Page 43 of Second Goal

He chuckles, pointing the weapon at my temple. “Did you plan on coming here and killing me?”

I glare at him. “You deserve worse than death for what you’ve done to her.”

He strikes my temple with the handle of the gun and I collapse, vomit rising in my throat as pain seers through my head.

“What the fuck is this?” He growls out, crouching beside me and flipping through the bills. “There’s only about two grand here.”

“That’s...” Nausea rolls in my stomach. “It’s all I have.”

His lips pull back over his teeth and he grabs my hair, pulling me up to my feet. There’s murder in his eyes. I’ve only seen that look once before, the night I killed Ezra. And I know if I don’t fight back, he won’t let me leave this alley alive.

My head is spinning, but I use what little strength I have and knee him between the legs. When he leans forward in pain, I rake my fingers over his face, gouging his eyes. He lets out a shriek of pain, dropping the cash and the gun.

I scurry for it, my hands shaky as I turn the gun on him, pointing it at his head. It may be empty, but he doesn’t know that.

He’s still groaning, one hand cupping his groin, the other his bleeding face. “I’ll fucking kill you—” He stops when he sees the gun.

“I’ll shoot you. Take one more step and I’ll pull the trigger.”

“Crazy bitch.” He stumbles backward and bangs on the door. “You’re going to regret this. I promise you. I’m going to destroy you.”

Stars dance in front of my eyes and it takes all my strength not to collapse. “You won’t get another penny from me.”

“You’re finished,” he says as the door opens, and he stumbles through.

The second he’s gone, I drop to my knees and try to take in a deep breath. But I can’t. It feels like my windpipe has been crushed. And my vision is going dark. I try to stand, but I can’t. So I crawl, knowing I need to get away before Cruz comes after me with back-up.

And then I collapse.

“Kiley.” Someone is beside me. And even though my vision is blurred, I recognize the voice, the strength of the man’s touch. “Jesus Christ.”

“Blake?” I don’t know how he found me.

“Who did this to you?” His hands are on me, fingers dancing across my skin, searching for injuries.

I hiss in pain when he touches my temple.

“I’ll kill whoever did this to you.” The look he gives me is fierce. Something primal. A ferociousness dead set on protecting me.

Safe.

Protected.

His.

In his arms, I’m all those things.

But I know it’s time I finally tell him the truth. Because one way or another, after today, everyone is going to know soon enough.

Chapter Thirteen

Blake

Fury beatsinside me like a wild animal, but somehow I’ve managed to stay calm. When I’d pulled up to the alley and saw Kiley collapsed, face pale and bruised, clutching a goddamn gun, I’d nearly lost my shit.

I’d picked her up and put her in my car, demanding we go to the hospital. I was adamant she was going to press charges on the motherfucker who did this to her. But she’d refused to say a word to the police when they questioned her, other than she’d been mugged.

Bullshit.

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