Page 12 of A Mate for Christmas

“Kevin…” I breathe deeply through my nose before speaking. “I don’t want to have this conversation with you. Much less today. And I need to get to work.”

He shoves me back into the apartment and this time I do end up on my ass. It’s been less than a week since I last saw him, but he looks disheveled and tired.

“We are going to work this out,” he grumbles as he closes and locks the door. “I don’t give a shit about your job or anything else. Neither of us is leaving until this is fixed.”

Slowly I rise from the spot where I fell and straighten my clothes. “This is my home, and you aren’t welcome in it anymore.”

Kevin turns to me, and I know I said the wrong thing. His eyes are black with the finest ring of gold as his animal tries toforce his way out. This man is holding on by a very thin thread and I would be wise not to push him.

“I don’t want to fight,” I say instead as I gingerly try to move away from him. Perhaps I can get behind the sofa? Just put something between us.

“I’m not here to fight. I’m here to fix this mess,” Kevin says as he prowls closer to me.

Right now, I need to make a choice. I can either play the simpering idiot and take him back out of fear, or I can stand my ground and hope he doesn’t kill me. But it isn’t really a decision, right? My pride won’t let me take the safe route, so I put my foot down.

“There is nothing to fix, Kevin. We both know you don’t love me, I’m just a means to an end for you.”

“That’s not true!” he roars. “I love you.”

“You don’t. You love the idea of me and what I can offer you.” I sigh. “Hell, just the other night you made it clear that you couldn’t even stand the sight of me.”

He balks at my words. “I was drunk. You know I didn’t mean a damn word I said.”

“That’s the problem, though. You did mean it, and we both know it.”

“Babe,” he starts but I cut him off.

“It’s over,” I say slowly and clearly. “There is nothing you can say or do that will change that.”

My phone chooses that moment to chirp from inside my discarded bag and Kevin leans down to grab it. I don’t know what it is he sees but his features change from curiosity to dismay to all-out rage.

“Now I understand,” he says with a calm, flat voice that has fear skittering through my senses. “This isn’t something I can fix because I’m not the problem.”

He tosses my phone on the couch as he continues to movecloser to me. There isn’t anywhere I can flee to, nowhere I can hide. I see the madness in his eyes. And even though I never would have believed Kevin capable of hurting me before today, I know he is past the point of no return.

Before I can try to dodge him, he wraps a big meaty hand around my throat and shoves me against the wall so hard I hear frames falling to the floor. The sound of glass shattering is loud in the silence of my apartment.

I can feel my airway being constricted as the tips of his elongated nails break the skin. If I’m lucky he will simply rip my throat out and be done with it.

“You kicked me out so you could fuck some other asshole?” he asks lowly.

When I don’t respond, because I can’t, he lifts me clear off the floor before slamming me against the wall again. Stars dance across my vision. I try clawing at his hand and kicking at his legs, but nothing is helping. He knows I can’t shift when he has me gripped like this.

“When I’m done with you, no other man will ever want you.”

“I would put her down,”I hear a deep voice say from somewhere far away.

Kevin tightens his grip and the darkness seeps in around the edges. My blood is pounding in my skull, and my survival instincts are screaming at me to do something. Anything.

“Who the fuck are you?” Kevin asks, his voice coated in venom.

“That doesn’t concern you. What does concern you is the fact that I have this all recorded and the police are on the way.”

I know that voice. Where do I know that voice from? My muddled mind is trying to piece together things that don’t matter right now. Darkness is consuming me, and I hear Kevin scream something at the stranger I may or may not know but Ican’t figure out the words.

It’s too late. The darkness has me.

****

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