pushing off the sidewalk with my feet. “Clyde!”

The driver’s door slammed shut and the man holding me cursed in my ear, and then he let go, freaking dropped me. Not that I was complaining, but I fell to the ground on my knees and palms.

“Holy crap,” I gasped, trying to get control of my breathing as I pushed off my hands and looked up to see Clyde’s heavy frame jogging toward me. “Holy crap.”

My hands shook as I raised them and pushed my hair back from my face. I noticed then that there were more people outside, near the corner of the front of Mona’s.

As Clyde reached my side, the SUV tore out of the parking lot, tires spinning and kicking up gravel, pelting the group of people near the front. There was shouting. Someone threw something at the SUV. Glass shattered.

“Calla,” Clyde huffed out. “You okay?”

I was pretty sure I was seconds from having a full-blown freak-out, but other than the pain in my jaw and the aches from hitting the ground, I was alive. “I’m all right.”

“You sure?” he wheezed, and that sound made me forget about what just happened. It was the wrong kind of sound—a sound a human shouldn’t make.

I settled back on my calves, getting ready to stand. “Are you okay, Clyde?”

His head moved in jerky motions, and I wasn’t so sure about that. “I saw you walk . . . outside. I didn’t . . . recognize the man. I . . . wasn’t sure. With everything that’s going on . . .”

Hands were suddenly on my shoulders. Jax was there, kneeling down beside me. His face was pale, strained like it had been the day we were almost run over. “What the hell is going on? People are saying someone tried to grab you.”

“Someone did try.” My words sounded weird as I stared at Clyde.

Jax’s hands tightened on my shoulders. “What in the world were you doing out here?”

“I didn’t come out here because I wanted to. The guy was inside. He told me that if I caused a scene, he’d light up the place,” I said, and my gaze shifted to Clyde. He was looking better. A little pale, but he wasn’t wheezing anymore. “I thought he had a gun.”

“Jesus. Fuck,” muttered Jax. One hand slid around my neck and he tilted my head back. My gaze finally shifted to his, and I sucked in a sharp breath. Fury and concern were etched into his face and then anger won out. “He hit you.”

It wasn’t a question, and there was no denying it. “I bit him.”

“And he hit you? Fuck, baby.” Jax dipped his head, pressing his lips to my forehead, and then he pulled back, holding my gaze.

“We need to call the police,” Clyde grunted.