Page 103 of Nanny for the Cowboy

My throat is tight as I try to swallow, the lump there getting stuck and nearly choking me.

“I—”

“You what? You were on your way?” Kyle scoffs. “Hardly. You didn’t listen to me, didn’t take me seriously. I’ve had to drag myself halfway across the country to bum-fuck nowhere. And now…”

He’s closing in again. Why aren’t I running?

“You’re going to come back and fix the mess you’ve caused.”

Something about his words finally clicks, and I shake my head. “No, I’m not going back there, especially not with you. You can’t threaten people like it’s nothing, Kyle.”

“Threaten?” He leans in, his stare wide and unhinged. “You ruin my career. You ruin my marriage, my life. You come out here and act like it’s nothing! This isn’t about threatening you, Clover. This is retribution. Youoweme.”

Nausea clusters in my gut, growing more and more intense as I see just how far Kyle has fallen. He’s not the man I remember.

Or maybe it’s that Kyle’s true face is showing.

Taking another step backward, tiny and insignificant, I finally let go of the doorknob. I slide my hand to the other side of the door. I can slam it. I just need to slam it closed and lock it.

“I’m sorry, Kyle. But Itrulydidn’t do what you’re saying. You need to be honest with yourself about how we ended up here. Please take a step back. Think about what you’re doing before?—”

“Don’t condescend to me, bitch.” The words come out in a furious bite, ripping into my nerves. “You will pay for what you did. You’re going to help me land this job, and then you’re done for. You think I’ll let it slide that you ruined me? Huh! Oh no. Your reputation, your career? Done for.”

Self-preservation rings loudly in my mind. Kyle isn’t going to listen to reason. I need him out of here. Gripping the edge of the door, I begin to push it between us before Kyle’s foot stops it.

“You need to leave. I don’t want you here.” I shove harder on the door, which does nothing. “If you don’t leave right now, I’m calling the cops.”

That was apparently not the thing to say because Kyle slams a hand against the panel that’s only slightly separating us. It shoves back out of my grasp.

“Oh, are you now?” Kyle glares, all rage and threats. “You fucking bitch. I’m not letting you take me down. I knew I should have left you in the fucking dust. And this is the thanks I get for bringing you up in this industry, huh? Bah!”

I flinch back, reaching for the door to slam it. “Leave! Stay away from me!”

But Kyle snatches out a hand faster than I’ve ever seen him move, grabbing my wrist. “If you think for one second I’m not willing to drag you out of here, you’re wrong. There isnothingI won’t do to get you to pay for what you did to me.”

Kyle’s fingers squeeze, forcing the bones in my wrist toward each other. I yelp, the pain intense, and I try to tear my hand out of his grasp. I’m thrashing as he tries to pull me through the door, using my other hand to grab onto the frame.

“Help!”

That’s when I hear the heavy thud of boots. In a blur, Brooks rushes up from inside the apartment. Our eyes meet, and I scream for him with both my words and expression.

“Brooks!”

Kyle looks up just as he reaches us, and Brooks shoves his way between me and Kyle, launching his fist forward. It collides with Kyle’s face, and his head jacks backward.

I’m in shock as I fall forward, doing my best to catch myself so I don’t wind up hitting the floor with my face. The sound of fighting finally gets my attention, and I spin around to see Brooks leveling another punch to Kyle’s gut.

He doubles over, coughing, but Kyle recovers quicker than I would have imagined, and he glares at Brooks, his stare wild.

“You think you can protect her? Your fucking whore! She took everything from me.”

I can’t understand what I’m hearing. Kyle has never been like this, but some part of me knows that apparently, after all this time, I really don’t know him.

How could he be like this? Why didn’t I see it?

There’s been a darkness in him for as long as I’ve known him, but this side of Kyle is the worst. He’s never been what I would call “sweet” or “compassionate,” but it’s clear to me now that Kyle’s cruelty, his rash actions, know no bounds.

“Are you okay?”

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