Page 117 of The Heart Stealer

Be a boss bitch and put him in his place!

“Where’s my money, Rach? Huh? You spend it all?” He reaches for me again and I slap his arm away, shoving him back with as much force as I can.

The move catches him off guard, his eyes bulging before he launches himself at me again.

I jump back from him, forgetting the door to the rink swung open before. Tumbling onto the ice, my boots slip on the frictionless surface, and I land with a thump. Pain rockets up my elbow, but I ignore it, struggling back to my feet.

My boots skid on the ice as I try to balance myself.

I need Liam. I want to shout his name, beg him to come rescue me.

But he’s not going to hear me out here. His head is probably under a shower spray, warm and oblivious to my peril. And Mr. Zamboni is already out the door.

Oh man, what would he say if he saw us messing up his perfect ice? I need to get out of here. I need to run and find help.

Struggling to get a grip on this ice, I totter away from Theo, but it’s a pointless escape. He’s on me before I get three steps, wrapping his arms around me like a python.

“Ah!” I struggle against his hold, fighting the urge to freeze up and start begging like I normally would.

“Did you think you could get away with what you did to me?” he seethes in my ear. “You’re gonna pay, Rach. You’re gonna pay hard.”

“No,” I grit out, acting on instinct and driving my heel into the top of his foot.

He howls while I snatch his arm, throwing my butt back and heaving him over my shoulder the way Liam taught me to. Despite my slippery grounding, the technique works, and Theo lands with a smack onto the ice, letting out a feeble groan as he tries to get his breath back.

Holy shit, I can’t believe that worked!

Ignoring Liam’s warning to run as soon as I can, I take advantage of this spike of rage and plant my knee on Theo’s chest, driving my fist into his face.

“You bastard.” I’m tempted to spit on him as well.

But the blood around his lips is enough satisfaction for me. At least I made him bleed.

I feel so fucking empowered as I take a step toward the door. I’m gonna run to Liam and tell him what I did. I’m gonna?—

“Ah!” The sound pops out of my mouth when Theo’s fingers wrap around my ankle, giving it a hard tug.

My knees smack into the ice, sending shock waves down my legs while my stinging hands feel like they’ve just been burned on a stove eye. The harsh ice sears my skin, and I hiss at the pain.

“You fucking bitch!” Theo spits. Bloody saliva hits the white ice, making my stomach lurch.

I start scrambling on all fours, ignoring the burning sting as fear claws at my stomach. It’s like being back in his house again, when I was desperate to get away from Matt, but he wouldn’t let me go. Just like then, Theo yells and drags me back. With no way of countering his pull, I slide across the slippery surface and feel like I’m heading for the edge of a cliff.

“No. No!” I plead, grappling for a hold that doesn’t exist.

Dragging me under him, he straddles my hips, firing a fist at my face.

I manage to partially block it but still feel the sting when his knuckles connect with my cheek. Bucking my hips wildly, I scuffle with him when he tries to capture my flailing arms.

“Lemme go!” I scream, bucking with more force and tipping my body at the same time. He crashes sideways onto the ice, and I kick with my legs, crawling away from him as soon as I have enough space.

“Get back here,” he growls, snatching at my ankle again.

I spin around, launching my foot at him before he can get a hold of me. I manage to clip his nose with my boot heel. He lets out an indignant wail, cupping his face while I scramble in a panic, clawing at the ice like a crazed person until I reach the side of the rink and haul myself through that door.

“Liam.” I rasp his name, taking off at a run toward the locker room as Theo lets out another roar and chases after me.

CHAPTER 44

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