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Her mouth flopped open as she stared at her fiancé in horrified shock. He’d gotten angry in the past, but he had never laid hands on her.His nostrils flared as more veins protruded from his red forehead. His eyes seemed to pierce through her, his pupils dilating with fury, like he was about to jump out of his own skin.
She staggered backward until her spine pressed against the wall, half-expecting him to apologize. Instead, he sneered at her, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand as a ripple of fear stirred beneath her skin, crawling down her limbs.
The phone rang. Jared cocked his head toward the kitchen. She sank against the drywall.Thank God.She slid past Jared, only to be yanked back when he grabbed her upper arm.
Jared brought his face to hers, the sweet smell of vodka on his breath making her stomach churn. “No one will believe you if you breathe a word of what just happened.”
The phone kept ringing. She gritted her teeth and shook free of his hold. She marched toward the phone.
“Who is it?” Jared called after her. “Your boyfriend calling again to feed you inside info for your crazy obsession?” He scoffed. “I wonder how many times you had to sleep with him for that.”
Holly whirled around.“Get. Out.We’re done.”She slipped the engagement ring off her finger and tossed it toward Jared.
She realized her mistake as soon as the ring left her hand, when she registered the flash of fury in Jared’s eyes. The ring bounced off Jared’s stomach and hit the carpet a split second before Jared threw his empty glass at the wall behind her, and it hit the floor. She jumped at the shattering glass.
Jared pointed at his chest. “Andy should be callingme.Notyou.”
The phone stopped ringing when Holly had almost reached the kitchen, allowing her to hear her pulse pounding in her ears. Her gaze fell to Jared’s gun in its holster on the counter.I should’ve known better. I’ve seen his temper before. He’s no different from my father. Maybe worse.
“You’re going to stop all this crazy shit when we get married,” Jared continued as he followed her, the rage drained from his voice. “I’m not having people think my wife is a nut case. Plus, I don’t want you working anyway after we have kids.”
Holly spun to face him, her face hot with anger. “Did you not hear me? I’m not going to quit working. And I’m not marrying you.”
He lunged across the room. Holly’s back slammed into the wall before she had time to react. He grabbed her blouse with both fists.
“What the hell did you just say?”
As he shouted, she flinched from the spittle that flew against her face. The monster that consumed him moments ago had returned. The back of her skull throbbed from where she’d hit the wall. In a swift, effortless motion, he threw her to the ground.Jared shoved her face against the floor before she managed to flip onto her back. He kneeled over and raised a fist in the air when she kneed him in the balls as hard as she could.
He grunted, doubling over as she crawled toward the kitchen phone. She got to her knees when she neared the phone, reaching for the receiver when Jared’s strong hand closed around her calf, pulling her backward across the linoleum. Her palms screeched against the floor in a futile attempt to resist his pull. She flailed her leg furiously as his fingers dug into her calf.
“Ahh!” She twisted and drove the heel of her other foot into his jaw.
He cried out in pain, releasing her leg to bring his hand to his face. “You bitch,” he snarled. “I’ll kill you.”
She started to get up, but he tackled her to the ground. His hands closed around her throat, and she pressed her palms against his chest, then flailed, frantically trying to free herself as her airway collapsed from the vise-like grip. Her vision blurred. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Adrenaline coursed through her, and she wondered if this was what Meg had felt before she died.
In a desperate blur, Holly’s hand swept across the kitchen cupboard beside her. Her fingertips skimmed the surface until she hooked her fingers around the edge and yanked the door open. Jared grunted through gritted teeth as he tightened his grip on her neck. Her lungs screamed for air as her hand closed around a frying pan handle. She swung the pan at Jared’s head with all her might. The handle vibrated in her hand as it struck the side of his skull with a dull, metallictwang,followed by a muffled crack.
He cried out in pain as his hands fell away from her neck. Holly dropped the pan and slid backward, out of his reach, as Jared brought his palm to the side of his head. Ignoring the burn in her throat, she pushed herself to her hands and knees.
She swiped Jared’s holstered revolver off the counter. She fumbled to unsnap the holster with trembling fingers. Jared groaned while getting to his feet behind her. She withdrew Jared’s revolver with a shaking hand, then whirled around, arm outstretched, gun aimed at his chest.
Jared threw his hands in the air. “Holly, put that down before you hurt yourself.” He stepped toward her.
Holly retreated until she hit the kitchen cabinets with the back of her legs.
Jared extended his hand toward the gun. “You don’t even have the safety on.”
Holly pressed her finger on the trigger and narrowed her eyes. “It doesn’t have one. You told me, remember?” She raised the gun toward his face.
Jared stopped in his tracks, his face morphing into the man she thought she’d known all these months. “Sweetie. I’m sorry, okay? This was just a fight. Nothing more. I’ve had a bad day. And couples fight, okay? Put down the gun.” Blood dripped from the edge of his mouth from where she’d kicked him.
Holly inched sideways toward the phone.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Holly. I’m not a criminal. And look at what you’ve done to me. You’ll look crazy if you call the cops on me. Iama cop!”
Holly lifted the receiver with her free hand, keeping her eyes and the gun trained on Jared. His gaze fell to the revolver as she punched three numbers into the phone.