AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t say a word as everything sank in. Noah hadn’t been truthful. To anyone. He’d told his lawyer the same story as he’d told me. Even though West and Eli had been there, it wasn’t completely their fault that Noah had been arrested.
“Now that you know, do you think we deserved everything you did to West and me?” he asked after a minute of silence.
“I didn’t know,” I blurted out defensively. “Noah made it seem like—”
“I know,” he cut me off. “But it wasn’t the whole truth.”
“What now?” I asked, not understanding what he wanted. “Do we forget about the past and start over now that it’s all out?”
A gleam of amusement danced in his eyes, and his sudden change had me tensing. His grip on my jaw tightened as he leaned closer.
“Start over?” he murmured. “I don’t think so, Kat. Handcuffing me to this pole was your second strike.”
My eyes went cold as his fingers drifted from my chin to my neck. My pulse quickened under his hand when he squeezed my throat nearly to the point that I had to struggle to take a breath. Was I worried he would seriously hurt me? No. But that didn’t stop the swarming panic from being trapped under him.
“And let’s not forget everything else,” he continued quietly. “The fact that you’re still lying about what you were doing at that hotel. And I know there’s a reason you were here tonight, other than dancing.”
I tried to calm my racing heart, knowing he could feel my anxiety as he kept his hand around my neck.
“While I have you here, why don’t you give me the name of whoever helped you with that blog? I need to find out who has it out for me this year, since I know it’s not you this time.”
“No,” I choked out. “They had nothing to do with it.”
He raised an eyebrow. “They? More than one person helped you?”
“No. They as in I’m not telling you if it’s a guy or girl,” I snarked between breaths. “I’d rather not have their death on my hands.”
“I wouldn’t kill them. Especially if they didn’t do it.”
“I’m not telling you.”
“Fine. I’ll find out another time.”
“Get off me, Eli. This conversation is done. You proved your story.”
He smirked. “Make me.”
“What?”
“You got me on my ass at the bar.”
I bristled. “That was completely different.”
“I want to see what you’ve got, Kat.” His grip on my neck stayed firm. “Show me. Or it’s going to be a very long night with you staying right where you are.”
My glare didn’t faze him; his posture changed slightly, as if waiting for me to move. His weight was still on my hips, and his other hand was gripping my wrist tightly. But I had one arm free, while he didn’t since he apparently didn’t want to let go of my neck. I had an advantage with his one arm being cuffed. But last time, I’d surprised him. This time, he was ready for me to try something.
“You think you can get free?” he taunted, the grin not leaving his lips. “I bet—”
I lashed my hand at the inside of his elbow, making his arm bend. He fell toward me, his forehead nearly hitting mine as his hold on my throat faltered. Wrapping my arm around his bicep, I twisted my body while his weight was still shifting off my waist from falling forward. I had enough momentum to roll him off me, and he hit the floor beside me.
I brought my legs up, pushing them against his stomach to create more space between us. If he got on top of me again, I was screwed. He had brute muscle that I couldn’t come close to. He grunted when I dug my heels into his gut, pushing him farther from me. He grasped my ankle, easing the pressure from my heel. Reaching above me, I gripped his index finger that was still holding my other wrist and pulled it back until I was able to free my hand.
“Smart move, Kat,” he muttered. “But I think I still have you beat, even without one of my arms.”
The metal dinged against the pole when he moved to try and grab me again, but I jerked both arms away where his hand couldn’t reach. He caught my gaze as he kept hold of my ankle. He was lying on his side with his trapped arm stretched above him. I sat up, kicking out to get him to release my leg.
He laughed, but it was cut short when I raised my other heel and dug it into the back of his hand. We locked eyes as I waited to see if he’d let go. When he didn’t, I shoved my heel harder into his bone, and he cursed as his grip loosened. I jerked away, scooting back. Before I was out of his reach, he lunged forward, wrapping his arm around both my legs.
