Page 53 of Red Velvet

“Please!” I shriek, so high-pitched and loud that both guys flinch as if in pain.

I turn my back to Jim, placing both of my hands on Kade’s chest as I face him, locking him down with a pleading look.

“Please, Kade, you have to go. I can deal with this by myself. I have to. You’re only making this harder by being here.”

My voice is soft and so low that it’s not more than a hoarse whisper.

He reciprocates my look, his dark eyes resting on mine as if trying to read something behind them, searching for something I might be hiding from him, a silent cry for help that would negate my words and tell him to stay.

But there is no such thing. I really want him to leave, because his presence is poison to Jim’s mood and it makes it impossible for me to handle this in the way I want, the way Ishouldhandle this.

“Are you sure?” he asks, shooting a dark look at Jim over my shoulder.

“Yes, she’s fucking sure. Don’t play the damn hero!” Jim snaps at him. “Get the fuck away from her.”

I roll my eyes, only visible to Kade, before I wink at him. “Don’t worry. I got this.”

His eyes bounce from me to Jim and back to me, ultimately nodding. Then he lifts his hand, pointing at Jim as he hisses, “If you harm her, you’re dead. Got that?”

I worry that Jim’s condescending chuckle could lead Kade to jump at him, but he restrains himself, giving me one last reassuring look before he turns on the spot and marches back to the limousine.

Chapter 28

Lila

I wait until the car’s turned the corner before I face Jim. Stupid, sad and hurt Jim. I expect to find him triumphant, thinking he won or something, but the face that looks back at me is not that of a winner.

It’s the exact opposite.

He looks pale, a layer of long-lasting pain covering his entire expression. His lower lip is quivering as he tries to speak, scanning me from head to toe as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing.

“What the hell happened to you?” he asks, his eyes lingering on my throat. “What the fuck are you wearing? Is that a fucking collar?”

He steps closer and my hand shoots up to my neck, touching the metal as if I was trying to protect it from him.

“That’s none of your business, Jim,” I say, my voice hard but not nearly as aggressive as it would’ve been just a few moments ago. Seeing the pain in his eyes softened me, making me realize once again what I did to him, and how hard it was for him to accept. It obviously still is. “What are you doing here? Why are you standing at my door in the middle of the night?”

“Yourdoor,” he repeats. “I remember a time when this used to be our door. Our home. And you were my girl, my fiancée—not someone else’s dog!”

I gasp in shock when he rushes forward, hooking a finger through the ring at my collar and pulling at it. "I know what this is, Lila. I'm not an idiot!"

He doesn't tug at the collar hard enough to actually hurt me, but it's not physical pain that stabs into me when he touches it. It's wrong. It's not his to touch. It's like he's invading a sacred space that belongs only to me and Kade.

I reach up and yank his hand away, relieved the moment he loses his grip on me. But he's still standing too close for comfort. I've never seen him like this before, so angry, so aggressive and irrational.

So frightening.

Maybe I shouldn't have sent Kade away. What if Jim wants to hurt me? He's not strong like Kade, but he could still overpower me with ease. He could do whatever he wants with me, and while that idea fills me with pleasant thrills when it comes to Kade, this situation induces nothing but fear. Cold, intimidating fear.

His breath is dancing on my face as I try to come up with a way to calm him.

"Jim, I'm sorry for what I did to you," I tell him, my tone as amiable as I can manage under the circumstances. "I know you're still struggling with it. But you were doing so well. Why regress now? Why show up at my place like this? Didn't you tell me you found your own? If you're here to pick up the rest of your stuff, we can—"

"I'm not here to pick up my fucking stuff." Bitterness fills every single word. "I'm here because I needed to see it with my own eyes."

"See what with your own eyes?"

He glowers at me. "What’s become of you."

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