Page 106 of Love Undercover
Heat sliced through her, and the sting coating her tongue infused her words. “Seriously? Because I wasn’t living up to your expectations of what you wanted for a flashy life? Seems a little juvenile to me.”
His expression darkened, and he moved toward her. “It doesn’t matter what youthink, Sadie.”
She drew back, fear rising up from her core, little flashes of cold that spread through her.
“I wanted you to see what your rejection cost you.”
She said nothing this time, not sure what words might set him off or not. But part of her wanted to scream what exactly it had cost her. Did he know what Travers and Santiago had done? Did he know it had nearly cost her her life?
What was the point of putting her through it if she’d been killed before he could boast about his victory?
He stepped closer again when she remained silent, and she flinched. This time he laughed, and goosebumps rippled across her body from the chill.
He snatched her arm and yanked her to her feet, dragging her toward the wall behind her bed.
“Reach behind the headboard,” he commanded, all pretense gone. His expression was hard and unyielding.
She stared at him, debating the virtues of resisting. She could test his resolve, see how serious he really was about this whole thing. Her reward for hesitating was a pistol-whip across the cheek.
She cried out in surprise, her hand going to her face where it throbbed. She never would’ve guessed he was capable.
It was gratifying to see that he was a little shaken by his own reaction. There was the slightest tremble in his hand now as he raised the gun higher. “The headboard, Sadie.”
This time, she did as instructed, groping along rough wood until she felt the shape of the flash drive under her shakingfingers. It took a couple of yanks to get the tape to give, but it ripped off and fell onto the floor, taking her stomach with it.
She released a tremulous exhale. "I dropped it.”
“Get it.” The irritation put a tightness in his enunciation.
She lowered herself slowly and reached around, feeling along the carpet until she found it.
As soon as she stood up, he snatched it from her hand, expelling a sigh of relief.
“Okay, you have it. Now leave.” She was proud her voice didn’t shake, but as his eyes came back to rest on her, she could see that wasn’t part of his plan. But what did he want with her now?
Her heartbeat kicked into overdrive as she flipped through possibilities, each one worse than the last. He took a step toward her; she took a step back.
And then a knock sounded on her front door, and Greg’s head jerked in that direction.
A jolt shot through her as she recognized the opportunity in that split-second. Desperation made her bold; wine made her heedless.
Using his distraction, she threw herself into him with every ounce of strength she had, ducking low enough that when the gun went off, its bullet missed her.
This time.
He grunted as they both went down, and he lost his grip on the weapon. It thudded on the carpet just out of his reach, and she scrambled to get off him and lunged for the gun.
He yanked on her shirt, the soft cotton ripping as she pulled against his grip. He managed to strong-arm her off-path, and she fell back against the unyielding frame of her bed, a scream of agony shooting up her spine.
Panic flashed through her when he went for the gun, and she kicked out at him, narrowly missing his head with a bare foot. Ignoring the pain in her back, she speed-crawled toward him,clawing at his arms and face like a wild animal, her desperation edging into madness. She released every ounce of rage she had as it bubbled out. Rage because he’d put her through hell when they were together; because he’d made her feel less-than; because he had put her into the path of psychopathic criminals; and because he had more plans for her.
Everything she had went into the effort, and a sick satisfaction poured through her when he screamed as her nails scraped along the skin of his face. He was pulled from the effort of reaching for the gun and knocked it further from reach. Whirling around, he turned his own fury on her, shoving her to the floor, straddling her middle as his fingers grappled for her throat.
She bucked and flailed at him, and his face twisted—teeth bared, nostrils wide, and those eyes filled with a rage that went beyond the depths of hell.
And then, suddenly, he was gone, an inhuman yell coming from somewhere above her. Then she heard the thud—a body against the wall.
She pushed herself up to her elbows, air punching in and out of her. She didn’t understand, couldn’t make her mind comprehend when Greg slid to the floor across the room from her and didn’t get up.
