Page 39 of Break

There’s a pause in both of us as he stares at it, his lips moving as he tries to read it.

And then, a strong hand grips his shoulder and flings him off me likes he weighs nothing.

My vision is hazy as the tears brim my eyes, but I know who it is.

Warm, callused hands cup my cheeks and dark eyes stare into mine. Eyes that haunted me for so long but now bring me relief. I hardly believe my own emotions, but every cell in my body yearns for him to pull me into his arms, to shield me from unexpected danger.

“Knox,” I whisper, and his touch vanishes, but his voice quickly fills the void.

“You touched her?” Knox’s voice echoes in the room.

I blink away the blur and try to close the shirt Jared ripped apart, my chest quickly rising and falling with anxious breaths.

Jared tosses up his hands quickly. “Nothing happened, man.”

Knox’s gaze finds me again, a question lingers, and I swallow hard, knowing all too well what my answer will unleash.

My fingers tighten around my broken shirt and I shake my head.

That’s all he needs before his face whips back to Jared and his fist slams into Jared’s jaw.

Jared grunts in pain and flails backward, not expecting the blast to his face. By the time he steadies himself, Knox drives a punch into his stomach, making him wheeze as the air leaves his lungs.

With a furious shout, Knox strikes him in the face again, knocking Jared onto the ground before lunging at him with his fist raised once more.

I flinch with every pound, with every toss of Jared’s body.

“Please stop,” I whisper as Jared’s body fades away beneath Knox’s.

I edge closer, reaching with my hand for Knox’s right shoulder, hoping he will stop. But even as my touch grazes over his skin, even as I hold down his shoulder, he doesn’t even feel me.

All he feels is his own rage, his need to destroy who hurt what’s his. He probably doesn’t even feel the blood splattering on his knuckles or his face.

Dimitri, Jaxon, they can stop him.

Before he kills Jared.

I rush out of my office and run through the dimly lit hallways, only hearing my own rapid breathing and the sharp, quick sounds of my sneakers hitting the floor. Air breezes up through the gap in my ripped shirt, blowing over my bare skin and making a chill race up my spine.

In a time when I’m so exposed, I don’t feel like that. Strangely, I feel more protected than ever before.

Just as I round the corner, I catch Dimitri standing in the lobby on his phone.

“Knox!” I yell out with tears brimming my eyes. “You have to stop him!”

Dimitri’s head snaps up and Jaxon comes in sight. With one glance at me, they run up to me, but I keep backing as I try to catch my breath.

“What happened? Who did this?” Jaxon is the first to ask as he pinches the fabric of my shirt between his fingertips.

“He’s going to kill him,” I breathe out, and they both look over my shoulder before they take of in the direction I was coming from.

The adrenaline fades, and even though I try to keep up with the guys, I wonder if they can stop Knox. Jared could already be dead for all I know. Because Knox is the definition of vicious when it comes to a fight, and the others know that.

There’s this scary silence when I finally make it back to my office and I carefully step inside. My desk is broken in half, my laptop smashed to bits, and there isn’t a single piece of furniture that has survived.

Goosebumps trail over my arms as I stare at Knox. His eyes are on me. Blood coats his cheek and hands. He’s holding Jared down by his recovered shoulder, and all that comes from Jared are soft whimpers as blood drips from his lips to the ground.

His eyes are swollen shut and there’s no strength left in his body. He coughs, and blood flecks his bottom lip and chin. All the work I’ve done to rehabilitate him is all gone. All for nothing because he decided that he could make mehis.

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