Page 96 of Sweet Temptation (Men of Honor 2)
I nod. Darn, what am I goin’ to do? Think fast, Grace.
I have to give Sawyer a sign. As terrified as I am for him, I have to trust that he will be able to get us out of this.
“Grace! Do not make me break down this fucking door. You know I will.”
A low whimper falls from my lips as I’m pulled to my feet by my hair. “I mean it, not one wrong fucking move,” he threatens quietly in my ear.
As I get to the door, he stays behind me and shoves the gun painfully into the back of my head.
“Sawyer?” his name falling as a sob, I stop and try to pull myself together.
“Grace, baby, please don’t cry. Let me in. Let me explain.”
Of course he thinks I’m cryin’ over him. What a stupid, stupid reason for getting mad at him.
Taking deep breaths, I try to form words, “Sawyer, you need to leave… “No! I’m not fucking leaving until you hear me out!”
I feel the gun press harder into my head with warning.
Think Grace… .
“Please, Sawyer. Go back to yours and Cooper’s apartment. We can talk about what happened with Kayla tomorrow, I promise.”
He goes silent…
Please, please let him understand what I’m sayin’.
I wait for his response. “Fine, tomorrow. But know this, I’m not fucking going anywhere, Grace. We will be dealing with this.”
Do his words hold meaning too?
I hear the pounding of his shoes down the front steps as he leaves, then his truck starts up a minute later.
Oh no, where’s he goin’?
Suddenly, I’m yanked back by my hair, a second before a painful blow gets delivered across my face, knocking me to the ground. I don’t even have time to get my bearings before Miguel’s brother is on top of me again.
Sweat beads across his forehead, and his face is pale as blood spills from the gash in his neck. “Time for you to suffer the same fate as your mother, just like Miguel wanted,” he threatens shakily.
Wiping the sweat that’s falling into his eyes, he puts his gun on the table behind me. “After I’m done fucking you, I will stab you thirty-eight times instead of the thirty-seven your mom got. The last blow that will take your fucking life will be for Emilio.”
Oh god, Sawyer, where are you?
Grabbing my thin sweater he tries to rip it, but it barely tears, ripping only past my breasts to hang off my shoulder.
Realizing how weak he is, I start fighting with every bit of strength I possess. I kick, scream and scratch. “No! Stop! Get off of me!”
I barely register the enraged roar. One minute his weight is crushing me, his hands roughly grabbing at my clothes, then the next I feel nothing, my hands hitting only air.
“You motherfucker! I’m going to fucking kill you!”
Rolling to the side, I see Sawyer on top of Miguel’s brother, his expression savage as he delivers blow after blow to his face. His fists fast and deadly.
“Sawyer, stop!” I scream, worried he’s really going to kill him.
Stopping his blows he pulls a gun and shoves it under the guy’s chin. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t blow your fucking brains out right now.”
Oh God.
“Sawyer, please don’t!”
He ignores me, his arm shaking from restraint at not pulling the trigger. “Who the fuck are you!”
I’m just about to explain who he is when the guy smiles maliciously from his beaten and bloody face. “I’m the guy who’s going to fuck and chop your girlfriend into a million…”
Not letting him finish, Sawyer rears back and knocks the guy out cold with the butt of his gun.
I sit stunned, my body trembles violently from fear and adrenaline, while I try to process what just happened.
Sawyer looks over at me for the first time and his thunderous expression softens. “Jesus, Grace, are you okay, baby?” he asks, as he begins cautiously approaching me.
His concerned voice snaps me out of my shock, and that’s when I realize I’m cowered in the corner against the wall. Not wanting to be away from him a moment longer I start crawling over to him, meeting him halfway before I break down in his arms.
His hands rub up and down my back soothingly. “It’s okay, baby. Everything’s okay.”
I’m not sure if he’s reassuring himself or me. Pulling back, he holds my face gently and assesses what I’m sure is a swollen, bloody mess.
His jaw clenches with fury. “Jesus, I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I shouldn’t have left you.”
I shake my head, “It’s not your fault. I’m just so glad you came. I didn’t know what to do. I never had a chance to even try and get the gun. Then he said he would kill you if I said anythin’…”
He cuts off my hysterical words and pulls me against him again. “It’s okay, baby. You did good, Grace…”
“He was already here waitin’ in my closet when I got home, and Chuckie…” I gasp, rememberin’ Chuckie.
Pushing away from Sawyer, I start rushing across the room to his side. “Sawyer, he shot him. Chuckie attacked him when he was hurtin’ me and he shot him.”
There’s a small pool of blood under him, but I can see his belly rise and fall painfully from his labored breathing. “Oh thank God, he’s still alive, we have to help him.”
Sawyer comes over and puts the gun down beside me. “Okay baby, wait here with him, I’ll go get towels. Coop should be here any minute, I called him before coming in,” he says as he rushes into the kitchen.
I bury my face into Chuckie’s neck. “It’s okay boy, just hold on,” I choke out sadly, prayin’ he makes it.
Hearing the police sirens, I stand up and start walkin’ to the door when Sawyer’s command stops me cold… “GRACE, GET DOWN!”
Turning, I see Miguel’s brother, now conscious, with his gun pointed directly at me.
“FUCK!” It happened so fast; I hear the blast just as Sawyer slams into me, taking me to the ground.
The breath gets knocked out of me in one painful swoosh. Before I can even register what’s happening Sawyer has already grabbed the gun he left beside me and shoots Miguel’s brother in the head. The loud blast has me flinching underneath him.
