Page 92 of Under the Mistletoe

“Fuck, you’re pretty when you beg…”

I choke out a scream as he pulls my jeans down, my underwear now on display as he opens his belt.

“Hmmm… I feel like tying you up… Maybe next time, right, Jay Jay? Maybe next time, I can have you bouncing on me instead…” He’s breathing hard because I haven’t stopped thrashing. My wrists sting in pain from his hard grip, my back scratched from the rocks and dirt underneath me. I’ve lost a shoe in the struggle and have no idea where my bag is to even try and grab something to help me.

“Jimmy… no, please stop. Stop, Jimmy…” I scream again, but it feels like I’m yelling into an abyss. He pushes his lips onto mine, and I taste liquor. I zip my lips tight, not wanting his tongue to get through. The darkness shrouds me. I can’t see a thing.

“Jessica!” Donovan. He’s here. Jimmy is too focused, he doesn’t seem to hear him.

I buck up my hips, and Jimmy grins, thinking it means something different.

“Donovan!” I yell at the top of my lungs, and Jimmy's eyes change again. He frowns before he slaps me, then covers my mouth with his hand.

“The only name you’ll be screaming is mine…” he seethes as he starts pulling at my underwear.

Tears stream down my face. Maybe I imagined his voice. Maybe Donovan isn’t here at all. I scream again, my voice muffled against Jimmy’s palm. My body shakes almost uncontrollably as I feel his hand glide against the bare skin at my hips.

Jimmy leans down, looking in my eyes. “You ready, baby? Marcus says hello, by the way.”

My body stills, my breath leaves me, and I stare wide-eyed at Jimmy, who has a shit-eating grin on his face.

Looks like Marcus followed through on his threats, after all.

39

Donovan

I run as fast as I can. I can’t hear or see a thing, but my feet carry me down a path that's so small an animal must have made it.

“A lady down the street said she saw two people move down here not long ago.” Jai talks with his team on an earpiece, and I just keep moving.

“Jessica!” I yell, men all around me. A mixture of Feds and my people. When we got to the shop, it was insane with photographers and journalists but cleared out once Jai showed his badge and started barking orders. The media scurried quickly after that. Once we looked at the note and noticed her phone was still there, a chill went down my spine.

“Where the fuck are they…” I grit out as flashlights come on.

“There!” someone shouts, shining a torch toward a bush, and I finally spot them.

“Jessica!” I yell and am on the move before the Feds have time to breathe.

“You sick son of a bitch!” I scream as I charge. Jimmy looks up, his face lit up by the flashlight. He has little time to get off Jessica before my fist flies right into his face, and he falls backward.

“Get off her. You think you can touch her? You think you take what doesn’t belong to you…” I’m like a man possessed; I’ve never done this before, never unleashed this much fury.

I jump on him, my fist flying, over and over into his head before some men pull me off. I’m breathing hard, looking at him now unconscious on the ground, blood pouring from his nose, split lip, and a cut above his eye.

“He’s still breathing,” an agent reports, and I lunge at him again, but they hold me tight. Agent Jai steps in front of me, blocking my vision.

“Your girl needs you, York.” He nods behind me, and I spin around, seeing Jessica balled up, hugging her knees, crying.

“Jess…” I fall to her feet, trying to be careful as I look her over. Her clothes are ripped, her glasses smashed on the ground nearby.

“Are you… Did he…”

“No, you got here in time…” She throws herself into my arms, and I pull her close as she breaks down, her body shaking, her tears falling, and the night lights up with red and blue. And I swear to God, under the dark sky here in Sleepy Hollow, I’m never going to let this girl go.

“You’re fussing.” She looks at me where she’s propped up in bed as I walk in and place a warm cup of tea on her bedside table.

“Just making sure you have everything.”