Page 35

T he silence is deafening.

Rose’s gasp breaks it, and the hand that was previously on my forearm moves. She steps forward, ignoring Wyatt’s presence completely and gently taking my face in her hands. I have no doubt that the harsh slap left his handprint on my skin.

My eyes are glued to Wyatt. He steps back, still as furious as ever. However, he stops moving. He makes no attempts to hit me again, to hurt me or to kill either Rose or me. Instead, he’s waiting for what I’ll do, and I can swear I can see a flicker of doubt in his expression.

I move forward, leaving Rose behind me yet again. My eyes find hers briefly, and I beg her silently not to interfere. She looks like she’s about to pounce on Wyatt, her eyes filled with sudden rage and fury. As grateful as I am to have such a friend by my side, I don’t want her involved in this.

With a small step forward and a deep breath, I give Wyatt a smile.

All in me wants to pull out the weapon Blair gave me and beat Wyatt to a pulp with it. But I can’t. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to control myself enough not to kill him on the spot. Besides, I’ve never used such an object, and I don’t know if it could backfire. I brought it with me just in case.

“You hit like a little bitch.’’ I spit on the floor, the blood. His slap caused my teeth to grind against the flesh of my inner cheek, and the blood filled my mouth. I lick my lips and crack my back slightly.

“I was trying to be generous.’’ Wyatt grits out, venom filling his words. His hands are trembling by his side, itching to hit me again. “I was trying to give you a generous option.’’

A laugh comes from me, and the stinging sensation on my cheek starts to lessen.

“Let me guess, now your oh-so-generous option is off the table?”

“Stop mocking me, you bitch,’’ he snarls, getting in my face again. The height difference isn’t as large since he’s not as tall as Cove, but he tries using it as an intimidation tactic. He fails miserably, and it seems as though he notices it immediately, too. “You’ve always been like this. Running your pretty mouth with no care in the world. You can’t speak to me like that. You have always been, you are, and you will always be just a puppet for me to use, baby. No one will ever love someone as damaged as you. No one will ever touch you the way I did. No one will ever be able to tolerate your shitty personality the way I did. You may have grown some balls, but deep down, you’re still that pathetic, insecure little girl, desperate for someone’s attention. But guess what? You’re not worthy of it.’’

He triggers the darkest parts of me, and I’m struggling to hold back. I know he’s right. I’m desperate to be loved wholeheartedly, and I’m still not sure I deserve it. He’s right, and that’s what makes me so angry.

This abusive bastard, the one I was terrified of, is standing in front of me, spitting facts, knowing just which buttons to press and how hard to push. Anger starts to build within, my heart hammering in my ears.

Suddenly, albeit for a split second, I think of Cove.

His words of reassurance, his touches, and the looks he gives me all the time. When he thinks I’m not looking, he stares at me like I’m the most precious thing in the world. Cove looks at me like I’m all he’s always dreamed of protecting and loving. He looks at me like I’m worth it. He looks at me like I’m the greatest gift he’s ever received.

It’s now that I realize a lot of things.

I won’t let Wyatt’s words ruin what Cove rebuilt. I won’t let him break me down again and turn me into the shell of a human being, insecure and shallow. The girl’s gone, and I won’t let her come back, no matter what.

“You’re wrong, Wyatt.’’ I flicker my eyes upward to meet his. “I’ve found a man. He’s everything you’ll never be. A man. You’re the insecure one. You’re just a little boy, clinging to a relationship that ended because you were abusive. Pathetic, insecure, and quite frankly, terrible in bed.’’

My body goes rigid for a moment. That familiar gut feeling starts spreading through my body like wildfire, and I pause for a moment.

Something’s happening outside, and my heart skips a beat.

The door swings open, and it all happens too quickly. Wyatt’s head gets hit with a baseball bat, and he’s knocked out cold. I catch his limp body just in case, not wanting to risk him splitting his skull open on the tiled floor and dying on me too soon.

I put his body down, then turned around.

Shivers run down my body, and I pause.

The man is by Rose’s side, immediately fussing over her. He’s wearing a clown mask, though it’s not the usual, funny one. This one is scary as hell. It’s painted in white, with narrow holes for eyes cut open and two small dots for the nose. The upper part of it is cracked slightly, and the drawn clown face on it terrifies me. The wide smile, the terrifying gold details that are splattered around.

And most importantly, the blood. It’s fresh, dripping down his mask. There are only a couple of spots with no blood on the mask. His white shirt is covered with it, along with the leather gloves he tosses aside so he can touch Rose’s face.

James fucking Maddox.

Immediately, his eyes snap to mine, and I halt. His posture tells me he’s fucking furious, and I don’t blame him. I did get his girlfriend kidnapped, after all. But hopefully, he can see that she’s unharmed and won’t give me the misfortune of feeling his wrath.

“No, Jamie,’’ Rose warns him, and his shoulders relax a little. He doesn’t even spare me a second glance before turning back to his girlfriend. He picks her up, bridal style, and carries her out of the basement, while I’m left wondering what the fuck just happened.

I shake off the thoughts and grab the ropes Wyatt used on Rose, then tie them around his body. I make sure he has no weapons on him, taking away his gun and his knife, putting them in the waistband of my pants.

“How many times do I need to tell you to stay fucking put before you actually listen, bunny?”

Ah, crap.