Page 75 of Lilly
His head snaps back at my rare use of theword.
“Excuseme?”
“You heard. Just leave me alone. You’ve already caused me enoughdamage.”
“See, I would have left you alone but it seems you’ve found yourself a replacement and I can’t have that. Either I have you, or no onedoes.”
“Ow,” I complain when he reaches behind, grabs a handful of my hair and pulls so my head snapsback.
“You’re mine, Lilly, and it’s time we showed your new man who you belong to.” He pulls harder. It feels like thousands of needles being pressed into my scalp. “Phone him now. End it,” he demands as he shoves my phone into mychest.
“No.”
“It wasn’t a choice, Lilly. Do itnow.”
“No,” I repeat, although it doesn’t have the same strength behind it this time. His eyes are getting angrier and it makes me more and more aware of how serious this is. He left me for dead last time, but it was only me then. Now, I’ve got more to worry about. I’ve got my babies. The thought makes me wrap my arms around my middle. Jake sees the move though, and his eyes almost pop out of his head as he takes in my protruding stomach. He obviously hasn’t been watching me thatclosely.
“YOU WHORE,” he bellows as his hand connects with my cheek. The force of the hit sends me crashing down to the ground. I cry out in pain as my head connects with the oakflooring.
His hands grasp my upper arms harshly and he drags me back on to myfeet.
“You’re mine. You’re mine. You’re mine,” he chants at me. His eyes have no focus and his hands shake as they holdme.
“Let me go, Jake. We’ll talk,” I say softly, in the hope he’ll be able to see some sense in his drugged-upstate.
“Never,” he growls before he releases me. It’s only for a second though, because one hand grabs me around the neck andsqueezes.
He stares at me with an evil smirk on his face as everything around me starts to get a little hazy. The last thing I remember thinking again is that I don’t want to die with him being the last thing Isee.
I’m aware of a noise. It sounds like a wild animal. Wait, where amI?
Suddenly, the pressure around my neck is gone. My legs are unable to hold me up and I crumble to the ground. One hand goes to my neck while the other holds mybelly.
I hear something metal clatter against the floor, and when I look up, I see a knife skidding across the livingroom.
My eyes snap up in the direction it came from, and my breath catches in my throat at thesight.
Jake’s broken body is cowering in the corner of the kitchen with a very pumped up and angry looking Lucas staring down athim.
Lucas says something to Jake but his voice is so menacingly low that I only catch the end. “The next time I see you, it will be your last.” A shiver runs throughme.
I watch in a daze as Lucas drags Jake’s passed out body from the flat and, I presume, the building because he’s gone for a fewminutes.
I sag back against the wall and the sudden silence allows me to relive what just happened. My entire body begins to shake with my sobs. I wrap my arms around my belly and rock back andforth.
I thought he’d gone. I thought Dec and Taylor sortedit.
The sound of heavy footsteps heading my way has my body on alert again. When I look up and see a familiar suited figure running towards me, my sobs reigniteagain.
“Fuck, Lilly,” Lucas whispers as he pulls me up from the floor and cradles me in his arms. He walks us over to the sofa and sits with me across his lap. He holds me a little too tightly but I don’t complain, I’m just glad it’sover.
Eventually, I need to move, because not only is my head pounding but my throat is throbbing, along with every muscle in mybody.
“No,” Lucas whispers. “I’m not ready. Fuck, Lilly. I’ve seen some crazy shit but that was by far the worst. When I saw him with that knife pulled back, I thought I was going to lose all ofyou.”
When I look up at him, a huge lump forms in my throat. My dominant and ruthless businessman is on the verge oftears.
“I’m okay,” I whisper, because it’s all I canmanage.
