Page 77 of Beast

“Well, well, well…” he says as he moves toward us. “It looks like my day just took a turn for the better.”

He licks his lips. In another life, Gaston is handsome and charming and popular with the ladies. But in this one, his good looks are tinged in evil and he’s clearly psychopathic. I wonder how many people have fallen for his looks only to feel the sting of his cruelty.

Annika turns to me like she doesn’t see him. “Come on, Belle, let’s get out of here.”

But Gaston steps in front of us.

“Aren’t you going to say hello to me, Annika?” Gaston says, then adds. “Ah, that’s right, I’m a Nameless Man now.”

His eyes slide to me, and he licks his lips.

“I’ve been waiting for us to meet again,” he says darkly.

Annika puts herself between him and me. A wall of protection from the man who has already caused so much damage in my life.

She grits her teeth as her gaze meets his. “You stay the hell away from her.”

Gaston’s grin drips with evil. His dark eyes gleam. But he doesn’t respond with words. Instead, his fist flies out of nowhere, and he strikes her against the side of her face, knocking her to the floor.

I gasp and take a step toward her where she’s lying bloody on the ground.

But he shoves his hand out to stop me. “And where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

“She’s bleeding.”

He steps in front of me, and I can feel the menace radiating off him. His scent peels back the memories in my brain to when he had me bent over the table and was about to rape me.

Barely able to breathe, I take a step away from him, but he comes closer until I am pressed up against the counter. “Stay away from me.”

He reaches for a lock of my hair and twists it around his finger. “We got interrupted the last time we met. I’m looking forward to finishing what I started.” He brings his face closer and whispers in my ear, “I’m going to enjoy defiling Beast’s fiancée.”

My heart pounding, I reach out and grab the closest thing I can find to arm myself. It’s a bottle of wine. I smash it againstthe counter and shove the jagged glass dangerously close to his jugular vein.

“Whoa there, baby girl,” he coos, like we’re having a lovers’ spat, and he expects to talk himself out of the situation. Desire flares in his black eyes. He’s fucking enjoying this. Instead of repelling him, the psychopath is getting off on me pressing a broken bottle to his neck.

“I told you to stay away from me.” I press a pointy end of glass into his skin and draw blood.

Annika slowly lifts herself off the floor, but my pulse is racing so hard I barely register that she’s moving toward the baseball bats lining the wall.

She arms herself with one.

But thankfully neither of us have to use our weapons because the bell over the door rattles and someone walks in, and relief seeps into every pore when I see it is the sheriff.

Immediately, Annika lets her bat-swinging arm drop to her side. But Gaston doesn’t move. He just stands there, those black eyes burning straight into my soul.

“What the fuck is going on here?” the sheriff demands.

Only then does Gaston move. He swings around to look at the sheriff, a charming smile lighting up his face. “Ain’t nothing but fun and games, Sheriff.”

“Don’t look like fun and games to me,” the sheriff says, bringing his gaze to me. “You okay? Although, that broken wine bottle tells me you’re not. Want to tell me what’s going on?”

But my throat has closed over with cold fear. I try to swallow but my throat is tight.

“We were talking and things got…” Gaston looks at the jagged wine bottle in my hand and smiles. “Spicy.”

I drop the rest of the bottle and it smashes on the floor beside his feet. But I don’t drag my eyes from him. “You come near me again, I’ll kill you.”

I don’t even recognize the words that leave my lips. But they vibrate violently between us.

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