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"Make the deal."
"Vera, are you okay?"
The sob came unbidden, and before I knew it, I was crying outright.
"I can call the police?"
The police and the monster they could bring back into my life were the last things I needed. "No. Just make the deal."
"I'll call his lawyer now."
Thirty minutes later, Melissa emailed me to let me know they'd accepted my terms. Dragging myself into the shower, I dressed for bed, then curled under my blanket with Netflix.
Dosing when I heard the knock at the back door, I considered getting up to answer it. Changing my mind, I closed my eyes. An emotional wreck after the day, the last thing I wanted to do was talk to Dale. Instead, I drifted off to a place where men didn't control me, beat me, or hurt me while claiming to love me.
* * *
Strong hands caresseddown my body. A hungry mouth created a wet path down my midsection. Then Dale's afternoon shadow scratched across my tender folds.
"I've wanted you from the moment we met."
Biting my lip, I clutched my fingers in Dale's thick dark hair. My hands tingling with the contact.
"I'm going to make you cry my name so you will think of no other man but me."
My temperature was rising, my body aching for him. A lash of his tongue, I cried for mercy. Growling, Dale lapped at my heat. Moaning, I squirmed beneath him, biting my lip to resist crying out his name until it mattered.
A growl echoed through my room, startling me. Opening my eyes expecting Alpha, I shrieked to find Malcolm standing over me. His eyes were angry, his hands busy winding his belt around his fist, so the buckle hung down.
"Did you think I wouldn't find out you were still alive, Viridia?"
Whimpering, I shuffled up against the bed head as he shook his head.
"Dreaming of another man? First, you try to kill me, then you betray me."
"Malcolm..."
"I loved you, and you attacked me!" Raising his arm, Malcolm swung it back down with all his strength. As the buckle connected with my ribs, I heard a loud crack and pain lanced through my side. I screamed.
* * *
The pain startled me awake,and I struggled to breathe. Touching my side, I panicked when my fingers came away with blood. Staring wide-eyed at my fingers, I checked my room. It was empty, everything as it had been, but breathing hurt and I was bleeding where the buckle connected.
Struggling through immense pain, I made my way to the bathroom and lifted my singlet top. Black bruising covered the side of my ribs, and a cut was weeping. Strangling down my scream of anguish, I moved gingerly to my bed to find my phone.
"Vera?" Jeremy's voice came over the line, half asleep.
It was hard to stop crying long enough to talk. "I, I think I need a doctor."
Wide awake now, Jeremy's voice lost the sound of sleep. "What?"
More sobs burbled from my throat. "He found me."
"Are you at the cottage?"
"Yes."
"We'll be there in a moment."
