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Travis lunges for Nick again, but Quinn is quick to pull him back as he struggles to get loose. Travis’ veins are bulging out of his neck, and he’s lost his self-control. There’s enough testosterone in this room to fuel a nuclear submarine.
Trembling, I clasp the blanket tighter around my naked body and I scramble from the bed, but my legs get tangled up in the blanket, making me stumble and fall to the floor. I scoot back and huddle myself against the wall.
He’s ruining my plans. All of them are ruining my plans. They need to go away! Blood rushes through my veins with anger now as reality begins to catch up with me. My plans are slipping through my fingers. They had no right to barge in here like this. The glory and the revenge were mine, not his. Rage fills me. I feel like a highly prized animal, one that these men keep playing tug of war with. They act as if they each have the right to own me.
I lower my head, withdrawing into myself as my blonde hair spills over my eyes, creating a veil. A set of heavy, dark boots come into view, and I know it’s Travis. He squats down to get on my level, resting his elbows on his knees as his voice approaches me with extreme caution.
“Jules, it’s me. You’re going to be okay now,” he assures me.
Travis leans in a little closer, his very presence making me lose my breath. The air grows stale in my lungs, and I can't breathe. He holds out his hand in a gesture for me to take the lifeline. My chest constricts with pain. I have no life. There is no rescuing me from my hell.
I shake my head back and forth, whispering a despondent, “No, go away.”
“Jules, it's me,” Travis pleads.
I lift my chin in defiance, narrowing my eyes on him, sounding harsh this time, “Go away, Travis. Leave us be.”
His stone wall has crumbled, leaving him exposed as a look of distress and pain flash across his eyes. I’ve shocked him.
He shakes his head, refusing to believe me. “You don't mean that, sweetheart,” he whispers, and then repeats, “You don't mean that.”
“Leave Nick and me alone.” The anger in my tone cannot be mistaken.
Travis’ eyebrows narrow, and he stands and stumbles back a step as if I’ve slapped him. A large man dressed in the same black outfit as everyone else squeezes Travis’ shoulder. “Let me handle her.”
I hear a soft chuckle coming from the other side of the room, and I know it is Nick. His laughter becomes sinister as he proceeds to arrogantly tell Travis, “Don’t you see, Travis? She wants me. She’s always wanted me.” Then his voice rises in anger as he bellows, “She chose me!”
Quinn’s deep voice cuts through the chaos. “Take him out of here…now.”
The last thing I hear Nick say as they escort him out the door is, “Has she told you that she loves you yet, Travis? She told me. Why don’t you ask her about it?”
Suddenly, Travis has found his bearings, and his voice. “I’ll fucking kill him!” he grits out, and then he makes a move for Nick.
“Jackson, stand the fuck down!” someone bellows from the doorway, his words slicing through the air with finality.
“You fucking went rogue, didn’t you?” The man punches the wall beside him with his fist, the sound of drywall crackling from the force. Anger doesn’t even begin to describe what this man is feeling. “I fucking knew it!” His face twists in fury.
Travis turns around and squares off, confronting the burly man with hands balled into fists. “I answer to no one. You knew that when you hired me, and you didn’t seem to mind that when my life was hanging in the balance every day.”
Quinn pushes the stranger aside and squats down in front of me. Travis stalks off toward the man standing by the door, and their conversation dissipates in the background as soon as Quinn reaches out to me. His rich blue eyes pierce mine as if he’s trying to hypnotize me. “Let me help you,” he softly whispers.
I stare blankly into his eyes. There is no help for me now.
I close my eyes and shut the world out, letting my hair spill back over my face. I start to rhythmically rock myself back and forth.
So many people are talking and arguing, and it’s too much auditory stimulation. It all blends together, and I grab at my tousled hair and tug at the roots. I’ve slipped deep inside my own head, and into a crazy state of mind. I’m drowning in the darkness, and there is no climbing my way back out of this black hole.
Quinn tries to whisper something to someone, but his deep voice carries, “She’s going to need some help, Travis. I’m talking serious help.”
