Page 57 of With a Broken Wing
Two steps later, I crashed into a muscular wall and stopped, falling back onto the sidewalk. Looking up, my heart stopped, and my throat closed.
“Happy birthday, princess,” he said, with a smile pulling his lips tight across his teeth.
“No,” I gasped, stumbling to get back to my feet.
“Oh, yes.” He closed in on me. “You’re paying me today in one way or another.” His sinister smile stretched wider against his cheeks.
He stepped closer to me, and when I matched his movement backwards, my back met the cold brick building. If he was going to hit me, I was going to take it the only way I knew how. I closed my eyes and held my breath.
Andy coweredagainst the brick wall, her eyes wide with terror. She gave a shrill gasp, and my feet were instantly carrying me towards the bathrooms. Any color in her cheeks had completely drained. The man who framed her against the wall towered over her, but he was thin. Long, dark hair hung in a ponytail down his back. Tattoos on his knuckles spelled outKILL YOU.
“Fisher, please. I’m sorry,” she whined.
The crack in her voice broke my daze, and as quickly as the red filter clouded my vision, I had the man’s hair wrapped around my fist and I was pulling him backwards. He grunted when I turned and slammed his body into the brick.
“What thefuck?” he shouted.
“It was stupid of you to come here,” I snarled, moving my grip to his throat and tightening it. His head hit the wall hard when I forced him back. “Did you think you’d get what you came here for?”
He laughed. “It’s funny you think I didn’t.” His voice sounded strained against my chokehold, but his eyes flickered as he looked around, likely looking for Andy. He gave a sinister smile, and I squeezed harder.
His cheeks turned darker red the tighter I closed my fist until he parted his lips with a choking sound. For good measure, I squeezed a little harder, pulling him away from the wall before slamming him back against it.
“Listen to me close, you worthless piece of shit. If you come near my girl again, if you so much as look at her or speak her name, I will fucking kill you.” I pulled him forward and slammed his head harder back against the brick again. “And it won’t look like a fucking accident.”
His eyes started to roll into the back of his head, but I didn’t release him. I was looking for a reason not to end his life right here. An image of the look of horror in Andy’s eyes crossed my mind, and it was his lucky day. Spitting in his face, I let him go.
“Leave,” I snarled at him when he fell to the sidewalk. “Now. Before I change my mind and kill you after all.”
He rubbed at his neck, massaging the areas that would be bruised by the morning. “You wouldn’t,” he said, rising to his feet. “Not when your preciousgirlis gone.”
The words froze me in place, but I turned my head. A small crowd had gathered around us. William and Auston stood close behind, and Auston looked like he wished he could’ve been the one with Fisher’s neck in his hand. His fists were clenched tight at his sides. Others stood behind them, and I realized the fireworks had stopped.
He was right, though. I didn’t see Andy anywhere. When I turned back around, Fisher was still laying on the ground against the wall. I glared, and he jumped to his feet, stumbling away.
“There’s nothing to see here.” Jules jumped in, breaking up the crowd. “We’ll get the fireworks going again here in a minute. Sorry for the interruption.”
I felt a wave of appreciation for my sister-in-law, who was surprisingly able to keep her cool while I panicked internally. William and Auston still stood close by, ready to make sure Fisher didn’t come back.
“Did you see where she went?” I asked them, still scanning the crowds for a flash of red hair.
“When we heard the commotion, she was already gone. It was just you choking that dirtbag. I haven’t seen her.” William clapped his hand against my arm in support.
Auston shoved his phone back into his pocket with a grumble. “She isn’t answering her phone either.” His voice was thick with panic, and I tried not to let it pour over to me.
“When did she leave?” Jules asked, rejoining the group once the small crowd was settled back on the lawn.
“I-I don’t know. I heard her crying, and when I saw her pinned between that prick and the wall, I just… I saw red. I didn’t see her take off or any of you come over. I-I don’t know.” My voice was coming out faster than intended. I couldn’t hide my panic. Could the sound of my adrenaline be heard by everyone?
Jules ran her hand up and down my arm in an attempt to comfort me. “Maybe she went back to the penthouse?”
“Why don’t you go check?” William said, handing me his key. “We’ll keep looking around here.”
With a curt nod, I grabbed his keys and then looked at Auston. Maybe he should go, and for a second, I considered telling him that. He was her brother, and from what he’d told me earlier, he was the one to always save her. But when he jerked his head towards the parking lot, I took off running.
My feet carriedme into Jules’s entryway before my knees locked. I stumbled to the floor, chasing a full breath I couldn’t catch. I thought of the way Fisher’s eyes were full of malice, and I could still feel the cool brick on my back.
The room was spinning. Warm tears welled up. Everything went black.
