Page 267 of Romeo

There was nothing uncontrolled about it. Every word came out low and deliberate, as though the rage underneath was being held in place by force.

The man stared at him. “You again.”

Jasper hit him.

The sound made me flinch.

I stared at them, trying to understand words that didn’t seem to fit anywhere.

You again.

What did I tell you?

My mind caught them and dropped them just as quickly. My shoulder hurt. My wrist hurt. My legs wouldn’t stop trembling.

And Jasper was here.

That was the only thing my mind seemed willing to hold on to.

Jasper caught the man’s jacket again and hauled him upright. “What part of stay the fuck away from her didn’t you understand the first fucking time? Did I need to use smaller words?”

He struck him again, and the man doubled over.

“I gave you one fucking chance.”

“You’re fucking crazy,” the man gasped.

Jasper’s answer was a laugh that sounded nothing like him. “You have no fucking idea.”

Then the man looked at me.

Jasper followed his gaze.

Everything changed.

The rage was still there. I could see it in the tight line of his jaw, the rigid set of his shoulders, the fist still curled at his side. But he looked at me, and suddenly none of that mattered as much as whatever he saw.

“Fiona.”

The way he said my name broke something inside me.

My knees gave.

Jasper hit the man again and reached me before I hit the ground.

I heard footsteps running somewhere behind him. Felt Jasper turn slightly as if the sound pulled at him, but I grabbed the front of his cut and whatever decision he might have made disappeared.

His arms closed around me.

“I’ve got you.”

I buried my face against his chest.

The shaking that had started in my legs spread through the rest of me so violently I couldn’t control it. My fingers twisted into his shirt, holding too tightly, but Jasper didn’t try to loosen them.

“I’ve got you, Ma Belle,” he murmured into my hair. “You’re okay. I’m right here.”

I couldn’t answer.