I hesitated. Kyle wouldn’t yell at me in a public place, would he? I’d just be careful to stay inside after he left, until he was long gone. Then I thought of Jason. I adored how overprotective he was. Maybe I could call him to come with me.
“Be there at six,” Kyle repeated, then he hung up.
My hands were shaking as I typed out a message immediately.
Jason, I’m so sorry to bother you, but are you around? No worries if you’re busy. I just wanted to ask you something.
I almost didn’t send the text. Then I thought of how hurt Jason would be if I didn’t give him the option of helping me. I was still trying to figure out how he worked.
He didn’t respond, so I went alone, leaving a bit early so that I’d be inside at a table in the front window with a coffee by five forty-five. I figured if Kyle couldn’t get me alone, he might behave himself.
I tried to stay calm, unable to meet his eyes as I saw his ill-fitting dark gray suit sit down in the chair across from mine.
“Thank you for bringing my photos,” I said softly, trying to start on a positive note.
Glancing up, he was absolutely sneering at me. “Jesus, you’re stupid. You took all of the photos, and also some other stuff that wasn’t yours. Like some of my sci-fi movies.”
“Those were mine. I bought them, and you know it.”
He reached out and grabbed my wrist, digging his thumb into the bone so hard I squealed. “How long have you been fucking that guy?”
“I never cheated on you,” I whispered.
“Yeah? That thug in our apartment certainly looked like he wanted a piece of you.”
“You met him at the same time I did,” I said, trying to keep my voice low and calm. I was shaking from head to toe. I’d never handled stress well, and he was scaring me to pieces.
“I can’t believe after all I’ve done for you, you took off without even saying goodbye. I thought you were better than that.”
“What do you want, Kyle?” I asked softly.
“You’re going to come back to our apartment and we’re going to discuss this rationally.”
“You know I can’t do that. We are over. It’s finished. And to be honest, it was over months ago. I was just too scared to tell you.”
He gave my arm a shake, digging his thumb in harder while I tried not to yelp.
“You’re coming with me until I talk some sense into you,” he nearly growled. Before I even realized what was happening, he was hauling me to my feet, grabbing my arm roughly and practically dragging me out the door.
I tried to grasp at the door frame, but he twisted me away.
“Knock it off, bitch. You know we need to have a serious talk, and that’s the end of it. And we’re going to discuss your slutty behavior with the big guy.”
My heart sank as I realized I wasn’t strong enough to fight him. And if he got me out of sight, he might really hurt me this time.
CHAPTER EIGHT
* Jason *
I knew that Claire needed some space, and going to pick her up at work was likely the worst thing I could do right now, but I couldn’t stop my feet from heading to her shop. I didn’t even know what I was going to say, or what my excuse was.
As I turned the corner, I saw a couple in the doorway of a coffee shop. When I saw Claire’s face illuminated under the streetlight, I instantly felt a wave of joy flow through me. Then my heart fell out when I saw she was in the arms of another man. It genuinely felt like a kick to the guts. But the entire world turned to blind rage when I saw that it was Kyle. He was dragging her to the sidewalk, while she was trying to fight him.
“I saw the way he looked at you,” Kyle was saying, yanking Claire roughly by the arm. “I bet you wrapped those thick thighs around him the second the door was shut behind me.”
I heard a tiny whimper as he dug his fingers into her, then all the three of us heard was the air leaving his lungs after I’d thrown him flat on his back. Unfortunately, it was hard-packed dirt in front of the flower garden, not concrete, so it didn’t knock him out.
I placed my boot over his throat. “Silence,” I growled, and Kyle froze, knowing I could snap his neck in a heartbeat.