Page 69 of I Was Always Yours (RCA: Royal Crown Academy)

I get to my feet and head for the exit but Thayer intercepts me.

“Don’t go after him.” She tells me, concern clear in her voice.

“He won’t do anything to me, but I’m afraid of what he’ll do to Spencer if I don’t stop him.”

I should have listened to Rogue.

Truth is, I didn’t think Phoenix would care. He’s the one who’d told our parents that he’d rather I be engaged to anybody else but him, so this testosterone-fueled display of possessiveness is confusing.

“Let me come with you.” She says, reaching for her purse.

A large hand wraps around her wrist, tugging her away from me and towards Rhys as he stands to his full height.

“Don’t get in the middle of this.” He orders, his voice brooking no argument.

I don’t have time to waste watching their discussion unfold so I leave her behind and jog to the exit, arriving at the door just as it opens again.

Phoenix looms in the doorframe and his eyes darken to a terrifying color when they find me, their depths dark as a starless black night.

His upper lip curls viciously as his long fingers wrap around my neck and squeeze. He uses his hold around my throat to violently pull me outside after him.

I hear the door close as he slams me against the wall, bringing his face inches from mine.

“Which bone should I break first, Six?” He demands.

Chapter 24

Sixtine

I’m frozen to the spot, the alarming tenor of his voice combined with his rough grip around my throat making it impossible for me to speak.

I turn my head slightly, as much as Phoenix lets me, and look at Spencer who’s laid out on the ground, clutching his stomach and groaning loudly. Blood drips from his lip and down onto his shirt.

I’m startled by Phoenix’s calculated efficiency. He had mere seconds with Spencer before he dragged me outside to join them, and yet he was able to inflict a lot of damage in little time.

“No suggestions?” He growls low in his chest, the sound downright animalistic. “That’s fine.”

He releases me and I watch in horror as he marches up to Spencer and grabs him by the shirt. Spencer takes advantage of Phoenix’s hands being occupied to swing at him, but he easily evades his punch.

“Elbow first.” Phoenix narrates as he hooks his arm through Spencer’s and, in a lightning-fast move, bends it behind his back until a loudpoperupts in the silence. It’s immediately followed by Spencer’s pained howl.

Phoenix’s gaze slices over to where I’m still standing unmoving against the alley wall.

His eyes rake down my prone body and darken infinite degrees as they take in all the skin I have on display. They latch and burn on my bare curves like he has X-ray vision, except instead of bones it’s showing him the exact places Spencer put his hands on me.

“Hands next.” He decides. “Every phalange of every finger after that.”

That snaps me out of it, but not quickly enough. I hear the familiar sound of bones breaking and Spencer screaming before I’m able to reach Phoenix.

“Arrête!” I say, grabbing his shoulders and trying to shake him off of Spencer, but he barely moves and doesn’t even look back at me. “Stop, please!” I yell frantically.

When he ignores me, I do the only thing I can think of.

An act of pure desperation.

I jump on his back and wrap my limbs around him, holding on for dear life. The move surprises him and he drops Spencer before he reaches back and tries to grab hold of me.

“What are you doing?” He grunts, trying to pry me off him, but I hold on tight. I cover his eyes with one hand to confuse him and hopefully get him to step away from Spencer who’s now writhing on the ground.

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