It has been two weeks since Dalton and I had our little heart to heart. Things have been amazing; I’ve started school, my talks with Melissa have been great. Every time we have a session, I feel lighter. I know I could have setbacks; I’ve had them before, but hopefully I’m better equipped to handle them.
I’m unofficially living with Dalton, the girls told me that the men all seem to do things at warp speed. We’ve slowly started moving my stuff over here, and what I don’t need, into storage.
Of course, every time I think about how great things are going, there is a little voice inside my head telling me to be careful. I focus back on my laptop, reading this week’s English assignment.
The door opens and Dalton walks in, wearing a pair of dark gray dress pants with a light gray button up shirt tucked in, and with the sleeves rolled up. They were interviewing new staff for Rogue.
“Hey. How did your interviews go today?” I close my laptop and stand up. He comes right to me, kissing my lips. God, I’ll never get tired of kissing him.
Dalton sits on the sofa, grabs me, and pulls me onto his lap. “It was good. We’ve got a lot of good candidates. Most were ex-military, but there were a few ex-police officers too. Delilah even has a couple of really good candidates for the receptionists’ positions.”
“That’s great.” I snuggle into my favorite spot on him, against his chest and pressing my forehead into his neck. “I’m almost done with my homework.”
“I’m so proud of you,” he tells me, making me blush. “We’re going to have dinner with Carrie and Egan tonight. Is that okay with you?”
“Awww…yes, that sounds like a lot of fun.”
He lifts me off him. “I’m going to change and then we’ll leave in a half hour?”
I nod. “Sounds perfect.” I am not even slightly embarrassed that I’ve watched his ass as he walks away from me.
Carrie hands me a cupcake. “Oh my gosh, thank you so much,” I tell her as I begin to peel the paper off. My mouth waters as I bring the chocolate treat up to my lips. I take huge bite, not even embarrassed by my piggy self.
“I found the recipe on Pinterest, this is the third batch—I needed to tweak the recipe—but I think I got it perfect.”
“I don’t always get to eat sweets, but double chocolate cupcakes are my favorite,” I tell her, before licking the frosting from my fingers.
She shrugs. “Yeah, Dalton told me.”
Seriously, every time I think he can’t get better, he does. “I’ve never known someone like him,” I tell her honestly.
Carrie takes the seat next to me. “He’s a great guy, always has been, but since you came into his life he’s changed. He’s a newer version of himself, but that’s what happens when you find someone who complements you.” She grabs my hand and squeezes it, before we go back to eating our cupcakes.
We don’t stay too much longer. Leif was getting tired and cranky. I hug Carrie and Egan before Dalton leads me to his car with a hand on my back. “They are such nice people. Egan doesn’t look like someone who is a computer whiz.”
Dalton barks out a laugh and wraps his arm around my shoulders, hugging me into his side. “He gets that all the time. It’s now a big joke between all of us.”
We’re both quiet on the way back to his apartment, only the sound of Snoop, singing about The Next Episode, fills the inside of the car. Once we reach the parking garage he pulls into his spot.
I get out and wait for him to join me, we start walking toward the elevator. A weird feeling hits me, and goosebumps pop up all over my skin and then everything happens so fast. Pop, pop, pop. I watch in horror as blood blooms across Dalton’s chest.
He crumples to the ground, and I try to catch him, but he’s too big. I brace his head, the best I can, from smacking into the cement floors. “Dalton, oh god. Baby, please wake up.” I pull my t-shirt off and hold it to his chest, but the blood is soaking through.
I reach for my purse, grabbing my cellphone to call 911, but a voice causes me to freeze.
“Hello, Becca.” I slowly turn around to find James walking toward me, sliding his gun into a holster at his hip. “Drop the phone or the next bullet I put in Dalton will be in his head.”
He grabs my upper arm, yanking me up. Suddenly, I’m thrust back to when I was sixteen and he loved grabbing me hard and jerking me around. My mind goes blank, and my body locks up tight.
I feel James dragging me across the parking garage and finally I snap out of the state I was in. Dalton is lying motionless in front of the elevator, and my eyes burn with unshed tears. This isn’t how our story ends.
We just found each other and there’s so much I want to experience with him. I have to fight; I can’t let him win. I jerk out of James’s hold and run back toward Dalton. I don’t make it far before he grabs me by my hair, yanking me backward.
I hit the cement floor with a bone jarring thud and cry out as I am suddenly in pain from my head to my toes. James bends over me. “How dare you tell people your lies. I never fucking hurt you. Everything I did to you, you wanted.”
“Please, you don’t want to do this. Just let me go, James.”
He grabs me by my arm, hauling me up, but this time I throw a punch, catching him off guard.
“You fucking bitch.” He stumbles, but rights himself.
I run toward my cellphone, diving for it, except James gets to it first. He stomps on it, I hear the crunch of the screen breaking and my heart sinks. I scramble toward Dalton, quickly checking for a pulse—it’s there, but it’s weak.
He needs to get to a hospital. “James, if I go with you, please let me call 911, it’s his only chance to survive.”
“Do I look like I give a shit if he makes it?” He yanks me up again and starts to drag me toward a van in the corner of the garage.
“No! Someone help me!” I scream. He covers my mouth with his hand and then punches me in the stomach. My breath leaves me in a wheeze, and I gasp for air. I try to center myself, ignoring the pain racking my body. I elbow him in the stomach.
He does the same thing I did when he hit me in the stomach. I take the opportunity to sweep his legs out from under him. James flips himself up. “Oh, the little girl wants to fight,” he taunts me. We both get into fighting stances, and I’m ready to fuck this asshole up.
James comes stomping toward me and swings right away. I duck and then strike him right in the kidney. He growls and then comes at me again, but this time he lands a blow to my face.
I recover quickly and charge him—I act like I’m coming in low and instead strike his nose and then his eyes. While he howls from pain, I kick him in the balls…twice, and take immense pleasure in watching him writhe around on the ground.
I’m ready to put him down for good, but his foot comes out, taking me down. He’s on top of me quickly, his hands wrapping around my throat. I kick and try to scream as an intense pressure fills my head.
I try to buck him off, but he’s too big. I scratch at his hands, breaking the skin with my nails. “You’ve ruined my life, bitch. All because you couldn’t handle the lessons I was teaching you. I’ve got the cops sniffing around looking for me. Now I have Rogue security looking into me too. You’re going to pay for this.”
James begins to squeeze harder. I can’t get any air, and I fight him with everything I have. I reach up and quickly strike him right in the eye. That’s just what I need to get him off me.
He’s screaming and I run toward him. I do a series of front kicks but he deflects the last one. James swings wildly and clips me, knocking me down. I get up, I can tell I am becoming too weak to stand.
I hit him with an upper cut and then roundhouse. He stumbles back and suddenly he’s flying over the side of the parking garage. The sounds of his screams echo in my ear before there is nothing.
I scramble back toward Dalton, reaching in his pocket for his phone. I call for help and then call Jack too. While I wait for them to come, I curl up next to Dalton and promptly pass out.