AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He grabs a fist full of my hair and tries to jerk me down.Fuck. Remembering what my father taught me, I twist my body to the side and bring my elbow down onto his face with a loud, drycrack. He whimpers underneath me now, but I'm too far gone to stop. With another bruising hit from my elbow, his hand falls from my hair. I let all of my frustration from the last six months flow from my body with each blow. Each strike is my anger from the previous months. Each jab is my anguish from losing someone I loved from secrets. Another slam is used for my sadness that I am keeping my own secret. Punch after punch, jab after jab, I continue on my journey for self revenge. All the things I wanted to say have surfaced to the top. I’m so into the zone that I don't even hear the door being kicked in until I'm being lifted into the air.
"Let me go!" I scream, my limbs flailing, fists still flying, trying to escape the hands that have me captive.
"Mo ghrá. It's okay. I have you." The mystery person holding me murmurs in my ear.Declan.
My body instantly relaxes, going limp in his arms. The pain from the last few minutes finally catches up with me. My chest heaves, head spins as I try to catch my breath. The more I try, the more it seems impossible with his arms wrapped around my chest. Smacking at his hands, I struggle to break his hold. He doesn’t get the hint even though I’m gasping for air, my lungs begging for release.
“Please… please let me down. I can’t breathe,” I gasp and he immediately lets me go, putting my feet on the ground.
Hunching over, I place my hands on my knees, completely winded. Taking deep breaths, I feel Declans hand rubbing small, soothing circles along my back.
He moves to stand in front of me, squatting down so we are eye level with his hands caressing my arms. “What happened?” He asks softly, his blue eyes full of concern, moving his hands down to my forearms. His fingers draw shapes on my skin, calming me significantly.
“He saw you leave,” I mutter as the adrenaline starts to fade, and I find myself light headed while swaying on my feet. “He was drunk, and when I went to open the door to get him to leave…” I look down at the handprint bruise that’s already forming, the yellowing color is evident on my skin. “Then, I broke his wrist, and he punched me with his ring.” I gesture to my face that’s still bleeding where the ring had hit me. “I don’t know what happened after that because all I saw was red. It was like I just… snapped.”
A low rumble makes its way from deep within Declan's chest. The rumble is relaxing in an odd way. He quickly reaches for me, causing me to flinch slightly from the sudden movement. Hurt flashes across his face, but he quickly shakes it off before he grabs one of my hands and examines my injuries closely.
“You definitely did some damage,” he murmurs, his touch soft as he looks up at me. “We should really get you looked at.”
“No.” I pull my hand away from him, wincing gently with the movement. “I don’t need to be looked at, I have taken care of myself just fine.”
“Natalia, you don’t know if it’s broken,” he interjects, annoyance creeping into his tone.
“I don’t care Declan. I’m not going to the hospital. As I said, I’m fine.” I stand and make my way into the kitchen sink. Running warm water over my knuckles, I look at the extensive cracks in my skin. Sighing deeply, I turn toward Declan. “I have a first aid kit in the bathroom. Go grab it,” I instruct him and he quietly leaves the room without a fight.
He returns with the kit just as Finn walks back into the apartment. Declan gives him a questioning look and Finn nods.
“I killed him, didn’t I?” I ask, raising my eyes to the two men standing across from me.
Finn doesn’t say a word, but the answer is written all over his face. I just shake my head, a little disappointed that I let myself go like that without stopping. Torture is my favorite part, and I don’t even remember much of it.
“He deserved it for touching you.” Declan slams the first aid kit down on the kitchen table, the sudden outburst causes me to jump a bit. “I’m sorry,” he immediately rushes out, his face showing remorse for his explosion.
Shaking off my annoyance and disappointment, I dig through the contents of the bag, looking for something to wrap my hands in for the time being.
“They aren’t broken,” I inform him, flexing my hand slowly. “I’ve had a boxer’s fracture many times. Besides, I mainly got him with my elbow and that doesn’t really hurt.”
“Good,” Finn announces, walking over to me. “Let me help,” he urges. I glance over at Declan who is looking at the spot where Greyson’s body had been, like he wants to bring him back to life just to kill him again.
Nodding slowly, I hand him the supplies to tend to my injuries. My eyes fall to the blood on the floor. It’s splattered around on the walls, hardwood and carpets around the home. It definitely looks like someone was murdered here. The only difference? I beat him to death. Maybe that will teach men to underestimate me again.Assholes.
“We can get someone to clean this up,” Declan mutters, reaching over and placing his hand on my forearm again. “I’ll also have someone fix your door,” he adds, rubbing soothingly with his thumb. “Come and stay with us for the night, and then you can come back after everything is fixed.”
As much as I would love that, sleeping in the same room as him would be too painful. Just the thought has my chest squeezing painfully at the memories that want to resurface. I force them down, my body still tense with unease.
He must sense my hesitation because he quickly adds, “we can get separate rooms, that’s no problem.”
Reluctantly I nod, allowing him to gently pull me to my feet. Once standing, he instructs Finn to grab a bag of clothes for me, and leads me out the door. I go to protest, but he shuts me down with a single heated look. I don’t reply, I just nod. We go down the stairs instead of the elevator and exit through the back door where Finn’s car is waiting. He opens the door for me, and I slide in, scooting over so that he can sit in the back with me.
I’m too tired to even try to fight him or get him to sit somewhere else. We sit in silence for a few moments, waiting for Finn. I turn to him, questions swirling around my head.
“How did you know that something was going on?” I question softly.
“I was coming to try one last time to get you to go home with me…” He looks away, the pain evident in his voice. It kills me to hurt him this way, I just know he’s safer if I don’t come home. It’s safer for everyone. Mostly, it’s safest for my heart. It doesn’t help that the secrets that haunt me are always ready to crawl to the surface.
Finn joins us not long after, putting my bag in the passenger seat. He doesn’t say a word as he begins the drive to their hotel, focusing ahead on the road. Declan’s leg begins to bounce beside me, startling me out of my thoughts. I know it means he’s getting anxious. My hand acts on instinct and gently rests on his thigh, moving softly over his pants to soothe him.
I hear him take in a sharp breath, but I don’t dare look at him. I know the sight will break my heart. Instead, I focus out the window, watching the concrete forest fly by us. Everso gently, I feel Declan place his hand over mine. My stomach starts to flutter, my heart soaring to the stars. Just a simple touch can make my whole body go electric. Too bad it can’t stay like this.
