“Your girl over there… Amy… she’s a gem. I feel beating you up wouldn’t teach you much of a lesson. But her…” I tense up. “She could definitely help with teaching you a lesson.”
“Don’t,” Logan warns in a low voice, earning him a punch to the face.
“You see there’s a difference between me and you, Cooper. I’m a man of my word, and when I say I’m going to do something, I get it done. Now, since you don’t have my money, I’m going to have to find paymentelsewhere.” Donovan rises to his feet and makes his way toward me.
“Donovan. Stay the fuck away from her!” Logan shouts, and the second the words leave his mouth, he’s hit again.
A sharp pain shoots through my heart at seeing Logan hurt. I hate it. All I want to do is run to him. I try to prize myself away from David's grip and go to him but David's hand tightens around me.
Donovan stops a foot away from me, taking my chin between his fingers. “What do you say, sweetheart? Do we let him watch?” The corner of his mouth ticks, before he leans in without warning, kissing me hard, his tongue spearing into my mouth. The thick scent of cheap cologne overpowers my senses and I can taste the stale cigarettes and coffee on his breath. I try to pull away but his grip on my face tightens to the point of being painful, painful enough I'm sure he'll leave marks.
When he eventually pulls back, he smirks. “She tastes sweeter than I imagined. I wonder if her cunt tastes just as sweet.”
I cringe at his crude choice of word, disgusted enough for a sick feeling to settle in my stomach.
“Don, I… I don’t think you should do this. She’s… she’s innocent,” David says quietly.
Donovan shoots David a hard look, his lips pulling tight over his gritted teeth. “What’s this? Have you got a conscience now, David? Huh? You weren’t such a pussy when you put a bullet in the back of her daddy’s skull now were you?”
I freeze.
Did I just hear that right?
No. Surely not. I must have heard that wrong.
“No,” I breathe out, searching David’s face for any sign that tells me Donovan is wrong and this is just some cruel joke. “David, tell me he’s lying.” He says nothing, and dread seeps its way deep into my bones like a cold chill, his silence his confirmation. “Tell me you didn’t. David!” I shout and he jerks, his eyes reluctantly finding mine.
He stares at me for a few seconds before speaking. “I can’t.”
All of the air is expelled from my lungs like someone punched me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me just like Donovan’s guy did to Logan. This can’t be happening.
Thiscan’tbe happening.
My mind is racing, trying to comprehend what I’m hearing, but all the questions and disbelief that swirl around my head is making me dizzy and light-headed. The room begins to spin and my ears start to ring. I gulp in slow, steady breaths and wait for the wave of nausea to pass.
“Why?” I choke out.
David’s face is pale, his eyes heavy as they plead with me. “Amy. I’m sorry. I-”
“How could you!” I shove him hard in the chest and he lets me. I pound at him relentlessly until my arms begin to tire, repeating blow after blow. Two arms wrap around my middle and haul me backwards. I fight against their hold but they’re too strong.
“Let her go, she’s fine,” Donovan says calmly, and the arms restraining me recede.
I’m seething with hate and anger, I don’t think I’ve ever felt as angry as I do right now. I feel like I could scream until there's no more sound.
No words can describe the rage that is running through my veins.
I blink through the tears that sting my eyes and my legs are weak underneath me as they fight to keep me on my feet.
“I was forced to kill him, and I’ve regretted it every day since.”
“Yeah, you’re a real saint,” Donovan chimes in sarcastically, enjoying this spectacle a little too much.
David’s eyes snap to Donovan. “That man was like a father to me, I’ve made some terrible mistakes in the past, but I won’t let you hurt his daughter too,” David says, his jaw locked tight as he pins Donovan with his stare.
“A little sweet on her are we, Watts? Well, I mean, I’m not surprised, she’s a beautiful girl…” Donovan brushes my cheek with his fingers and I recoil away from his touch.
“Please,” I force out, willing my shaky voice to stay steady.
