I shook my head. “You’ve got this all wrong, Tommy. I swear I’m not sleeping with Mr. Ryker. It would never happen. He’s not my type.”
His hand gripped my arm and he tugged me toward him. “I don’t believe you, you lying bitch.”
“Get off me! Stop!”
I tried to pull away from him, but he simply slammed me back into the wall. I gasped for air, trying to get my bearings as the world tilted around me. I felt his leg pressed between mine. He pinned my hand over my head before gathering my other wrist. And the second he rendered me immobile, I knew what was about to happen.
I knew I’d never be able to come back from this.
“Please,” I said through my wheezing, “please, just let me go.”
He barked with laughter. “Too little, too late.”
Then, from out of nowhere, Tommy crumpled and fell to the ground as he howled in pain.
* * *
“Fucking bullshit meetings,”I grumbled to myself.
Normally, I took my lunch breaks in the conference room, which had the perfect view from the office. A little bit of city life, a little bit of beach life, and a window for me to crack open so I could smell the fresh salted air blowing in from the ocean. It was my peaceful place, but as of eight-thirty this morning it had been taken up with a needless, pointless board meeting that didn’t need to happen.
So, I charged down to my car to take my lunch in peace.
“Just leave me alone! How hard is that, you idiot motherfucker!?”
I whipped my head up at the sound of Becca’s voice and saw a shadowed figure rushing up the parking garage ramp. I furrowed my brow as I looked around, trying to figure out where the hell she was. She couldn’t have been the figure I had just seen. They were running much too quickly for her stature.
But, when I saw her get out of her car and make a break for the elevator, I continued on my way.
After all, she looked like she had it handled.
I walked over to my car and popped the trunk. I tossed my briefcase into the back, ready to drive my ass to my favorite fast-food place so I could eat a greasy burger without someone judging me for it. My mouth salivated at the idea.
Then, I heard Becca’s voice again, only this time it was louder than ever.
“Get off me! Stop!”
I peered over my shoulder and saw a scene unfolding that had me shivering with anger so badly that I grabbed the golf club laying at the bottom of the trunk of my Audi convertible. My vision dripped with red as some man pinned her arms above her head and moved so closely to her that I knew his pelvis was pressed up against hers. The idea made me vibrate with anger. No one was allowed to lay a finger on her.
No one except me.
“Please,” I heard her say as I approached the man from behind, “please, just let me go.”
And it wasn’t until he laughed that I realized who it was. “Too little, too late.”
You’re done for, you stupid son of a bitch.
I cocked my hips and swung the golf club like a fucking baseball bat. It connected right with the groove of Tommy’s lower back and I watched him crumple to the ground like the little bitch he had become. I raised the club over my head and slammed it against his knee, listening as he cried out in pain.
“No! Stop! Mommy, please!”
I chuckled. “You better call out for her, because she’s the only one that can save you now.”
“JoJo, no!” Becca shrieked.
My head whipped up at the sound of that nickname as I brought the club down one last time against Tommy’s body. I wasn’t sure where I had hit him, but it rendered him silent as a glare took over my stare. Becca had tears streaking her cheeks. She kept panting for air as if she couldn’t catch her breath. Plus, her hands.
I’d never forget the violent way her hands shook.
