“You gave me a key, remember?” William held up the brass key, twirling it between his fingers. “When you loved me.”
No. Jamie had never given him a key. Had been careful about that boundary even when William pushed. Which meant… Had he made a copy? Stolen Nick’s spare?
“You need to leave.” Jamie locked his muscles, refusing to let William see him trembling.
“Leave?” William stood in one fluid motion, and Jamie’s body remembered exactly how fast those hands could move. “After you humiliated me? After you spread your legs for that caveman in the Charger?”
“We broke up.” Jamie kept his voice level, reasonable, even as his heart hammered like crazy. “What I do isn’t your business anymore.”
“Everything you do is my business.” William stepped closer, and the smell hit—whiskey and rage and that cologne Jamie used to love. “You’re mine, Jamie. Always have been. Just needed reminding.”
“Back off,” Jamie said between clenched teeth. “You need to calm the fuck down.”
“Calm?” William’s laugh cracked at the edges. “You want calm after what you did? After you let him touch you?”
Too close now. William’s breath hit Jamie’s face, sour with alcohol and fury. The hands that used to hold Jamie gently flexed at William’s sides, ready to grab, to hurt, to—
Motion blurred. The world tilted. Jamie’s back slammed into the wall hard enough to knock picture frames crooked. Before his brain could process the impact, fingers wrapped around his throat.
Not again. Please not again.
Pressure built instantly, cutting off air, making his vision spark at the edges. William’s face filled his world, twisted with rage that looked almost like grief.
“Did you think about me?” William’s grip tightened, his voice dropping to something intimate and terrible. “When he was fucking you? Did you remember who you belong to?”
Black spots danced in Jamie’s vision. His hands clawed at William’s wrist, nails digging in, but the grip only tightened. His lungs burned, chest heaving for air that wouldn’t come.
“I watched you leave the pet store with him yesterday. Watched you choose him.” William’s free hand traced Jamie’s cheek, gentle even as his other hand squeezed harder. “I’m going to kill you for that. Kill you and then find him and kill him too. Make sure everyone knows what happens when someone touches what’s mine.”
No air. No breath. The world grayed at the edges, sound becoming distant and strange. But through the panic, Jamie’s brain latched onto one clear thought. If he died here, William would go after Sloane.
That couldn’t happen.
Going limp took every ounce of control Jamie possessed. His eyes rolled back, body sagging, hands dropping from William’s wrist. Playing dead when every cell screamed for oxygen.
William’s grip loosened fractionally. “Jamie?”
Now.
Jamie let his full weight drop. William, caught off-guard, couldn’t maintain the hold. Jamie hit the floor hard, knees cracking against hardwood, but he was already moving. Scrambling on hands and knees, lungs pulling in desperate gulps of air.
“You fucking—” William lunged.
Jamie’s bedroom door was closer than the exit. He dove for it, William’s fingers grazing his ankle. The door slammed shut just as William’s body crashed against it, wood groaning under the impact.
Lock. Where was the lock? Jamie’s shaking fingers found the bolt, shoving it home just as the doorknob rattled violently.
“Open this fucking door!” William’s fists hammered against the wood. “You can’t hide from me, Jamie. This is my apartment too. Remember? You promised we’d live together!”
No the hell he hadn’t. William had completely lost his mind.
Phone. Jamie needed his phone. His hands shook so badly it took three tries to pull it from his pocket. Sloane’s number was already pulled up. Thank god for recent calls…
The door shuddered under another impact. Wood splintered near the lock, William putting his full weight behind each blow.
“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” Jamie whispered, pressing himself into the corner between his bed and dresser. Making himself small. The phone rang once. Twice.
“Forget something?” Sloane’s warm voice filled his ear, teasing and fond.
