Page 10 of Savage Knight
“Hello,” said the blonde man silkily.“Who is this delectable morsel you brought us, Evren?”
“Back off, Saxon,” Evren warned.He pulled out a chair for her and she sat, then he took the seat next to her.
“Ah,” Saxon said, looking between them.“I think I’m jealous.”
“Lowen, this is my brother, Jeremiah Delance, and that bonehead is Saxon Bowers.”
“Nice to meet you both,” she responded politely.
Jeremiah sat back, drinking his coffee and studying her.“Lowen, as in Lowen Hayes?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be engaged?”He frowned at Evren.“That’s why you went last night.For the engagement party.”
“I-I’m not marrying him,” she replied before Evren could, heart pounding.Jeremiah Delance was a large, muscular man.To her, those types of men liked to exert their dominance with physical force.She would have to tread carefully.“Truthfully, I wanted to leave and your brother graciously obliged.”
“Have you brought a war to my door, Evren?”
“What would you have me do, Jeremiah?She asked for help.”
“Always gotta be the knight in shining armor, don’t you,” he rebuked.It wasn’t a question.“Scias Mailliard stays on his side of the street and I stay on mine.I have no desire to engage in any type of conflict with him.”
“He’s a bastard,” Evren argued back.
“Agreed,” Jeremiah said harshly.“But it’s not our business!”
Evren surged to his feet.“It ismydamn business.I will never stand aside and ignore a woman when she asks for help.”
Jeremiah redirected his gaze to her.“Miss Hayes, you seem to be very smart.While I don’t blame you leaving that evil son of a bitch, he’s going to want you back.”
Was he implying he would return her?Did she jump out of the frying pan and into the fire?Air suddenly became hard to inhale.Her chest tightened.Everything froze as sheer terror took over and little black dots flashed before her eyes.Arms came around her and she struggled against the confinement.She couldn’t go back.She’d rather die.
“Breathe, Lowen,” Evren murmured softly in her ear.“You’re safe.It’s just me.”
“He’s ...going to s-send me back,” she managed to get out.
“No, he’s not.I would never allow that.”
She tried to drag in a gulp of air, but only managed short gasps.“He’ll punish me if I go back.He’llbreakme, Evren, and he’s already killed me once.Please.Please don’t send me back.I’d rather you kill me right now.”
Someone kneeled beside her, but all she could do was focus on Evren.Then another hand came to rest on her shoulder.
“Lowen,” Jeremiah said gently, and she whimpered.“Lowen, look at me.I would never send you back to him if you didn’t want that.Do you hear me?Please calm down and take a deep breath.Yes, just like that.Good girl.”
She blinked, and the darkness around her vision cleared to see Jeremiah sitting in the chair right next to her.
“He will hurt me worse than death,” she whispered.Perhaps if she could make him understand he’d see just how demented Scias Mailliard was.“When I spilled something on my dress at a restaurant, he beat me so bad I vomited blood for two days.I had to replace my two front teeth when he punched me simply because I talked to a man at a gala we attended.Years of broken bones, scars, abuse.He’s a poison that slowly killed me.”
Jeremiah stared at her intently, clearly digesting what she said.“You’re under our protection now.Okay?”
She studied him and saw the promise in the dark depths of his eyes.Logically, she shouldn’t believe him.All the experience she had with the male species proved their ugly nature, but she had no other recourse.She had to take that leap of faith with these three men because there wasn’t anyone else that could save her.Did she have the courage?
Slowly, she nodded, hoping she wasn’t making a colossal mistake.
Jeremiah rose and returned to his seat, picking up his cup of coffee like her panic attack never happened.
“Are you crazy like me?”Saxon asked.
