He dusted a kiss over my cheek before finally pulling away. “Like I said, anytime. Call me if you need anything.”
“Will do,” I promised, knowing that he wouldn’t leave until I agreed.
We said our goodbyes, and I went into my apartment, locking the door behind me. I didn’t have much of an appetite after the stomach-turning events of the day, but I forced down a bowl of pasta. When I finished, it was too early to get ready for bed, despite my emotional exhaustion. I settled onto my couch, making a little nest amongst the plush pillows and pulling my soft blanket over my legs: my favorite reading position.
The first bang on my door shuddered through my body like a thunderclap, shattering the peaceful cocoon I’d wrapped myself in for those few blissful seconds. Two more booming knocks reverberated from my foyer. The doorknob rattled. My heart leapt into my throat, but the lock held firm. For now.
“Allie!” Gavin’s voice penetrated the thick wood that separated us, my name slurring slightly. “Come out here, you little bitch.”
My hand was on my phone, trembling around the pink protective case. My thumb hovered over the screen, hesitating to make an emergency call.
I’d promised Davis that I’d get help if Gavin threatened me again. Or I’d promised that I’d call him if I needed anything.
My front door vibrated on its hinges as Gavin assaulted it with his fist.
I couldn’t bring Davis into this. He would get hurt.
And if I involved the cops, Gavin might tell them about the night when Max had beaten him up.
Max.
I found his contact details and tapped out a text. I jolted so badly when Gavin bellowed my name that I had to delete the nonsense words and try again.
Can you come over?
The message was marked as read within seconds, but there was no reply.
The pounding on my door stopped. I held my breath, praying that my bully had given up.
“Come on, Freckles,” he slurred, softer and placating. “I just want to talk. We can fix this. Let me in.”
I recalled the toxic heat of his groping hands on my bottom, the sickening warmth of his breath on my cheeks as he whispered the hated nickname like a twisted endearment. My stomach lurched.
Please, Max.
No reply.
Another bang on my door, one thunderous punch. “Allie!”
I hastily typed out another plea. Gavin is at my house.
A shocked yelp jumped from my chest when my phone immediately started ringing. I answered within a heartbeat. “Max?” My voice squeaked on his name as Gavin punched my door again.
Max’s gravelly, rage-roughened voice was a soothing balm to my jittery nerves. “Where is he?”
“Outside.” I released the reply on a relieved exhale.
“And you’re in your apartment? The door is locked?”
“Yes. But I…” I swallowed down the lump of anxiety in my throat. “He’s really angry, and I don’t know how to make him leave. I can’t confront him. I think he might be drunk, and the last time he was drunk, he—”
“Of course you can’t confront him.” My dark protector’s voice was sharp with anger. “Stay inside, Bambi. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
The call ended, and I clutched the phone directly over my hammering heart. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath, struggling to calm the panic that gathered in my chest with each bang of Gavin’s fist against my door.
Everything would be okay. Max would be here soon.
MAX
I’d promised myself I would leave her alone. I’d sworn to stop following her after that moment of madness in the library, when I’d pushed her up against the shelves and claimed her mouth like a man obsessed.
I was obsessed with Allie. My enemy’s daughter.
But I’d left her alone for only a couple of days, and already she was in danger. And not from my family—or even the Russians.
That entitled, pretty-boy bastard was the threat this time. Her bully. Gavin.
He’d dared to touch what was mine once before. I should’ve dealt with him more permanently then, but she’d been watching, and I couldn’t let her see the brutal extent of what I was truly capable of.
After tonight, he wouldn’t so much as breathe the same air as her ever again.
If I left him breathing at all.
The little quaver of fear in her voice when she’d called me for help echoed through my mind, fueling my racing steps with a fresh pulse of protective rage.
When I rounded the corner onto her street, a red haze descended on my mind. The motherfucker was punching her door, trying to get inside and hurt my Allie. I remembered his hands on her the last time I’d seen them together: when he’d molested her.
A savage snarl ripped from my chest as I slammed into him. His shocked shout ended on a sickening crack as his skull bashed into the door. I wrenched him away from her house, shoving him down the two brick steps leading to the sidewalk. The bastard flailed as he fell back. The sound of his elbow breaking again as he tried to catch himself on the concrete didn’t even being to satisfy my need to punish him for what he’d done.
My fist smashed into his face, and blood sprayed from his split lips. I lost myself in my rage, the need to protect her from this scum consuming all rational thought, pushing me to the brink of madness.
“Max!”
The sound of her shouting my name cleaved through the red haze that’d clouded my mind. All my muscles locked up tight, pulling the next punch that would’ve broken the bastard’s jaw. I felt her presence like a tingle on the back of my neck, but I didn’t take my eyes off my target.
He’d scared her. He’d hurt her. For years, he’d tormented her.
“Max, that’s enough. Someone will call the cops.”
Her firm words dragged me out of the spiraling rage that’d threatened to overtake me once again. I took a second to study the bloody mess I’d made of Gavin’s face. His perfect nose was broken, and I might’ve managed to fracture a few more fine bones around his eyes. He coughed and spluttered. Two pearly white teeth were strewn on the pavement.
It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. Not after everything he’d put her through.
I lowered my face to his, and he released a pathetic whimper.
“You’re lucky she’s here to stop me,” I seethed, speaking low so that she wouldn’t be able to overhear. “You would be dead if she wasn’t watching right now. Come near her again, and I won’t stop next time, no matter what she says.”
Her soft heat brushed my shoulder, and I glanced up to find her looming over us both. Her green eyes flashed as she glowered down at her bully, like an avenging angel. Her small fists clenched at her sides, and her shoulders were stiff. Rather than cowering and crying, Allie had been overtaken by her own righteous rage. She was so fiercely beautiful that it took my breath away.
“Don’t come here again, Gavin.” Her command dripped with ice. “If you do, I’ll get a restraining order. You know Mr. Callahan will back me up. The only way your Daddy won’t have to get his lawyers involved is if you leave me alone. Are we clear?”
Gavin’s eyes rolled as he struggled to focus on her. I gripped his battered jaw and forced him to face me instead. His entire body shuddered when he looked up at my twisted scowl.