No!
Musk zapped up her nostrils.
Come on, Aileen!
She heard Callan’s reprimands in her head from their self-defence sessions, and her training kicked in.
Aileen manoeuvred as Callan had taught her, counting the steps in her head. One, two, three, and she pushed off her feet. Aileen’s head crashed against her assailant.
Crack!
‘Oof!’ Their grip loosened.
Aileen tried steadying herself when her foot caught on a stone and she tumbled to her knees, scraping them raw.
‘Ouch!’
Bloody cobblestones! She rubbed her throbbing thigh as bile rose in her throat.
In her frenzy, her backpack slipped from her shoulders, one of its straps broken.
Her assailant grabbed at it again and shoved it away from them.
Aileen lunged for it, but vice-like hands gripped her shoulders, lifting her off the g
