Page 71 of A Worthy Opponent
“He shouldn’t have meddled with what’s mine.”
“I am a person, not a toy. You don’t get to throw a fit that I escaped before you broke me and threw me away.”
Peter holds out a hand. “Come here, baby.”
My heart is simultaneously trying to beat its way out of my ribcage and also cower somewhere around my spine. I don’t want to do this. I don’t, I don’t, I don’t. I know the shape of this trap intimately. I’ve been here before. I can move through the next steps by memory, even after all this time.
Iwill notgo back to this.
I hug my purse tighter to my chest, an inadequate shield if ever there was one. “You’re going to regret this.” My hoarse voice might read like fear but anger rises with each ragged breath. He thinks he can simply pick me up and make me his again because he wants to. That he can kill the man I love and the future I’m desperate for out of spite.
No. I won’t let it happen.
“Don’t make me ask again.” He motions me closer with a tense flick of his fingers.
I don’t know where Nigel’s people are, but they won’t crash through this door in time to prevent what comes next. I’m on my own. If I falter, both Hook and I pay the price.
I’ve never done anything but falter where Peter is concerned.
Not this time. Never again.
It takes every bit of strength I have to move one step closer and then another. To willingly put myself back within his reach again. I don’t make it a third step. Peter moves faster than he has a right to and grabs me, yanking me the last bit of distance and plastering my back to his chest. He’sbuilt shorter and slighter than Hook, but he’s still strong enough to hold me easily in place.
“Do you know what a grease burn does to skin? Especially when it’s good and hot?”
I look down at the pan. The bacon is burnt to a crisp, practically floating in viciously bubbling grease. That kind of thing won’t kill me, but it will hurt like a bitch. It will scar. “You’ll never make it out of this place alive, Peter.” My voice sounds eerily calm, even to my ears. “Hook’s people will kill you first.”
“You and Hook won’t live long enough to enjoy that. No one crosses me without consequences. You know that better than anyone. It’s time to pay the piper, baby.” He nudges us closer to the stove. To the grease-filled pan. “Give me your hand, Tatiana.”
“Okay.” I jerk my hand out of my purse and press my taser to the bare skin of his arm. The volt of energy makes him grip me tighter, but the second I let go of the trigger, he collapses to the floor. I go to my knees next to him and press the taser to his throat. This time, I hold the trigger for a five count, until his eyes roll back in his head. When I lift it away from his skin, he doesn’t move.
I stare down at his unconscious form. It happened so fast. I did it. I fought the monster who’s haunted my nightmares for years. “No one touches me without permission anymore, asshole.” He can’t hear me, but it feels good to say. So fucking good.
Even though I want to rush to Hook, I take a few seconds to pat Peter down. I find a gun tucked into the waistband of his pants and the keys to the cuffs. Onlythendo I climb to my feet. Hook meets me halfway. “I can’t believe you came here.” He’s weaving on his feet in a way that alarms me, but at least he’s moving.
“We don’t have a lot of time. Hold this.” I carefully pressthe gun into his hand and focus on the cuffs. It takes me three tries to fit the key into the lock. I can’t stop shaking. It’s not over, and fear and determination and anger have me in a stranglehold. I toss the cuffs to the ground. “I have to get you out of here.”
“Tink.”
I ignore him and shove the taser back into my purse. “We have to go. Right now.”
“Tink.”
I look up, but he’s not focused on me. He’s focused on something over my shoulder. I desperately don’t want to turn around, don’t want to see my nightmare rising to stand. I open my mouth, but Hook moves before I can say a word. He drags me to his chest, and lifts the gun. A bang. Another. A third. A thump as something large hits the ground.
Silence.
His big hand keeps my face pinned to his chest, but he relaxes the smallest amount. “He’s gone.”
“Hook.” I try to push away, but he doesn’t let me go. “Jameson. I need to see.”
“No.”
It’s tempting, so tempting, to just give in, but I can’t shake the feeling that if I don’t look now, I’ll always be glancing over my shoulder. “Please. I have to.”
“It’s proof that I’m a monster.” He says it so softly, I can’t tell if he’s talking to me or himself. “It was always going to happen, but I thought I’d hesitate.”
“No.” I stop fighting him and pull him closer, as if I can hug him hard enough to chase away that emptiness in his voice. He’s shaking, and it makes my heart ache for him. For both of us. “You arenota monster. You are not like him, Jameson. You’re a good fucking person and a good person does what it takes to protect the protect the people they care about.” I take a slow breath. “Let me see.”
