Page 31 of Blood Sport

“Then don’t,” he counters with a smirk. “Just enjoy my presence and call this a happy accident that we ran into each other.”

I look past him at the coffee shop entrance that is only feet away, and huff. “It wasn’t an accident, though, was it? You know my schedule for the week.”

“You told me not to follow you, but not that I couldn’t accidentally run into you.”

I roll my eyes. Of course, he would say something like that. He must think I’m an idiot. “Okay, Roman. Whatever helps you sleep better at night.” I step to the side, the coffee shop now in my direct line of sight. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—”

Roman steps in front of me, blocking my view once again. I look up to see his eyes have darkened as they watch me. It sends a shiver down my spine. “I didn’t say I was finished with the conversation, Evie.”

I swallow hard and square my shoulders. I refuse to let this fucker intimidate me. “Get out of my way. I’m done talking to you. In fact, I never want to see your fucking face ever again.”

His hand snaps out to wrap around my wrist and he uses his strength to pull me flush against his chest. Being this close to him used to make my skin flush and my heart race with excitement. But now, my heart is racing for a different reason—fear. I try to claw at his meaty hand to release his grip, but he doesn’t let up. He only tightens his grip, making me whimper.

Oh, fuck.

“Let go of me,” I whisper, unable to look him in the eye.

“You’re mine, Evie,” Roman says, his voice dark and dangerous. “Do you hear me? Mine! I don’t care what you say or feel, you are mine. You always have and always will be. I told you that you had one chance to come to your senses and get back together with me. I didn’t want to use the photos against you, but you left me with no choice.”

My heart is pounding harshly against my ribcage at his words. He’s a fucking psycho.

“I made a mistake, okay, Evie,” he continues, his eyes hard. His breath fanning against my face at his proximity makes my stomach spin with nausea. “It’ll never happen again, I promise you that. You’re the only girl for me, and I know that now. Please, Evie, just give me one more chance to show you why we’re perfect for each other, and why you’re my girl.”

I look around to see a few eyes of students passing by are on us but none of them stop to intervene. They just keep walking, acting like they don’t see me being manhandled by Roman. It makes me angry that no one is stepping in when they can clearly tell by my wide, frantic eyes that something is seriously wrong here. Why won’t someone help me?

What the fuck is he going to do to me? If his threatening texts are anything to go by, this man could be capable of anything, and that thought alone makes a nervous shiver race down my spine. He’s fucking unhinged.

“I’ll never be yours,” I spit, anger building in my chest. I refuse to be a helpless damsel in distress that needs saving. I’ve been through enough shit to know how to take care of myself, even against Roman. “You’re fucking delusional.”

An evil grin spreads across his face, his grip tightening around my wrist. I claw at his wrist again and feel a thin layer of his skin give way beneath my nails. But it doesn’t seem to affect him in the slightest. “No one is here to save you, Evie. Not your brother. Not your little friends. No one.”

“You forgot about me.”

My body stills at the sound of his deep voice. I can feel him standing behind me, his overwhelming scent of sandalwood consuming me. Roman’s wide eyes as he stares behind me confirm my suspicions.

“If you don’t let go of her, I’m going to tear your fucking hand clean off your arm so you’re unable to touch her ever again. Only I can touch her.”

12

Jaylen

Roman looks like he’s just seen the devil, his eyes wide and unblinking. Good, because I can be the devil if I want to be. And if he keeps touching my little angel like that, he’s going to find out really fucking soon just how far I’m willing to go for her.

“I’m not going to repeat myself,” I warn, tilting my head to the side.

That does the trick. Roman snatches his hand to his chest, allowing Evie to rub the skin on her wrist where he had been gripping her. I bite back a growl at how red and raw her skin is. That motherfucker…

I take a step forward, closing the distance between me and Roman, but the coward steps back, not wanting to be in reach of me. That’s probably a smart choice on his behalf because if I could get my hands on him, I’d wring his neck and show him who Evie belongs to. It sure as hell isn’t him.

Evie turns to look at me, relief washing over her features. The pounding of her heart rings in my ears—loud like a siren. My nails digging into the palms of my hands as I fist them at my sides is the only thing stopping me from rushing forward and teaching this asshole a lesson.

It was bad enough that he was threatening Evie via text messages with photos of herself, but it’s another to lay his fucking hands on her.

Roman holds up his hands in defense. “I-I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to—”

“Shut up,” I snap, not wanting to hear his sorry ass excuses. “If you want to live to see tomorrow then you better get the fuck out of my sight.”

He nods, spinning on his heels to leave without a word.

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