Page 152 of Only in Your Dreams

I take a step toward him. “I regret every second of our relationship—every second. Do you hear me? I wasted so many good years trying to keep you happy, while you didnothingbut drain the life out of me for your own sick satisfaction.” I fist my hands at my sides. “So yeah, you heard me. Fuck you and fuck your twisted mind games. Get your stuff from wherever the hell you’re staying, get out of this town, and out of my life.”

I brush past him, but his hand closes around my arm, tugging me back.

“How are you going to be like this after everything I’ve ever done for you? The apartment, the job, anything you could ever need—”

“I never asked you for any of that,” I spit at him. “I never asked for it, and still, you’ve had no problem hanging it over my head.Threateningme with it, even now. Breaking up with me was the best thing you ever did for me.”

I tug my arm, but he tightens his grip. I’m not sure I’ve ever been afraid of Connor. He was a manipulative ass—emotionally dangerous—but never once did he come close to getting physical with me. Then again, he always got his way.

But now, with his fingers digging painfully into my arm, I feel a terrifying prickle of awareness raising the hairs on the back of my neck. The steady whirring of alarm bells in my head, telling me this isn’t right, to get out.

Have I sensed this before? Is it why I always kept my mouth shut—as a way to protect myself from this side of him?

“Let go of me, Connor.”

“We’re not done talking.”

“Yes, we are, and you’re hurting me.” I try to wrench out of his grip. “Let go, Connor—”

“Stop struggling and talk to—”

The words are cut off by his own hard grunt as his back hits the alley wall, head bounces against the bricks. The momentum releases his hold on me and I stagger back to see Zac looming over Connor, forearm pressed against his throat to keep him in place against the wall.

“Clover.” He’s right up in Connor’s face, jaw pulsing in fury. “Tell me you’re okay.”

Connor blinks rapidly, dazed from the impact of his head smashing into the brick wall behind him. “Clover?” he says derisively. “She let her fuck buddy give hernicknames—”

“Boyfriend,” I snap. “He’s my boyfriend. Get it right.”

Connor finds me over Zac’s shoulder, but Zac releases him a fraction off the wall just to slam him back into it, drawing back Connor’s focus. “Don’t look at her. Look at me. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t snap your fucking arm for touching her.”

I fist the back of his shirt. “Zac, don’t do something you’ll regret tomorrow—”

“Yeah, Zac,” sneers Connors. “Don’t do something—”

Zac doubles his pressure on Connor’s throat, cutting him off. “Not another word from you.”

“He’s not worth it,” I say quickly, tugging at his arm. “Zac, he’s not worth it.”

He huffs a breath. And then another.

“If I were you, I’d get down on my knees and kiss her feet in gratitude. Because as far as I’m concerned, she just saved you a trip to the hospital.” Zac grinds his forearm threateningly into Connor’s throat, but it’s the soft, eerily calm tone of his voice that really makes him frightening. “But seeing as you’re never getting within spitting distance of her again, here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re going to walk out of here, straight into your car, and you’re going to drive out of this town. Look at her again, I will rip your eyes out. Contact her again, I will snap your fingers. Touch her again, and I will end you. Do we understand each other?” When Connor doesn’t move, doesn’t do anything but stare at him mutinously, he adds: “This is the part where you nod, motherfucker.”

For a second, I wonder if Connor has a death wish. He glares at Zac like he’s working up the courage to call his bluff, see how far he can push him. But that’s the thing about manipulators, right? They only go after the weak links.

Connor nods at last, sags down the wall when Zac releases him. He looks perfectly calm on the surface, but I know Zac like I know myself. He’s agitated, shoulders bunched under his shirt, but when I drop my hand into the one he offers me, his touch is so gentle we might have just woken up from a blissful nap together.

I push the hair off his face and Zac manages a smile. “Let’s get you upstairs, girlfriend.”

We make it a single step away before Connor’s voice floats from his spot behind us. “Lucky you. She’s an ungrateful bitch, but at least she was good for a decent fuck.”

Oh, shit.

Before I can process the right words to stop him, Zac whips around, grips the front of Connor’s shirt, jerks him upright like a puppet on strings. Rears his fist and it collides with Connor with enough force to put him on the ground.

“What the hell?”

We spin to find Parker, flanked by Brooks and Summer, frozen on the sidewalk at the mouth of the alley, staring wide-eyed at the scene before them.

---