Tears swell in my eyes, but I hold them back. I can’t cry in front of Berry. He can’t see my despair. He’d just enjoy it.
We’re in the living room now. He sits like a king in his recliner while I have my knees curled up to my chest on the couch.
Like always, he’s proudly puffing a cigar. Everything about Berry—from the silk shirts to the gold chain necklaces and cigars—is like a man who styled himself from the movies.
With Rick, it’s like I could feel his strength and his soul radiating out from within him. But with Berry, it’s like sitting across from a black void of nothing.
“I’m going to bed,” I tell him, standing. But before I can move, he’s up and has his hand around my wrist.
“That’s what you think.”
My body trembles as I stare up at his threatening eyes.
“Let go,” I tell him sternly, hoping my tone will have some effect. It doesn’t.
Berry simply laughs. He slips his hand up beneath the hem of Rick’s T-shirt, finding my hip.
“What are you doing? You know I don’t want you. Go get one of your countless escorts.”
I jerk hard against his grip, trying to slip away. But his hand is like a pair of pliers, holding me tight.
“You’re right. I don’t want you,” he tells me, moving his hand up my stomach. “But it’s time you realize who youreallybelong to. And how to behave in my bed.”
Panic hits me like a brick to the head. My heart starts to race painfully.
“What are you doing!?” I yelp, struggling to pull away.
His hand moves up. He’s almost at my breast.
A wave of nausea rolls through me as he blows cigar smoke in my face. He stinks like sweat and smiles at me, relishing my disgust.
“Don’t fight it. You’ll only make things harder on yourself.”
I’m just about to scream when I hear the door open, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps coming toward us.
Berry turns but barely has time to open his mouth before a fist strikes him in the nose, sending him sprawling back.
My eyes go wide as I fall into Rick’s arms.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”
I look up in disbelief. “Am I…dreaming?”
“No.” He smiles, eyes blazing. “I’m here to take you home.”
Warmth floods through me. Safety. Protection. It’s all there.
He’s here. The man I love is here. He didn’t abandon me.
“Like hell you are!” Berry snarls, staggering to his feet. “That bitch ismine!Legally she’s—”
Rick strikes him again, knocking him back. Berry collapses into his chair and topples over the back to land hard on the floor.
“You son of a bitch…” Berry grabs something from his pocket and presses it.
Two of the men who brought me here appear out of nowhere and rush Rick.
He drops the first one with a knee to the stomach, but the second one manages to leap onto him like a wrestler. The coffee table shatters beneath them as they crash to the floor.
