Page 95 of Snowbound
Owen’s eyes swivel to me. “Say the word, Emma.”
The words come fast and furious. “Do whatever you want to him.”
“You’re both fucked?—”
Owen’s fist cuts him off. One clean hit. Jake’s head snaps back.
“Owen!” I scream.
I know Jake deserves it, but Owen’s twice his size. He could kill him.
Another punch. This one lands in Jake’s gut.
“You fuckin’slappedher?” Owen growls. “You fucking son of a gobshite.” He kicks him… hard.
Fists fly. Then, Owen lifts him and throws him right out the door. Jake lands in the melting snow with a scream.
I stare, speechless. Get the fuck out of here,” Owen says, his voice calm now. Too calm. Then he picks up his phone and dials.
“You asked me if I wanted a favor?” he says. “Jake fucking Marlowe.”
A pause.
“You know what to do.”
He hangs up and pocketsthe phone.
Jake scrambles to his feet, blood dribbling from his mouth.
“I’m calling your mother,” Jake says, as if that’s supposed to scare me. “I’m telling her what a?—”
Owen steps forward.
Jake bolts, trips, runs to the car he still left running beyond the pine I decorated a few yards away. He peels away, tires sloshing through the mud and slush, and then…
Silence.
Owen turns to me, crossing the floor in two strides. He cups my jaw gently.
“The only reason he’s still breathing is because of you,” he says. “If it were up to me, I’d make him die, slow and painful, and put my own handprint acrosshischeek. But I know you have… different rules.”
I swallow. “Who did you call?”
“The McCarthys,” he growls. “They’ll make sure he doesn’t come near you again.”
“Owen…” My voice cracks.
He touches my cheek. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll take care of it.”
That’s what terrifies me.
But it’s also what anchors me.
Owen takes care of things,and this time… I’ll let him.
“Come inside, Owen,” I whisper.
Because I suddenly know how the story ends.
