She stared at him. She wouldn’t be able to fight him off if Desi attacked her. Not that he ever hit her, but he was a beast in the strength department. She needed to try a different tactic. She needed to remain calm.
“Why don’t we get together another time? I’m late for an appointment.”
“With those two assholes from the club?” he asked.
“What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me, Chastity!” he yelled, causing her to jump and drop the bags she held. Her cell phone fell onto the rug, and she stared at it a moment then back at Desi.
“The two men you’re fucking. I know them. I know who they are and where they live.”
She shook her head as fear filled her insides. What would he do to them? Could he hurt Nash and Riker?
“Why? Why are you doing this to me? You know it wasn’t working between us.”
“They’ll use you, treat you like their sex whore then kill you.”
“No. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You have no right to speak to me like this.” She raised her voice and the slap across her cheek came out of nowhere.
She yelped as the pain radiated along her jaw. She tripped over her bags, trying to get away from him.
“They’re no good. They’ll destroy you and hurt you.
You don’t belong with them. You belong with me. They’ll kill you as if you’re meaningless, just like they did to her.” He grabbed her by the front of her dress. The material ripped and she screamed then slapped her hands at his hands.
He backhanded her again then grabbed her face and screamed at her. “You will leave them. You will call it off and end it, or I will end them. You hear me, Chastity? I will kill them. I swear, I’ll kill them, and show you their fucking heads. Do you want that?” He continued to yell as she cried and shook her head. “Please don’t hurt them. Please.”
He shook her hard, then he shoved her against the door. Her head hit the metal door, and she thought she actually saw stars. What had he said about Nash and Riker killing a woman? Did he mean Maggie? How would Desi know about that?
Desi grabbed her face between his hands and pressed his body against hers. Her dress was ripped. Her shoulder and part of her bra and breast were visible to him. He looked her over.
“You will do this, Chastity. You end it with them. You end it tonight.”
He kissed her brutally hard on the mouth. He thrust his hips against her, hard, causing her spine to hit the door. It hurt so badly, and she prayed he wouldn’t force himself on her. He cupped her breast and ripped the dress, scratching her shoulder as he pulled his mouth from hers.
She spit at him. The anger and disgust at his treatment of her was overwhelming.
This was how her mother spent her last days of her life. Under the thumb of an abusive batterer and ex-lover—a victim of domestic violence.
He grabbed her chin and mouth, squeezing so hard that she knew there would be bruises.
“I will hurt you so badly, Chastity. If you push me far enough, I’ll make you watch while I kill your two lovers, slowly. That’s what I should have done to them when they killed her.”
“When they killed who?”
He shoved her head back against the door. “I knew Maggie. Did they tell you about her?” he asked.
Her eyes widened, instantly giving away that she had heard about Maggie.
“She loved them, and they used her.”
“There was a bomb on the boat.”
He shoved his knee against her thigh. She cried out. “They knew that the bomb was there. They wanted to catch the men who set them up. They chose to go after them and a case, instead of getting Maggie off the boat. They killed her. They caused her death, and they’ll cause yours.”
“No. No, you’re lying.”
He shoved his forearm against her throat. She grabbed onto his forearm to try and pry it off of her.