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“He’s agitated,” I snapped. “Enough that Hazel wants to call security. You don’t need to go down there, I can handle it.”
“No!” she hissed. Frank raised his eyebrows at me, and I blanked him completely.
“You can’t go down there, Lydia, you don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“That’s just the thing,” she said, eyes full of panic. “I think I do.” She was on her heels in a heartbeat, slipping out through the door. I made to follow but she raised her hand, her gesture tense. “I mean it, James, don’t follow me.”
I sat down, heart thumping in my chest. It was Frank who made the call for me.
“Well, I dunno about you, James, but I think we should get on down there, find out what the hell’s going on.”
I didn’t need prompting twice.
***
A crowd was already gathering by the time we arrived on the scene. The girls from admin were pretending to use the franking machine, keeping beady eyes on the action. Hazel was rooted firmly behind her desk, staring openly at the argument in front of her.
“Not here, Stuart!” Lydia spat. “We can take this outside or you can piss off home, this is mywork.You have no right to be here!”
Frank hung back, letting me tackle the fall-out. “Are you ok, Lydia?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
She paled on sight of me, eyes wide and skittish. “It’s fine,” she hissed. “I’m handling it.”
I took in the figure that was Stuart Dobson. He was toned, but a little lanky, with a trendy-rockerish mop of sandy blonde hair that was far too young for his age. He was angry too, really fucking angry. I felt my hackles rise. “Stuart, right?” I said. “I’m James Clarke, Chief Technology Officer, we were in the middle of a meeting, so if you wouldn’t mind…”
“You’re James Clarke?” he said, and there was rage in his eyes, real fucking rage.
“Leave, James,” Lydia said. “Please, I’ve got this.”
Stuart turned towards her, eyes wild. “That’shimis it? That’s the fucking sicko that beat the shit out of you?”
“Fuck off, Stuart!” she screeched. “You have no idea what the hell you’re talking about! Get out!” She lunged for him, but he was stronger, twisting her arm behind her back and knocking her off balance. She toppled into him, and he held her tight, yanking up the hem of her skirt before she could even try and fight him. I heard the intake of breath from the room, watched the letters fall from Zena’s hand at the franking machine. Lydia’s thighs were streaked purple, even through her flesh-tone tights. Stuart Dobson was pissed, his nostrils flaring with rage. He spun around the room, until his eyes landed back on mine.
“It was this sonofabitch!” he yelled. “This sick fucking sonofabitch hurt my Lydia. He beat the fucking shit out of her! Tell them, Lydia, fucking tell them what he did to you.”
She elbowed him hard in the ribs, gasping for breath as he let her go. Her eyes were as wild as his, but wild with fear. “Leave me alone, Stuart!” she screamed. “FUCK OFF!”
“I won’t fucking fuck off!” he boomed. “I’m not leaving you with that fucking monster! You can’t fucking love him, Lydia, not after that!” He reached out for her again, snaring her arm and dragging her towards him.
I broke my stance, pacing out towards him. “Let her go,” I seethed. “She doesn’t want to go with you.”
“Fuck you!” he thundered. “How fucking dare you, you piece of shit? You’re not in Brighton now, you sick motherfucker. You can’t hole her up in some hotel room for your sick little fantasies this time. I won’t fucking have it!”
“Let her go, Stuart.” The beast flared in my veins, screaming for release. “Let Lydia go right now, or so help me God, you’ll wish you had.”
I breathed in relief as he dropped her arm. She scuttled over, eyes wide with horror and shame.
Stuart weighed me up for size. “You want a piece of me, hey? Want to pick on someone your own size, you sadistic piece of shit?”
“Get out,” I hissed. “Clear the fuck out of here.”
“Make me,” he fronted. “Come on, hard man, fucking make me!”
Lydia’s fingers were on my arm. I brushed her away on instinct. “Please, James,” she said. “Leave it, he’s not worth it.”
“COME ON!” Stuart goaded. “You think you’re fucking hard, do you? Lydia doesn’t even know how to fight back!”
“Shut up!” she screeched. “Let’s go, James!”
