Page 77 of Live for Me

“Beau, please,” she asked, her voice trembling now. “What’s going on?”

I bit down, my jaw popping. “I need you to step away from me,” I whispered, my muscles tensing as something dark swirled in my soul. Red Snake would find this man, and then they would bring that sorry son of a bitch to me.

I couldn’t wait to spread his ashes on Denver’s mountain after I heard his screams, savoring the way he would beg for mercy. I would spend hours torturing the bastard, and I wouldn’t lose a second of sleep.

Abbie put her hand on my arm. “Please, please. Beau, I can’t—”

In a flash, I had her wrist engulfed in my hand, her back against the fridge. I bared my teeth to her. “I said I needed you to step away from me,” I growled, my lips centimeters from hers. Her orange scent wrapped around me blanketing me in sweetness and desire. Raw need, a mix of rage and possessiveness, shot through my blood like a virus, claiming every single cell, turning me into someone I had no right to be. Not anymore.

Her eyes flashed with determination. “Not until you tell me what the hell is going on,” she shouted in my face. “When I ask you a question, I expected a damn answer!”

“And when I tell you to step away, you step.The. Fuck. Away,” I roared.

Both of our chests were heaving now, brushing against one another’s. My heart was pounding in my ears, my mind conjuring images of her stalker in the bathroom with her. Fuck,she hadn’t even been safe in her own home. None of this would’ve fucking happened if she hadn’t had fucking left me.

None of this would’ve happened if I had been good enough.

You were never good enough for her, Beau.

I blinked and stepped back, shaking my head.

Abbie glared at me; her long body plastered against the fridge.

I swallowed down the anger, the possessiveness and stated, “Ash called to inform us that your office had been broken into by your stalker. He happened to be watching the live feed from the security cameras your boss provided Red Snake with this afternoon.”

That was a half-truth. She didn’t need to know about Jake Murphy’s hacking skills.

Abbie’s frustration washed away then, her features softening as shock took over. “H-he broke into my office?” she stammered.

I nodded once.

She looked to her feet for a moment. “Did he—did he take anything? Or leave anything?”

Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair. “Yeah, Abbie, he fucking left something, and no, I don’t want to fucking tell you. It will just make you uncomfortable, and you don’t need to feel like that here.”

“I know I’m safe with you,” she blurted.

I stared. She was damn right about that.

“Hallow Ranch is the safest place for me to be,” she added quickly. “Now, tell me.”

“Abbie,” I sighed.

“No, Beau. I want to know. I have a right to; after all, he is my stalker.”

I surged forward, and both of my hands slammed against the fridge on either side of her head. “Don’t say that shit in front of me ever again,” I quipped harshly, my upper lip curling.

She turned her head from me, but it was too damn late for that. My hand shot up, gripping her soft jaw, tipping her head back slightly so she couldn’t look away when I asked my next question. “The night I showed up on your doorstep, you were wearing another man’s shirt,” I quipped harshly.

She flinched in my hold, her eyes widening once more. “W-what are you—”

“Don’t play dumb with me Abbie Spears. This isn’t the fucking time for that,” I warned through clenched teeth.

“What the hell does this have to do with my damn stalker?”

“Because any man who’s had your pussy after me surely became addicted,” I spat. Her hands went to my chest, and she shoved me back.

“Don’t you dare speak like that to me again,” she hissed, pointing a finger in my face.

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