Page 49 of Hooked on Marshall

Less than ten minutes after Marshall leaves me, I hear a noise in the living room. And it’s not the sound of a key in a lock, either. Then I hear the distinct sound of wood splintering and the voice of the last man I ever wanted to see again.

“Jana! Where are you?”

Oh, my God. He’s delusional. As quietly as I can, I pull my phone out and dial 911. Then I tiptoe to Marshall’s bedroom door so I can shut and lock it. Just as the woman answers, Jonas looms in front of me. His face as angry as I’ve ever seen it.

“Someone help me!” I scream into my phone.

As Jonas yanks it from my hand, I scream the address here. Then Jonas ends the call and throws my phone down the hallway.

“What do you think you’re doing running from me?” he demands. “And not only that, you’re living in sin with a bartender? What were youthinkingJana?”

“Jonas,” I say as I raise my hands up in front of me. “I’m not Jana.”

“You’re mine,” he says as he steps toward me. “You’ve always been mine. And you always will be.”

“No,” I say as I shake my head. “I’m not yours. I never was and I never will be.”

He looks around the room and growls.

“Is thishisbedroom, Jana?” he asks. “Is this where Marshall has been fuckingmy woman?”

“I am not Jana!” I shout. “My name is Lana Rose! And you need to get the hell out of here!”

“Oh, I will,” he says with a sickly grin. “Just as soon as I remind you who you belong to; I’m going to take you home where you belong.”

In the next second, he’s on me. I scream for help. I scream for him to stop. I keep screaming that I’m not Jana. Hell, I even scream that I love Marshall. But nothing seems to get through to him. When he collapses us onto the bed, I start crying. I don’t stop fighting him, but he’s so much stronger than I am, I’m certain he’s going to rape me.

“Jonas, no!”

He grips my button-down shirt and rips it apart. Then he lowers his head to kiss me between my breasts. A shudder of disgust runs through me, and I grab his head and pull on his hair. He growls in pain. Then he rises up and slaps me. I scream again as I place my palm to my heated cheek. With all my fight gone for the moment, Jonas starts to undo my pants. And just when I take a breath to fight back, I hear Chief Flood’s deadly calm voice.

“Take your hands off her, Jonas.”

I suck in a sharp breath and slowly turn my head. Brian is at the side of the bed with his gun trained on Jonas. And Marshall is in the doorway, his eyes deadlier than I’ve ever seen them as he stares at Jonas. Instinctively, I pull the halves of my shirt together while Jonas turns his head. He looks at Brian first and laughs. But when he sees Marshall in the doorway, anger washes over his features.

“You bastard,” he growls. “I’m going to kill you.”

He screams and lunges off the bed toward Marshall. I reach out and scream for him to stop. But Brian has things well in hand. In a blur of motion, he has Jonas pinned to the floor. When he starts to handcuff him, Marshall rushes into the room. I sob as he pulls me into his arms.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers. “I’m so sorry he got to you.”

I nod and pull comfort from his closeness and his warmth. I hear other voices I don’t recognize as Brian tells them to take Jonas to the precinct. Jonas still shouts out that I’m hisand threatens Marshall, but his voice quickly fades as he’s led out of the house. When it’s quiet, Brian questions me.

“Are you hurt, Lana? Do I need to call for an ambulance?”

“I’m fine,” I sniff as I raise my head. “My wrists might bruise later.”

“Your cheek is red,” Marshall growls.

“He slapped me.”

“I’ll need to document that,” Brian says gently. “I’ll give you a few moments. I’ll be in the living room.”

I nod and Marshall thanks him. When he looks down at me, I hate the pain that I see in his eyes.

“I’m okay,” I whisper.

“I’m sorry,” he chokes out. “I shouldn’t have left you alone. I should have taken you with me and just let you stay in the office while I spoke to Jonas. If I had, you wouldn’t have been here when he broke in. God, Lana, I’m so fucking sorry.”

---