Page 76 of Embraced in Ink

“Colin. Please stop.”

“I’ll tell you exactly where you need to be. By my side. With me. Every time. You don’t get to change your mind because you found someone new. You don’t get to leave me after everything I’ve done to make sure you’re the person you need to be. I’m the one who made your career. You were nothing.”

She had comebacks to that, things she wanted to say, but she knew if she told him the actual facts, he would only get angrier, so she tried to calm him down, even as her heart raced so fast she was afraid it would burst.

“Colin. We can talk this out. But please, just let me go.”

“You think you can soothe me? You don’t fucking know me at all, do you?”

The slap across her face startled her, and she blinked, and then she was on the floor, Colin throwing her so hard that her head hit first, and she saw stars. She tried to get up, attempted to shake her head, but she couldn’t. And then he was on top of her, and she panicked, wondering what the hell was happening, how this could happen.

He pushed her down more, his fingers digging into her flesh again. She kicked out, kneeing him in the crotch. He screamed, and she pushed him off her, crawling in the direction of her phone.

He was blocking the door, but if she could get to a window or her phone, she could stop this. She could lock herself in her room, and everything would be okay. He grabbed her ankle and pulled her towards him, and she fell on her face, but she kept scrambling, kept trying to get away. She kicked at him again, this time hitting his face. The sound of her heel against his nose made a crunch, and blood splattered across the room.

He howled in rage. “You bitch,” he screamed, and then he moved on her again, but this time she was faster and was able to get away. She kicked, and she screamed, raking her nails down his face. His nose was already broken, blood flowing, and she left another mark, but she wasn’t able to do it again. Because he pushed her, punching her right in the stomach.

“How dare you? How fucking dare you?”

His hands went to her neck, but she kicked him once more, this time right in the junk again.

And then, she was falling, and she hadn’t seen the flash of silver until it was too late.

A searing pain slid up her side, and she gasped, blinking as tears filled her eyes. She looked down at her side, as blood gushed from a wound. She put her hands over the cut as she fell fully to the floor, trying to stop the bleeding. But the hot, viscous liquid seeped through her fingers, and she cried out, wondering how the hell this had happened.

She looked up at Colin, who stood there, his chest heaving as he looked down at her, a bloody pair of scissors in his hand.

“You shouldn’t have done that. We had everything. And now, you’ve ruined it.”

She had one hand outstretched, her energy fading, and as he put his booted foot over her fingers, she screamed.

“Your precious fingers. What would happen if I broke them? You would never be able to play the cello again.”

“Colin, please.”

“You had your time for begging. Now, you’re nothing.”

But then he looked at her again, tilted his head, and moved his foot.

Her hands were safe, but as her blood pooled around her, she knewshewasn’t safe.

She blinked, trying to focus, but then Colin was gone, the door left open, and she knew she needed to crawl. Needed to get to a phone. She had to do something.

Because she didn’t want to die, but as her blood rushed out of her, her hands shaking, she was afraid that she wouldn’t be strong enough.

She got to her knees and slowly crawled towards her phone, ignoring her aches and screams as each tug opened her wound even more.

Her hand slid over the cell, her blood making it hard for her to even unlock it.

And as she dialed 911 with shaky fingers, she lay there, the device next to her face, and hoped to hell she wasn’t too late.

Chapter 19

Marcus growled and hit the punching bag again. And again. And again. One jab, and then a left cross. And a right cross. Then another jab.

“Okay, I think I’m going to need a break,” Ronin said, shaking out his hands after he’d let go of the bag. Marcus shook out his own fists and frowned. “I wasn’t hitting that hard.”

“Yes. You were.” Ronin raised both brows. “You want to talk about what’s going on?”