Page 27 of Thunder

"Because it's not just a job!" I shout, my control slipping through my fingers like sand. "It's my life, my purpose! And I won't let you or anyone else destroy it."

The moon casts a ghostly light over the scene, illuminating Marcus's fierce green eyes. They're locked onto mine as if he can see straight through me, reading every secret thought that I'm trying so desperately to keep hidden; that I’m scared; that sometimes I regret taking on this project; that sometimes I wish there were a way out; that sometimes, late at night, I think of him.

We stand there, inches apart, our breaths mingling in the cool night air.

My heart races, torn between fear and a desire I cannot comprehend.

"Give it up, Marcus," I plead, my voice barely more than a whisper. "You don't have to do this."

"Stop trying to change my mind, Lia," he replies, his voice low and husky, sending shivers down my spine. "You know I’m never going to back down."

"Stealing food won't help anyone," I say, grasping for any argument that could sway him. "And it certainly won't stop me."

His gaze holds an intensity that threatens to consume me. And I hate myself for wanting to give in.

But I can’t.

I have to do something, and lost for options, I do the first thing that comes to mind: I hit him again. Even harder this time. Something pops in my left hand and I wonder if I’ve done permanent damage. When I draw my hand back, I wiggle and flex each of my fingers, noting with relief that everything still works normally.

Punching people just hurts. Really bad.

How is it that freaking hulks like Marcus do it all the time and not wind up losing the use of their hands?

Marcus shakes it off like my strongest blow means nothing to him.

"Some argument, Lia," Marcus grits out, his athletic frame coiled like a spring, ready to unleash his fury. His voice drips with sarcasm. "You’ve really convinced me."

"Marcus, you couldn't be more wrong," I whisper, my heart pounding in my chest. "Give me a chance and I'll prove it to you."

He advances. Looms over me. His lips are so close.

"You're making this so damn hard, Lia," he says, his face inching toward mine. "Go back inside and let me finish what I’ve started. Now."

Our lips are almost touching, the tension between us stretched to its breaking point. Every fiber of my being is screaming for me to close the distance, to let the magnetic pull between us take over.

But I can't—I won't—give in to this madness.

"Marcus, you’re wrong. You’re wrong and you know it," I choke out, struggling to maintain control.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he says, grabbing me by the shoulders and then quickly twisting my arms behind my back. It hurts, but in a way that sends sweet warmth through my body. He dominates me so easily, and there’s a dark part of me that relishes this sensation, of being so at his mercy, so helpless. I melt beneath his touch and curse myself for not fighting more.

Like a prisoner, he leads me back into the kitchen. Then, with his free hand, he searches through drawers in the kitchen until he finds a spool of cooking twine. Drawing a knife from his pocket, he cuts several long lengths of cord.

“You don’t need to do this,” I beg.

“You can’t seem to get the message, Lia. There are people I care about that this project of yours is going to hurt, so I’ll be damned if I step aside and let you ruin their lives.”

“There has to be another way…”

“Someone will find you in a few hours, if you don’t get yourself free before then.” He binds me with the twine as he talks, roughly, without remorse; my ankles, my hands, all tied behind my back like I’m nothing more than livestock. When he’s done, I’m trussed and feeling like a calf on a farm, ready to be sent to the slaughter. “Until then, know that I’m never going to stop until the development is dead. I don’t care what you do or who I have to hurt. I’m stopping that fucking thing.”

He stops in the doorway, nothing more than a shadow in the dark kitchen, and looks down at me.

“Take this as your final warning, Lia: leave my town alone or you will regret it.”

Chapter Eleven

Thunder

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