Page 89 of Aria

“Feel free to call my bluff.” My voice was calm, but my trembling hands betrayed me. I inched forward, my index finger on the trigger, my opposite hand trying to hold the weapon steady.

Ian held his palms up and slowly backed away. “I guess you are a fighter now, Chelly Belly. It’s cute,” he said with a smirk before spitting a dollop of blood to his right. The tone of his voice turned menacing as he finished, “Round two will be less cute.”

“Get out of my house.”

Moving forward, rage heightened inside of me. I wanted to pull the trigger. I wanted to see him explode before my eyes, disintegrating into black ashes and dust.

But even more than that… I wanted him to live.

I wanted him to rot in a prison cell for the rest of his pathetic life, knowing I had won. He had failed to surmount me. His control over me had been permanently severed.

That would be a far worse punishment for a narcissistic pig like Ian Masterson…knowing he had lost.

“See you soon.” Ian winked at me before turning on his heel and running out of the room like the coward he was.

Following, my chest heaved as I watched him disappear out the apartment door.

I lowered my shaking arms, shutting the door as hard as I could and double-bolting it. The pistol was dangling at my side. The weight of it was heavy, but not as heavy as the awareness that I had almost been raped and killed.

I almost died.

Setting the weapon down at my feet, I massaged my throat, running the tips of my fingers along where Ian had choked me.

I need to call the police. I stumbled into the hallway where Ian had knocked the phone from my grip before falling to my knees and punching in the familiar numbers.

“I’d like to report an assault,” I said into the speaker.

I gave them the address. I told them his name. I detailed the attack to the best of my recollection, and when they advised me to stay on the line, I dropped the phone to the floor and fell back against the wall.

I crumbled.

I broke.

My face fell into my hands as years of pent-up torment and self-loathing spilled out of my eyes. I wailed and screamed and smashed my fists against the floor, releasing what felt like a lifetime of locked-up skeletons with every blow. I tipped over, lying sideways on the ground as warm tears pooled beneath my cheek. My knees curled up to my chest…

And I just sobbed.

CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR

CHELSIE

Ihad given my statement and answered their questions, ultimately refusing medical treatment. Exhaustion had won out.

“Do you have a safe place you can go tonight?” an officer had inquired.

“Yes.”

There was only one place I wanted to be.

I had tried contacting Devon multiple times to no avail. At one point, I’d even tried Tad, but his phone was also turned off.

So, there I was, standing on Noah’s doorstep late into the evening hours with a blanket wrapped loosely around my shoulders. Officer Fenton stood beside me as I waited.

When Noah opened the door, the look on his face could only be described as shellshock. “Chelsie?”

He stared at me with a thousand questions in his eyes.

“Miss Combs was assaulted this evening and she asked me to bring her here. I wanted to make sure she had a safe place to spend the night before I left,” the officer explained.

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