I aimed for Gil’s warehouse.
He tried to stop me—his arm whacked against mine and he kicked at my legs again.
But it was too late.
I let the bag loose. It sailed forward.
My heart plummeted as the bag arched and fell toward earth—without touching the door. Its spilled contents went flying, cartwheeling everywhere, the heavy water bottle was my saving grace.
It crashed against the door.
The loud twang as it bounced off the metal echoed around us.
Hope flared.
Triumph heated.
But my attacker merely pulled me harder. “You’ll pay for that.”
Sucking in a breath, I twisted sharply in his arms. He narrowed his eyes as our noses almost brushed. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” Bracing myself for pain, I arched back and whacked his head with mine.
Agony blinded me with a mushroom cloud of torment. Red haze claimed every sense.
He stumbled back, still holding me. I stumbled with him, deaf and struggling from the pressure I’d struck him with.
I tried to slam my knee between his legs.
I was too woozy and missed the vitals.
A noise sounded behind me.
A noise from a wild animal provoked from its den.
Something bowled into both of us. A loud growl ripped through the blood pounding in my ears as Gil launched himself at the man, tackling me in the process.
We all tumbled to painful gravel, legs knotted, lungs empty of air, arms and hands grabbing anything they could.
A pair of strong arms ripped me from the attacker, tossing me to the side as the fight increased in violence.
Rolling to my knees, sucking in hungry breaths, I gasped as Gil managed to get the guy flat on his back in a matter of seconds. With an angry huff, he pinned his shoulders to the floor as easily as if the guy had been a mere pest and not a threat to my life.
He’d always been strong.
But this—the way his nostrils flared, and his teeth clenched with aggression—he was a demigod with unlimited power. He could kill him with a single squeeze.
My head pounded as my fists curled, wanting to hit the guy myself. Why wasn’t Gil hurting him? Why was his temper so controlled?
The longest moment ticked by before Gil suddenly punched the gravel by the stranger’s head, then leapt to his feet.
What the hell? He’s letting him go?
Gil shook out his hand with a grimace, his anger hot and volatile, yet he didn’t deliver his wrath on the guy who deserved it.
I scrambled to my feet, shaking away the rest of the stars. “Gil...wh-what are you doing?”
He held up his hand, silencing me with a snarl. “Shut up, Olin. Just shut up. This doesn’t concern you.”
The rage that’d been directed at the attempted kidnapper found a new target. I trembled with fire and ice. “What did you just say? This doesn’t concern me?” I threw my hands up, blood trickling from my palms from grappling on gravel. “He just tried to kidnap me!”
The guy smirked, slowly climbing to his feet. He snickered under his breath as he kept his gaze on Gil’s. “You didn’t tell me you were with someone, Gilbert.”
Gil squeezed his eyes for a second, his jaw working as if he chewed tough meat. “I’m not. She’s nobody. A mere inconvenience.”
I wanted to curl around the explosion he caused in my chest.
“She said to leave us alone.” The guy’s eyes narrowed. “Us implies together.”
“There is no us.” Gil’s hot, livid gaze found mine. “She’s just a model who won’t obey a simple instruction to stay the fuck away from me.”
I stumbled backward.
What?
“You know I don’t put up with liars,” the guy muttered. “And I think you’re lying.”
Gil’s hands curled by his sides, turning snowy white he clenched so hard. “There is no us. I promise you.”
What the hell is going on?
“I also don’t put up with arseholes who don’t keep their side of the bargain.” The guy cracked his knuckles. “You know that, don’t you, Gilbert.”
Gil chewed some more, his throat working as he swallowed back words that strangled him. His eyes flashed with soul-deep hatred, but he looked at the ground, his head bowing in submission. “I know.”
What is this?
“Do you?” The guy rubbed his chin. “I’m not so sure you do.”
“I know. Believe me, I know. You’ve ensured I know explicitly.”
“Prove it.” The guy raised his chin with challenge.
Gil turned on me, fury dripping from his trembling body and agony glowing on his face. “Leave, Olin. I told you I wasn’t interested. I paid you for your time. What more do you fucking want from me, huh?”
“Leave? You want me to leave?” I shook my head, pointing at my belongings strewn on the ground. “I’m not leaving you, Gil. I’ll grab my phone. We’ll call the police and have this bastard arrested.”
“There is no we!” Gil snarled like a wolf.
I flinched, backing up as his rage became a physical slap.
“Go. I’m done with this.” Ripping his gaze from mine, he turned his attention to the guy. Gil was twice the man this wannabe kidnapper would ever be. His arms were double the size; his waist chiselled from granite compared.
With the two so close, it was laughable to think Gil couldn’t kill his opponent with a single, well-placed punch.
But every threat and warning vanished from Gil’s body. It no longer hummed with power. It hunched in humbleness.
The way he stood with such suffocation and submission brought tears to my eyes.
With a broad smile, spreading blood over white teeth, the kidnapper pulled back his arm, then slammed his fist with every ounce of strength into Gil’s belly.
Gil groaned, but he didn’t go to his knees. He didn’t wrap arms around himself. He merely stood there and accepted the torture.
I couldn’t stop myself.
Dashing in front of Gil, I pushed the guy away. “Don’t touch him! Just go. Leave!” I glanced at his van, quickly memorising the number plate. The second he was gone, I’d call the police. He’d be tracked down and imprisoned so no one else had to deal with his level of crazy.
Gil tossed me to the side, forcibly removing my protection. “For fuck’s sake, Olin.” His eyes flashed, reminding me all over again of the nastiness he was capable of. “I told you to go! Don’t make me hurt you.”
You already did.
His face shadowed with agonising things.
The love he hid.
The hate he nursed.
I was lost.
Utterly, totally lost.
“Whatever is going on, Gil...walk away. Don’t stand there while he punishes you. At the very least, fight back!”
His voice cracked with things I couldn’t understand. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know enough to understand this isn’t right.”
Shoving me away—just like he had when we were younger—he bared his teeth. “Go.”
His face was blank, pure ice.
No sign of salvation. No beg for help.
I spread my hands helplessly. “Gil...come with me.”
He shook his head and, pushing me resolutely to the side, bared himself to the kidnapper.