Page 57 of The Player

“Good for her. You deserved it, you son of a bitch. Where is she?”

He looks at me with a sickening smile. “I left her ass in the kitchen. She’ll be lucky if she lives.”

Bryson yells for me and I grab Josh’s hair, dragging him along with me. I don’t want to leave the bastard alone. No. There’s no way I’m giving him a chance to leave or get away with this.

“You fucker, let me go.” He howls as I purposefully move so that the knitting needle digs deeper into his side.

“Nah. You’re lucky your ass is still alive. Today will be your last day breathing, of course, but not until I see my Sugar Plum.”

Walking into the kitchen, I see Julie bent over, blood running along her arms. “Ju-Ju.”

She pops her head up and starts crying. “Bryson, watch this fucker for me.”

“With pleasure.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Facing Aaron, blood running down my arms, and the fear that he will think I wanted Josh over him keeps me tongue-tied. He walks over to me and pulls me into his arms.

“It’s alright, Sugar Plum. I got you.” His words are whispered in my hair, and I cry harder. “Let’s see those arms, sweet one.”

He pulls back and I freak out. “No.” I wrap myself around him, afraid he’s going to disappear on me.

“Shh. Ju-Ju. I got you. I’m not going anywhere. You’re hurt, and I need to see what damage we have.”

His words sink in, and I let go of my death grip on him. “He…he sliced me with a knife before I stabbed him.”

My words wobble out and panic sets in again. “I’m going to go to jail, aren’t I?”

Bryson laughs uncontrollably. “No Julie, you aren’t. He’s not leaving here alive.”

“What?” His words make me turn toward Bryson and quickly look up toward Aaron.

“Oh, Sugar Plum, you never have to worry about this bastard again. He’s going to die here tonight.”

I blanch. “You can’t possibly mean that.” My words are harshly whispered, but my heart is beating wildly.

Aaron growls at me. “You think I’m going to let that son of a bitch live? Your professor sure as hell didn’t.”

Bryson chuckles even more. “You’re more unhinged than I am,” he mutters, and I grin.

“Fucking right I am. No one fucks with my girl and lives to tell the tale.”

My mind is having a hard time catching up. Surely, he isn’t saying what I think he’s saying.

“Julie.” His harsh use of my name makes me look up, and he’s using a towel to wrap around my wounds.

“You…” I shake my head.

“Not now, Ju-Ju. Let’s just get you taken care of.” He picks me up and takes me upstairs.

“We need to discuss what you said,” I murmur while he rummages through my bathroom, looking for the first aid kit.

“I killed your professor for what he tried to do to you.” He stares at me so matter of fact that I’m not sure how to take what he’s saying in.

“Aaron, you couldn’t have. You…you were away, and we weren’t talking.” I shift on the toilet and blink. Counting to ten right now isn’t going to help me. This is a lot to take in.

“Oh, Sugar Plum.” He laughs without any mirth in his tone. “Your entire college life before you left to come back home was designed by me. Those fuckers didn’t deserve you, and I wasn’t going to let things get out of control. I knew that if you were single, and they sniffed you out, they’d be all over you.”

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