Page 93 of Tangled in Vows

Squeeze him until he goes limp, and then call the cops. They can deal with him.

His body sags and I let go of him, but he doesn’t fall to the ground the way I thought he would. Instead, he shoots up and punches me in the side. For a second, my mind blanks. Then a searing heat blooms outward like fire.

That fucker just stabbed me.

My breath stutters, and the pain anchors me to the spot.

Is he twisting it around in the wound?

Fuck.

My body jerks when he pulls his arm back and the knife with it. I sway but manage to stay on my feet.

He uses that chance to spit in my face. “I hope you were lying about Olivia being your wife, for her sake. If she really married you, I’ll do a lot worse than fuck her virgin pussy in front of my friends.”

His words burrow under my skin like venom. All I can hear is the deafening roar in my ears that’s drowning out everything else.

He touched her. Hehurther.

Anger surges up my neck, white-hot and lethal, and before I can consider my actions, I’m moving.

His cocky smirk is the last thing I see before I tackle him. This time, he doesn’t stand a chance. My knuckles connect with skin and bone over and over. Again and again. Something cracks, but I don’t stop to check what.

Even though Olivia never told me anything bad happened with a guy, I had my suspicions, noticing how she shied away from most men and didn’t like to be touched.

Another punch. Another hit.

I won’t allow him to take her from me.

The wheezing stops, but it’s not good enough.

I have to make sure he will never lay another finger on her.

I keep going until sirens blare, and someone pulls me off Felix.

He lies crumpled on the dirty ground, unrecognizable. His face is a swollen mess, his features disappearing underneath a sea of red. There’s so much blood.

I never take my eyes off him, even when metal wraps around my wrists and clicks in place.

You did it. You kept Olivia safe.

He can never hurt her again.

Chapter 29

Olivia

I should thank you for being a jerk, and never for real.

The air whooshes out of his lungs like he’s been holding his breath the entire time he told me what happened with Felix on that fateful day. As if he was reliving the whole situation.

His whispered last words echo in my head, and I’m not sure I can ever unhear them.

I just wanted to keep you safe. I couldn’t let him hurt you again.

Holden’s been keeping this all in. Not just during his years in prison, but also after. Every time we’ve seen each other. Every time I glared at him, dismissed him, or wished I didn’t have to see him, every single moment we’ve spent together in the last few weeks.

Holden’s been protecting me.

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