Page 97 of Spock’s Snare

“Chloe, baby, tell him—”

“Don’t call me that.” Her voice is quiet but sharp enough to cut. “You don’t get to call me anything.”

His mouth opens, but no words come out.

She takes another step forward. For several long seconds, she stares at the man who tied her to a bed, beat her, and tried to convince her that his obsession was love.

Then she dismisses him.

Just like that.

Her gaze shifts from Blackwood to me, and the fear in her eyes softens into something that hits me harder than any fist ever could.

“I love you, too,” she says.

The rage inside me doesn’t disappear, but it changes. It becomes colder, sharper, and controlled.

Blackwood is going to pay for what he did. He didn’t break her or take her away from me, but he’s still going to pay. And when Chloe walks out of this house, she won’t carry the memory of him standing over her while she lies helpless on a bed.

She’ll remember him exactly as he is now.

Trapped against the wall and completely at our mercy.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: CHLOE

I watch Spock and Rush drag Steven Blackwood toward the waiting SUV.

His boots scrape over the pavement, his legs barely working beneath him. Spock has one fist twisted in the back of Blackwood’s shirt while Rush grips his arm. Neither man appears to be exerting much effort. They handle him like he’s nothing more than a sack of garbage they’re taking to the dump. I can’t help but smirk at the analogy, because that’s exactly what he is.

The three men who chased me out of the neighboring house and the women who protected me stand in a group on the lawn next door to Blackwood’s house. Hawk, Dice, and Wildcard remain nearby, watching the street and keeping their weapons ready.

Spock jerks open the rear door of the SUV. He and Rush shove Blackwood onto the back seat.

“Wait.”

The word leaves my mouth before I can think better of it.

Spock freezes with one hand on the door. His gaze immediately finds mine.

“You don’t need to talk to him, sweetheart.”

“I know.” I walk closer, forcing my legs to remain steady. “But I need him to answer a few questions.”

Spock studies me for a second before stepping aside. Rush remains next to the open door, blocking any chance Blackwood might have of escaping.

Not that he looks capable of trying.

Blackwood slumps against the seat with blood smeared across his mouth. One eye is already swelling shut, and his shirt hangs crooked from where Spock grabbed him. When he sees me, something disturbingly hopeful flickers across his face.

“Chloe, I can explain.”

I ignore the plea in his voice. “Were you the one who attacked my father and sabotaged the site?”

His expression goes blank as he presses his lips together.

Spock moves so fast I barely see his fist before it connects with Blackwood’s jaw. The crack of the impact makes me flinch. Blackwood collapses sideways across the seat with a strangled groan.

Spock catches the front of his shirt and hauls him upright.