Page 34 of Plot Twist in Pelican Point
Behind me, Ryan’s restraining the accomplice, Marc already securing cuffs. My knuckles bleed. My chest heaves.
Ruiz is stirring and trying to get to his feet. I stand over him, chest rising and falling, knowing one more punch might end him. But I don’t take it. Kate’s voice—fragile and hoarse—pulls me back from the edge.
"Sebastian..."
I turn, and start towards her.
Ruiz lunges with the syringe, and time slows. I knock his wrist aside with bone-snapping force, the metal instrument clattering to the floor. Rage floods my bloodstream like wildfire as I seize him by the collar and drive him back—hard—into the stone wall. The air leaves his lungs with a guttural wheeze, but I don’t give him time to recover.
I pummel him with a brutal right hook to the gut—deep enough to lift him onto his toes—then follow it with a savage uppercut that shatters his nose. Blood sprays across my cheek, hot and coppery, but I don’t flinch. His head whips back, thudding against the wall with a sickening crack.
He tries to twist away, groaning, but I grab him by the lapels and slam him again—again—until his legs start to buckle. My fists aren’t just weapons now. They’re sentences. Every blow is a reckoning for what he did to Kate—for every second of terror, every bruise, every lie.
He sobs through blood-slicked lips. I bare my teeth.
“You touch her again,” I snarl, “and I’ll end you.” I punch him again. “She’s worth more than you’ll ever be.”
Ruiz staggers, wheezing. I let him think he can stand, then slam my boot into his ribs, sending him crashing into the wall again. His scream this time is high and broken. I pin him with my forearm, fist cocked back.
“You wanted a war, Ruiz?” Kate lifts her head and growls from where she sits, bloodied and in pain. “You picked the wrong set of guys, and the wrong woman.”
I move to her side, untying her hands. “Hey, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”
Her eyes brim, but she doesn’t cry. Kate Lawrence doesn’t cry. It's the way she trembles, the way she shudders when she's finally freed that kills me.
“I knew you’d come,” she whispers.
“I’ll always come for you.”
We don’t move for a long moment. Her forehead presses to mine. My heart still won’t slow down.
Then the paramedics arrive, swarming like bees. They take Ruiz. Take the thug. Emma’s voice crackles over Ryan’s radio confirming law enforcement has enough evidence to make charges stick.
But I stay with Kate.
“I’m fine,” she insists.
“You’re not. You were almost—” My voice breaks. I grip her tighter.
She pulls back and shoves my shoulder, her eyes blazing. “You don’t get to vanish emotionally after giving me the best sex of my life and then save me like a hero from one of my books. That is not how this works. It’s at that point in the story that the hero—that would be you—steps up.”
I reach for her hand, but she yanks it away.
“You made me feel wanted, Sebastian. Needed. Like I was more than just some plot twist in your tidy little life.”
My throat tightens. "I know. I was scared to need someone like I need you. But seeing you down there—tied up, drugged, afraid—I’d burn the world down before I let that happen again. Maybe you could write me some dialogue."
Her breath hitches and then she smiles. “I could do that. I'm a writer.”
“I know,” I say with a grin as I kiss her forehead. “I was scared because I’ve never felt anything like this before. And then today—I saw what losing you would feel like.”
“Don’t you dare say it took a hostage situation to realize you love me.” I hesitate and she continues, "This is the part where you tell me you love me."
I chuckle and cup her face, brush my thumb over her bruised cheek. “I love you, Kate. Madly. Messily. Irrevocably. Even whenyou yell at me like a banshee and write me into your books as the grumpy villain. I still love you.”
She stares at me. "Oooh that's a good line. I'll have to put it in my next book."
Ryan and Marc laugh, but I don't care. I'm too busy kissing Kate.
