Page 86 of Liam

Jeezus.

"Stop." I gripped his arm and scrabbled at it to try to pull him away. I dug in my fingers, my nails scratching his skin, but he didn't care. He was fucking choking me.

Tears ran down my cheeks.

My legs danced a chaotic jig as I clawed at his flesh. I felt like a marionette on a string.

"You bring them in here and manipulate them! Your kind can't have kids, so you have to recruit ours! The whole lot of you should get the death penalty!"

I sucked in the best breath I could manage. My temples pounded. I fought harder, prying at his fingers and shoving his chest. In an instant, he withdrew, leaving me gasping for air.

He grabbed one armrest of my wheelchair with both hands and set his stance.

Please, no.

He hauled on my chair and sent me crashing onto the floor. "Fucking crippled faggot!"

Fiery pain shot through my shoulder and across my back. I couldn't move to avoid him, but I tried to protect myself with one hand as his hard boot slammed into my gut.

A new kind of agony radiated up my chest and into my spine and groin.

"Stay away from Peter!"

I pressed my cheek against the floor, clutching at the gritty wooden planks to ground myself as he left me to spiral off an adrenaline high and plunge into the icy pools of cognition.

I could have died.

The front doors slammed shut.

I'm not sure how long I lay there sobbing.

I thought that was going to be the end. Strangled in my office after surviving a horrendous accident and finally getting my life back. Not only that, but I'd found love again.

I tried to swallow fully but my neck was sore where his hand had been. I stroked the tender skin with my fingers where I knew bruises were likely blooming.

Who's Peter?

I closed my eyes. From my place on the floor, I could hear the heat click on.

Like the world would have gone on without me.

I lifted my head, pinching my eyes shut as pain radiated through my neck. The armrest of my wheelchair was digging into my hip, causing increasing pain. I'd have a vicious bruise there for sure. I tried to push up on my arms but the shoulder I had landed on screamed at me. I was stuck. I wouldn't be able to get back into my wheelchair on my own. I could call 9-1-1 to help me but my injuries went beyond what my body had endured.

I fished my phone out of my pocket, found the number, and pressedcall.

"Jamal?" His was the voice I needed to hear.

"Liam … I need you."

I started crying. I knew I'd find comfort in his arms. He was the only one I could be this vulnerable around. I trusted him more than I had realized.

Courage surged through me.

I trusted him enough to expose my beating heart to him.

Chapter Nineteen | Liam

Mamma sat across from me, twirling her coffee cup on the table. She'd called me this afternoon and asked me to meet with her. Ethan's coffee shopSalish Caféwas holding its weekly open mic night for writers, so they didn't close until late. We'd agreed to meet here after dinner.

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