Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59120 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59120 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
She lunges.
I move first.
I shove up with my legs and drive my shoulder into her stomach. She goes down, but not before the knife rakes across my forearm, cutting through the skin in a hot sting. I use the momentum to roll us. My blood soaks into her shirt. The letter opener is like dead weight in my hand, but I don’t hesitate; I aim for her stomach and drive it in, hard. She shrieks, kicks, tries to bite. We roll, and she claws at my face, but I have the opener wedged between us, my arm pinning her arm, her own knife clattering away in the scramble.
Her blood and my blood mix on the cold floor. I want her to stop screaming, but she makes this thin, desperate sound, animal and pathetic. Still, she is strong and unwilling to give up. She keeps fighting, clawing at me, kicking her legs, waving her fists. “You can’t have him,” she gasps. “You don’t deserve to—”
I punch her in the mouth. Hard. The shock of it stuns us both. “I’m not going to let you take what’s mine, you psycho.”
She tries to knee me, but I’m faster now. I shove my hand into her hair, twist her head back, and then slam her into the concrete. Before she can get up, the door swings open. Travis is there, wild-eyed, Chief standing behind him with a flashlight in one hand and a gun in the other. They see the blood, the wreck of us on the floor.
Janice is rolling on the ground, groaning and clutching her stomach.
I have managed to get her to stay down.
“Violet? Jesus, Violet!”
Travis is beside me in a second, his hands everywhere. Chief already has his phone out. He’s calling the police, his voice clipped. I watch as Janice tries to move, but I know she is struggling. She still has enough venom to fix a glare on me, one last time.
“You’ll pay for this, Violet,” she whispers through coughs.
Travis spins on her, his eyes so intense it makes me flinch. He’s shaking with more fury than I’ve ever seen from him. “The very second you decided to put hands on my woman, Janice, was the exact moment you decided that you would pay for every scar you leave. Your payment is coming. I assure you.”
She stares at him, eyes wide. “Trav...”
Chief cuts her off by pressing the gun to her temple. “Open your mouth again, it’ll be the last thing you do.”
And, just like that...
It’s over.
It’s all finally over.
“Hey there, gorgeous.”
I blink open my eyes to find Travis sitting beside me, making the bed dip just a little.
I have been sleeping since I got home. After a few stitches and a check of the baby, I was good to go.
I crashed as soon as I got here.
“Hey.” My voice is rough, the soreness in my body a sharp reminder of everything that’s happened.
“How are you feeling?” He reaches out, gently brushing hair off my forehead.
I shift, wincing as pain radiates through my muscles. “Just sore, like I’ve run a marathon.”
“Yeah, well, you fought a good fight back there, kid.”
I snort. “Where is Janice?”
His eyes harden, just a touch. “She’s in custody. Chief made a report. Not before he told her that if she gets out, and she ever comes anywhere near you again, he will bury her six feet under.”
I press my lips together. “Of course he did. So, do you think she will go away?”
“Attempted murder? Yeah, she’ll go away for a while.”
Thank God.
Maybe she might get the help she clearly needs.
He reaches around and pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket. “Here. You didn’t get to see it when we were at the hospital; you were so exhausted.”
I turn it over and see a black and white image. An ultrasound. A tiny bean in the center. “Our little one?”
“Our little one,” he confirms, a smile touching his lips. “Heartbeat strong. He or she’s already a fighter.”
I smile, hand on my abdomen. “I’m betting on a boy.”
Travis bumps my shoulder, amused. “Girls can be just as feisty. You know that better than anyone.”
I lean into him. “Thank you for coming for me.”
His gaze drops to mine, steady and unwavering. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust your instincts sooner.”
“It’s over now.”
He curls a hand around the back of my neck. “Next time, I’ll take your word before trusting anyone else. That’s what I should have done to begin with.”
I press my lips to his for a long, perfect second. “It’s okay.”
He presses a gentle kiss to my temple. “Your doctor says you need to rest here for a few days.”
I groan theatrically. “Fantastic.”
He grins. “Promise I won’t let you get bored.”
The door opens before I can answer, and my mother and Chief slip in.
“Oh, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”