I spat in his face. “Go to hell!”
His eyes widened and with a snarl, he punched the wall right next to my head. I screamed. In the moment, all I cared about was protecting my child.
“Get away from me!”
I kicked him hard in the stomach.
He groaned. “Stop kicking me, you bitch!”
As I readied my leg to kick him again, there came a blur of movement in the corner of my eye. It happened so fast I barely had time to register it.
Elijah stormed into the room, and in one smooth motion, tackled Larry to the ground. They tumbled together in a mess of limbs until Elijah had Larry beneath him, pinned to the floor in a well-practiced headlock that Larry wasn’t obviously getting out of anytime soon.
“Get the hell off me!” Larry snapped.
“If I were you,” Elijah said, deathly quiet as he dug his fingers deeper into the hold, “I would keep my mouth shut, Bisley.”
My heart hammered in my throat. Even without his vision, Elijah had Larry incapacitated with the speed and precision of a snake taking down a rat. My eyes travelled to his well-kept muscles and large frame--his body definitely wasn’t just for show. He must have had extensive training to become a bodyguard in the first place.
Elijah turned his head in my direction. “Are you all right, Felix?”
“Yes,” I breathed. “I’m fine.”
“Good.” His lips curled. “If you weren’t, things might have ended up badly for Larry here.”
“I’ll have you arrested for assaulting me!” Larry snapped. “You won’t get away with this, Elijah! I have enough money to put you away!”
“That’s funny,” Elijah said. “I’m sure the cops will appreciate watching you commit multiple felonies right on camera, including breaking and entering a disabled man’s home, and attempted assault of his pregnant omega boyfriend. . .”
Larry’s face paled.
Elijah smirked. “Money’s not gonna help you this time, I’m afraid. Why don’t you come get comfortable on the curb until the cops show up?”
* * *
I didn’t missthe nasty look Larry shot me from the back of the police car, but I didn’t have the energy to care. I was done spending time on him.
My body was still trembling as the cops finished up speaking to us and drove away. Elijah’s arm pulled me closer into the safety of his body heat. His skin was damp with cold sweat.
“Were you afraid?” I asked.
His hand tightened around my shoulder. “Terrified. Never been so damn scared in my life.”
I leaned closer to him. “I’m sorry.”
He barked, incredulous. “What doyouhave to be sorry about? I should be the one apologizing, Felix. My stupidity nearly got you hurt.” He ran a hand back through his hair like he was trying to shake off the shame. “I didn’t lock the door when I left. Thought I’d be right back, since the bakery’s just down the street . . .”
“No, Elijah,” I said, touching my hand to his chest. “It wouldn’t have made a difference. Larry confessed to everything, and the cops said that this was a premeditated attack. He thought he could get away with it, by intimidating me and dragging me back to his place, because he thought I wouldn’t fight back. He wasplanningon doing this because he couldn’t stand seeing me happy, especially with someone else. And it probably didn’t help that the someone else was you. Even if you locked the door today, he would have found another way inside.”
Elijah’s deep frown made it clear he still wasn’t satisfied. “Still. It was irresponsible of me, as your alpha. I’m supposed to protect you--both of you.”
I ran my hand over my belly, full of relief that nothing serious had happened to me or the baby. “You did protect us. If you didn’t show up what you did . . .” I sighed. “I don’t think he would have hurt me, but--”
“Don’t defend him,” Elijah grunted. “He isn’t worth your breath. All that matters is that he can’t hurt you again.”
I snaked my arm around Elijah’s firm waist, noting how strong he felt beneath my fingers. “He can’t hurtus, you mean.”
He grinned. “Right.”
