Page 44 of The Anti-Bachelorette (The Anti-Bachelorette 1)

I’d recognize Alaric’s deep voice anywhere. I’m not sure how I ever confused Jeremy’s with his. Where Jeremy’s is weak and pathetic, Alaric’s is strong and commanding.

I feel Jeremy lean back a little so he is not pressing against me so hard, but he still has the knife to my throat. He laughs. “What are you going to do? Shoot your own brother?”

There is no hesitation in Alaric’s voice. “Yes.”

Jeremy just chuckles again. “Seriously, what’s so special about this bitch?”

Alaric’s voice is even angrier now. “I said let her go!”

Jeremy finally lowers the knife and steps back. I feel a little blood dripping down my neck from where the blade was pressing into my skin.

The second Jeremy stepped back, Alaric put himself in between us He placed me behind his back but never let go of my hand. He is still holding the gun up to Jeremy. He glances over his shoulder at me. “Go back to the room. The police are on the way.”

I squeeze Alaric’s hand. “Are you sure?”

He just nods. “Yes. Go.”

I don’t dare argue with him right now, so I quickly run over to our room and shut the door behind me. I double check that I locked all the locks. My adrenaline is still coursing through my veins, and I think I might be in somewhat shock. I just sit on the bed staring at the wall for who knows how long.

I hear a knock at the door, and I quickly run over and check the peephole. I see a few police officers standing there. One of the lady officers calls out. “Emory. It’s the police. Alaric told us to come find you here.”

I open the door, and she smiles at me. “Hi honey, can you please come with us? We’re just going to have the paramedic check you out, okay?”

I nod my head and follow, but I whisper to her. “I’m okay. I don’t need anyone checking me out.”

She pats my arm gently. “It’s just a precaution. I’m going to ask you a few questions about what happened while they take a look. We just want to make sure we have the full story.”

I tell the officer my point of view on what happened while the EMT checks me out. My eyes keep scanning the area for Alaric. I look to the office. “Where is Alaric at?”

She smiles at me. “I think I’ve got all I need. I will take you over to him.” She hands me a card. “If you think of anything else you want to report, just call or email me.” I nod and follow her around the cars to the motel office where I see Alaric talking with some more officers.

The moment his eyes meet mine, I feel like all my emotions burst forth. I run to him and wrap my arms around his waist. I can’t stop the tears from running down my face.

His body is tense at first, but then I feel his arms wrap around me, and he leans down to my ear. “Shh...it’s okay. He’s not here anymore. You’re safe.” His words strike me because here in his arms, I’ve never felt more safe.

He steps back from me and glances to the police. “Are we good here?”

They exchange a few more words about contact information, and then he grabs my hand and leads us back to our room. The second the door closes, he turns to look at me. “Are you okay?” He is scanning up and down my body checking to see if I’m hurt. “I’m fine. Where’s Jeremy?”

Alaric continues to scan like he doesn’t believe me. “They arrested him. He was already on a short leash with the early release. He’ll be going back to prison. They have him on assault, attempted sexual assault, attempted kidnapping.”

I stop him and hold up my hand. “Seriously? Nothing really happened.”

Alaric’s eyes turn black at my words. His voice comes out harsh. “He hurt you.”

My hand reaches up to the bandage on my neck from the small cut the knife made. I repeat again. “I’m fine.”

Alaric just ignores me. “He could have hurt you worse. I never should have brought you with me. I shouldn’t have come back to town in the first place. If I hadn’t shown up, he could’ve done so much worse. It would have been my fault.”

I can tell he’s trying to push me away. I’m not sure when I changed my mind about him, but I don’t want him to push me away. I want him to pull me close.

“Alaric!” I step closer to him. “I am fine.”

His eyes search mine like he still doesn’t believe me. I take another step closer. I place my hand on his chest and look up into his eyes. “I’m okay.” I whisper.

He doesn’t say anything and just continues to stare down at me. The only sound in the room is our breathing. Then he leans down, and his lips lightly press against mine at the same time his hand comes up and gently cups the back of my head.

My eyes flutter shut, and I kiss him back. He brings his other hand around to my back and pulls me closer to his chest. Our lips move slowly over one anothers, and then our tongues also get tangled together.

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