Near Dark: A Thriller Read Online Free PDF Page A

punch to the side of his headthat caused him to see stars. He felt his knees buckle as he fell to the ground.
    It was a stupid mistake. Harvath should have seen it coming, but his rage and his ego had gotten the better of him. He had been overconfident and now he was in trouble. Big trouble.
    In a street fight the ground was the deadliest place to be. His opponent, well aware that he had the upper hand, took full advantage;kicking him over and over as hard as he could.
    Within the first couple of kicks, the smaller man—having recovered his ability to breathe—reappeared and put the boot to him as well. It would only be a matter of time before one of them began kicking him in the head. Once that happened, the fight would be over. Harvath had to do something. Fast .
    He rolled onto his side, and as he did the two menincreased the intensity of the kicking.
    Rocking onto his elbow as he absorbed the blows, he used his hand to brace himself and began to push up and off the ground. As soon as he had his legs beneath him, all he needed was enough space to get back onto his feet.
    As his attackers moved in a circle around him, Harvath spun as well. Using his free arm to parry the punches and kicks, he searchedfor an opening. When it presented itself, he exploded into a standing position, hammering the larger man in the groin on the way up.
    The move took both assailants by surprise. Harvath was back in the fight and showed no mercy. Slipping away from a poorly aimed punch by the smaller man, Scot pounded him with a vicious jab-cross-hook combination.
    There was the crack of cartilage and a spray ofblood as he broke the man’s nose with the first punch and sent him, unconscious, to the ground with the hook.
    Careful not to make the mistake he had made previously, he kept both of his hands up to protect his head. He was already moving as the bigger man closed the distance and slammed him with a series of heavy punches. No matter what he did to stay outside his reach, his opponent still founda way to land his blows.
    The man was an exceptional fighter and Harvath was forced to keep his hands up to protect his face and head. As he did, he left his body exposed and took a wave of painful strikes in many of the same areas he had already been kicked. When the man landed two solid kidney punches, Harvath was sure he’d be pissing blood for a week.
    This fight had been much harder than hehad anticipated. He needed to bring an end to it.
    As his opponent stepped forward to deliver another series of punches, Harvath unleashed a blistering side kick, destroying the man’s left knee. From there, he moved in and lit the guy up.
    It was a flurry of knees, fists, and elbows. Every single blow found its target. As each strike landed, Harvath’s rage erupted out of him like an uncapped oilwell.
    The assault came so fast and from so many different directions that the larger man couldn’t even defend himself. When he put up his hands and arms to protect his head, Harvath attacked his body. When he tried to protect his body, Harvath went after his head and face.
    All the while, the man kept his remaining good knee protected, knowing that if Harvath connected with it, that would bethe end of the fight.
    Sensing what the man was doing, Harvath feigned dropping his guard.
    It presented such a perfect target, that even in his bloody, battered state, the man couldn’t resist taking one powerful, final swing in the hope of knocking Harvath out. It was the last mistake he made.
    No sooner had he stepped into his punch, than Harvath pivoted off the line of attack and took out hisopponent’s right knee with another side kick.
    As the giant fell, Harvath met his face halfway down with anenormous uppercut, snapping the attacker’s head straight back, knocking him unconscious. The fight was over.
    Or so Harvath had thought.
    One of the number-one rules in a street brawl was to always watch for other assailants. Just because you couldn’t see them,