He barks out a laugh and asks, “Broke up? We didn’t break up. You left. In the middle of the night, like a coward. I woke up, and you were just gone. No note, no explanation, no forwarding address. Nothing. And then you did it again six months ago.”
“Because you hit me.” The words burst out before I can stop them. “You hit me, Robbie. You choked me. You made me feel like I was losing my mind, like I couldn’t trust my own memories. I left because I was afraid you were going to kill me.”
“I never would have hurt you.” His voice drops low, wounded, like I’m the one who wronged him. “Everything I did was because I loved you. Because I wanted us to work. You’re the one who gave up. You’re the one who ran away instead of fighting for us.”
“There was nothing to fight for. There was nothing left worth saving.”
“And now you’re here.” He spreads his arms wide, gesturing at my office, at the medical center, at Silvercreek itself. “Hiding in the middle of nowhere. Playing house with some new man who thinks he can protect you. Did you tell him about us, Fern? Did you tell him what you did? How you abandoned me without a word?”
“I told him enough.”
“I bet you made yourself the victim.” Robbie’s lip curls. “That’s what you do, isn’t it? Twist everything around so you’renever the one at fault. Poor little Fern, always running away from her problems.”
“I’m not running anymore.”
“No?” He takes another step, and suddenly, he’s right there, inches away, close enough that I can see the broken blood vessels in his eyes. “Then why do you look so scared?”
“Stay away from me.”
“Or what? You’ll call your new boyfriend to come save you?” His voice drips with contempt. “I’ve seen him, you know. Watched him patrol this little town like he owns the place. He thinks he’s so tough. But he’s not here now, is he? Right now, it’s just you and me. Just like old times.”
I back up until my shoulders hit the wall. “The people here will find you. Connor will find you. And when he does—”
“When he does, what? He’ll beat me up? Call the cops?” Robbie leans in close, his breath hot against my face, stale and sour. “Let him try. I’m not afraid of your boyfriend, Fern. I’m not afraid of anyone in this backwards little town.”
“You should be.”
“And you should remember who you belong to.”
His hand closes around my throat. Not squeezing, not yet, just resting there. A reminder. A promise of what he could do if he wanted. He presses his thumb against my pulse point, and I know he can feel how fast my heart is racing.
And that’s when I bring my knee up hard between his legs.
Robbie doubles over with a grunt of pain, and his grip on my throat loosens. I shove past him and lunge for the door, freedom just steps away—
His hand closes around my ankle before I make it halfway there.
I hit the ground hard. My palms slap against the tile, and the impact drives the breath from my lungs. I try to kick free, but his grip is iron as his fingers dig into my skin hard enough to bruise.
“You stupid bitch.” He drags me back toward him while I scrape my nails uselessly against the floor. “Did you really think that would work twice?”
I twist onto my back and kick at him with my free leg. My heel connects with his shoulder, then his chin, and he swears and loses his grip. I scramble to my feet, heart pounding, lungs burning. The door is so close. Five steps, maybe less. I can make it.
But Robbie tackles me from behind.
We crash into my desk, and something shatters. My elbow connects with his face, and he howls, but his weight keeps me pinned against the wood. I thrash beneath him, screaming for help, praying someone will hear me through these walls.
His fist connects with my cheek, and the world goes white.
Chapter 22 - Connor
Nic’s voice crackles through the phone, and I know something is wrong before he even speaks.
“Connor. Get to the clinic. Now.”
I’m already moving, shoving my chair back from the desk. “What’s happening?”
“It’s Fern. There’s a situation. I don’t have all the details yet, but you need to get there.”
