Page 40 of Fighting Jacob

“Callum.” I muster up a smile, pretending I’m not scared. I am, but I’d rather he not know that. “How are you?”

His heavy-lidded gaze lowers to my tight red Mavericks shirt before drifting past my white denim jeans. My endeavor to keep our conversation in warm waters is lost when he sneers, “Still dressing slutty, I see.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

I attempt to skirt past him again, over our exchange within a second of it starting. Before I even get two steps away from him, his hand shoots out to seize my wrist. “I wasn’t done talking to you yet.”

His hold is so firm, I nearly call out for help. The only reason I don't is that I remember only Maggie and me are working this afternoon. Even Maggie’s unjust treatment won’t let me put her at risk. She doesn’t deserve Callum’s wrath any more than I do.

“Let me go.” My voice is surprisingly calm for how fast my heart is racing. “If I don’t return to the bar soon, they’ll come looking for me.”

He digs his fingers into my wrist so hard, I whimper. His hold is going to bruise me—again. “Do you really think the old biddy behind the bar will save you?”

My eyes bounce between his when he traps me between him and the paint-peeling wall. He isn’t the height or the width of Jacob, but he’s undeniably taller than my five-foot-five frame.

“What do you want, Callum?”

He pushes in closer, stealing my ability to scan the area for help. I’ve got nothing in front of me but a pair of angry, glossed-over eyes. “I want you...” With the hand not grasping my wrist, he grips my face so firmly, moisture burns my eyes. “…in my bed, where you belong.”

The last of the air in my lungs leaves in a grunt when he narrows his filthy mouth toward mine. I yank my head to the side, struggling with all my might to break away from his hold. Unfortunately, he’s too strong. I can’t get away.

With my body pinned to the wall by his, his tongue lashes my lips, requesting that I accept his kiss, but I keep my mouth shut tight. I’ll even go as far as biting off his slimy tongue if he forces it into my mouth. That’s how much he disgusts me.

Realizing I’ll never give him what he wants, Callum inches back. The tick in his jaw is more profound now, and I can hear his teeth grinding together. He’s as unhinged as he was the night he assaulted me.

I’m about to ask him to leave before he makes another mistake he can’t take back, but I lose the chance when his hand gripping my face drops to my neck. Panic surges through me when he clutches my throat as fiercely as he did my face. He squeezes me tight, stealing the air from my lungs as swiftly as he once swept me off my feet.

I claw at him, giving it everything I have to pry him away from my neck. Nothing weakens his tight hold. The more I fight, the more he chokes me.

“Callum, please.” I can barely talk through the pain, but I’m hoping my pleading eyes will take up my plight. If he doesn’t release me soon, he will kill me.

“Please? Please what? Please forgive me for running out on you in the middle of the night without saying goodbye?” When his grip firms even more, tears flow down my cheeks. “Please forgive me for wasting nine fucking months of my life I’ll never get back? What is your please for, Lola? You walked out without an explanation, without a fucking reason. You just left!”

I don’t say anything. I can’t. I can’t breathe, much less talk.

“Don’t I deserve better than that? I gave you nine months of my life—nine fucking months!” The veins in his neck bulge with every word he spits in my face. My pulse is fading under his touch, my head growing woozy. I’m seconds from passing out—literally moments from death.

Just as I think I’ll never suck in air again, Callum loosens his grip. I want to say my begging eyes finally subdued him, but that isn’t the case. There’s someone in the corridor with us. I can’t see them, but I can feel the anger radiating out of them.

“Get off her right now!”

Fear thickens my blood when I recognize the voice. It's Maggie. She has a baseball bat suspended mid-air and the eyes of a murderer.

“It’s okay, Maggie. I can handle this. You don’t need to get involved.” My scratchy voice reveals how close to the grave I am. If Maggie was ten seconds later, I would be dead.

Maggie either ignores my assurance or she didn't hear it. "This is your last warning: let her go."

When Callum fails to comply again, she slices her bat through the air, smacking his arm like her bat is an ax, and his arm is a chunk of wood she's splitting. Her hit is so impressive, it dislodges Callum's hand from my neck with a roar.

“You fucking bitch!”

The threat in Callum’s tone does little to deter Maggie. She raises her bat once more, ready to swing again if needed. I try to get between them when Callum prowls toward her, but he shoves me against the wall, rattling out the last snippet of air in my lungs with a brutal push.

Despite Callum smirking evilly at her, Maggie strengthens her stance, not once backing down. “This bat isn't the only weapon I'm carrying," she warns, her tone deadly serious. "If you don't leave my bar this instant, I won’t hesitate to show you the way out with a bullet.”

When her other hand slips around her back, Callum's prowling steps halt. He takes his time to authenticate her threat. It's a painfully long ten seconds. Not even I’m sure if her threat is idle or not.

Once Callum reaches his conclusion, his eyes drift to mine. They reflect nothing but hate and disgust. They mirror mine to a T. “This isn’t over,” he whispers, hoping I’ll be the only one who hears them. If the quiver in Maggie’s top lip is anything to go by, he failed his mission for the second time today.

---