Page 39 of Whispers of Obsession

The look of pure hatred in their eyes sends a shiver down my spine.

“I don’t want any trouble,” I say, looking for a way out of this.

The street is empty, and the parking lot is too far away. I can’t get to my bike unless these fuckers get out of my way, and I doubt I can outrun the three of them. Theyarejocks, after all. The only thing they’re good at is sports. And terrorizing me.

Steven cages me in against the wall, and I squeeze my eyes shut. Fuck…

I wait for him to hurt me. To attack me like he so clearly intends to. But the pain never comes. Instead, the sound of flesh pounding flesh fills the air as Steven grunts, and his body is yanked away. My eyes fly open.

Slater is there.

“Next time, I’ll gut you, and leave your dead body on the sidewalk. Fuck off!” Slater snarls, as the three men who were so ready to harm me turn tail and run off. I let out a sigh of relief, until I see the look on my stepbrother’s face. He’s livid.

“I told you this would happen! You’re not being careful enough! You have to take better care of yourself, Cora!” he snaps, grabbing my arm roughly and yanking me away.

“Calm down!” I cry, as I try to free my arm from his painful grip. It’s no use though. His hold is unbreakable as he drags me to his car. Without a word, he opens the passenger door, pushes me inside and belts me in. He slams the door before I can protest, then shoves my bike in the cargo area, but once he climbs into the driver’s seat I turn and open my mouth to give him hell.

“I’m not a fucking rag doll, you don’t need to yank me around like that!”

Slater says nothing, but his grip on the wheel tightens until I swear I hear the leather cracking.

He tears out of there at breakneck speed, making me clutch the edges of my seat.

“Slater! Slow down!” The speedometer inches upward and I struggle to swallow around my fear. “Calm down,” I beg on a whisper.

“Calm down! Do you know what they wanted to do to you?” Slater hisses, and my mind flashes to the moment with the masked man in my bathtub…

“Yeah, I think I have some ideas,” I hiss right back, over this protective bullshit. Where was he when Ireallyneeded saving?

He snorts derisively, which just pisses me off even more.Andhe’s continuing to drive like a lunatic.

“They attacked me because of you!” I snap, as Slater runs a red light. Fuck. I don’t want to die arguing with him about some assholes from school.

“I’m taking you home since you’re incapable of keeping yourself safe!” He’s fuming, and so am I. I wait until he reduces his speed a little before I respond.

“They wouldn’t have been an issue, if not for you! Why do they hate you so much? What did you do!?” I demand, but Slater ignores the question.

“If I have to save your ass again, there will be consequences, Cora. Do you understand?” His threat is clear. Asshole. What does he think he can do to me? Ground me? Ha.

“Whatever.” I shake my head, as he parks outside my house. He turns to me, sighing heavily.

“I just want you to be safe.” As he reaches out to brush the hair behind my ear, I hold his intense stare and try really hard not to flinch away from his touch. I can see he’s still mad but he’s making a real effort to calm himself. For me.

I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. My stepbrother is hypnotic. Fuck, why is he so attractive? So unattainable?

“If anything with those shitheads happens at school again, you can trust Marx.”

That throws me. I frown. “Why?”

“He’s a friend. Just trust me, please, Cora.”

Maybe it’s the desperate look in his eyes, or the gentle tone that persuades me, but I nod my head.

“Okay, Slater, I trust you.”

I hope those words don’t come back to bite me on the ass. I don’t have the best track record for trusting guys.

19

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