AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Matt bares his teeth at me and whips something out of his pocket. It’s a knife. Not a big one, but it’s enough to make me realize just how dangerous this guy is. I thought he was bad before, but now I know there’s no chance I’ll ever let him near Elle again. I can’t. I have to protect my woman at all costs.
“Remember you pushed me to do this,” I growl. And with that, I grab him, ignoring Elle’s cries from across the street as I slam Matt up against the wall. There’s no one around to hear us, and I throw a punch into his stomach, doubling him over. He tries to slash at me with his knife, but he doesn’t know what he’s doing, that much is clear. He misses by a mile and now, his chances are up. With an animalistic battle cry, I throw him down to the ground hard. I can see him giving up, knowing he’s losing the fight, and his knife slips from his hand. I kick it away and then straddle his flailing body, raising my fist high, ready to smash it into his face.
“I don’t want to do this,” I snarl. “But you’re a monster. You’ve scared Elle half to death for the last year. I’m not letting you get away with it anymore. You’re a coward and you don’t deserve to walk away.”
I’m about to throw the final punch that will knock him out when I look up and see Elle has crossed the street. There are tears in her eyes and I know she doesn’t want me to do this. No matter what, she doesn’t want me to be this person. I growl underneath my breath. I can protect her by doing this, or I can take the harder road. I can accept that men will always want to threaten what we have. I can accept that she’s a diamond and every man will try to steal her from me. And I can take on each challenge as it comes. I don’t need to do this. Not here, not now. I witnessed him attaching her outside her dad’s apartment and know he got inside the building without authorization that’s more than enough to put him away and if not I can always find a good lawyer to make it stick.
I glare down at Matt and he glares right back, clearly still ready to fight, but it’s over. He should know that now. I could finish him if I decided to punch now, but I won’t. For her sake, I won’t.
“Today’s your lucky day,” I snarl. “Elle is too good at heart to allow me to do this. But I’m warning you right now, you ever come near her again and I will beat you to within an inch of your life. I could kill you right now, but Elle expects better of me. You back off now and stay away or I’ll make your life hell again. I can break your nose again, no problem. Wise up. It’s over.”
I stand and brush myself off as I leave Matt lying on the street. I know this might not be the last I see of him. He’s determined, that much is clear. But I’m never going to let him get to my woman. I care about her too much to allow her to get hurt.
“Thank you,” she says as we walk away. “I didn’t want to see any more suffering, even after what he did to me. I just want things to be normal.”
“Things will never be normal. You’re too beautiful, men are drawn to you. You’ll always attract attention,” I growl. “But I’ll protect you from it all. I’ll make sure you’re always safe. You don’t need to be afraid.”
“I know,” she whispers. “I know I’ll always be safe with you.”
I wrap my arms around her again as we cross the street. Our car pulls up and I open the door for Elle, helping her in. We set off for the apartment, anticipation boiling inside me once again. The adrenaline is pulsing through my body.
It’ll come in handy for what I have in store for her next.
Chapter Eleven
Elle
As we make it back to Will’s apartment, anticipation holds me captive. I feel like I can barely breathe. I know what going back to his place means, and I can barely wait.
He held my hand the entire way home, and now he squeezes it as he pulls me inside his apartment. Maisie is waiting for us and barks excitedly as we arrive home. Will pets her head, but I know his mind is elsewhere. Mine is too. It’s almost like he’s in a trance as he pulls me through to the bedroom and closes the door behind us, locking us away from Maisie.
