Page 86 of Unexpected Love

“Is that part of that story you mentioned earlier?” I ask a few moments later, trying to lighten the mood but failing miserably.

“Yeah.” Her eyes follow Walt as he moves behind the bar, getting drinks and chatting with customers. “He looks different.”

“Well, sixteen years will do that to a person.”

“No.” She studies him a few moments longer before she speaks again. “He looks sick.”

I look at Walt, watching him for a bit, and realize that Abbey isn’t wrong. I may have only known Walt for a little over two months, but he looks thinner than he did when I first met him. And the bags under his eyes are far more pronounced than I’ve ever seen them.

“It’s probably stress.” My brows draw in, concern for Walt running through me. “He was supposed to see his son around Christmas, but something happened, and they couldn’t make it work.”

Abbey makes a non-committal sound, her eyes never leaving Walt.

The sound of Quinn calling our names pulls our attention from the bar. Linking my arm with Abbey’s, we go to the table for some quality girl time—something I didn’t realize I was missing until taking my seat.

“I’ll be right back.”I laugh as I push myself from the booth we’ve been sitting in for the last few hours.

“Where are you going?” Emily asks, barely catching her breath from the story Quinn just told.

“Bathroom.”

“You want someone to come with you?”

“No, I’m good. You stay and enjoy some more laughs at my brother’s expense.”

I make my way to the bathroom, a smile plastered on my face. I may not have thought of the idea for a ladies’ night, but it was exactly what I needed.

As I step out of the bathroom and into the back hallway of Murphy’s, I pull my phone out of my back pocket. I’m surprised I haven’t felt it go off more than a few times since Quinn and Emily showed up at the bookstore.

Gage

Have fun tonight. I love you.

All right, I know it was supposed to be ladies’ night, but Declan and Caleb have convinced me it’s okay that we crash the last hour of your night.

Please don’t be mad at me!

I can’t stop the chuckle that falls from my lips. I check the time of his last text and see that he sent it ten minutes ago, meaning he’s probably already here.

I’m slipping my phone into my back pocket when a body presses against my back. A hand comes up to cover my mouth and the other grabs one of my wrists as the person pushes me against the wall opposite the bathroom door.

It’s such a cliché, the bathroom being at the end of a dark hallway, but it’s a cliché because it’s true—even at Murphy's, there's no one around.

“I told you this wasn’t over.” A shiver runs up my spine at the anger in Brian’s voice.

My head falls forward against the wall in front of me in defeat for only a moment before my entire body stiffens. I won’t make this easy for him, and I’ll fight with everything I have.

“Scream, and I’ll make this so much worse for you,” he seethes in my ear. The grip he has on my wrist tightens to thepoint of searing pain as he roughly moves it to be sandwiched between my body and the wall, exactly where my other arm is.

“Let me make something very clear for you; if you don’t come back to Boston with me and your parents tonight, I’ll hurt everyone you care about.” His body shifts just enough for him to fit his hand between me and the wall before he uses his weight to hold me in place again. “Your brother.” His hand snakes down my stomach to the button on my jeans. “Your boyfriend.” He slips the button free and roughly pulls at the zipper. “Everyone in the Marks family.”

His hand is still over my mouth, but I manage to turn my head and look toward the end of the hallway. It’s a Friday night, and the bar is plenty crowded. Someone will be coming this way; they have to.

Gage is here and has to be wondering where I am. There’s no way he didn’t ask where I was the second he saw me missing from the table. I just need to make it a few more minutes.

“You know how powerful my family is, how wealthy we are. I don’t have an issue spending my wealth to make their lives more than miserable.” His hand slips to the top of my panties.

“Please,” I beg from behind his hand, tears welling in my eyes. I hate that he can see these tears, but I can’t stop them.

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