The second his hand left my mouth, I twisted violently and kicked backward, aiming for his knee.
My heel connected, but not hard enough.
He grunted, stumbling, but he didn’t let go.
I struggled harder, twisting and wrenching. My arms flailed uselessly as fear surged hotter and hotter through my veins.
“Calm the fuck down!” Nolan barked.
I wouldn’t.
I couldn’t.
All I could think about was Roman.
I needed to get back to him.
Nolan slid his arm around my neck from behind. I clawed at it, trying desperately to pull it away, but his jacket was thick beneath my fingers. My nails scraped uselessly across the fabric, catching on nothing. I was useless, weak to my bones, and I hated it.
Black spots started to flicker at the edges of my vision as he squeezed.
My movements grew weaker, as my body struggled against the tightening pressure around my throat. Then there was a prick of pain, like something stung the side of my neck.
No.
My fingers slipped. My arms grew heavy as the world started to tilt.
The darkness closed in, and everything went black.
41
Roman
Palmerdisappearedthroughtheback door and was engulfed by the darkness behind the house.
I stared at the door long after it had closed behind her, my heart so heavy it was hard to breathe.
She would be safe. I reminded myself that she was exactly where she needed to be. August’s team knew what they were doing. They were professionals. Palmer was in good hands.
Finally, I turned away from the door.
“I’m going to change and leave,” I grumbled to the rest of the security team.
I didn’t wait for one of them to reply before I left the kitchen. I paused passing the living room, where the lights were on. My gaze drifted to the window that had been broken less than a week ago.
The glass had already been replaced. The evidence of that night was erased completely.
We’d added more security cameras around the outside of the house since then. Some of it was real security; some of it was for show. Graham had suggested it so it seemed like we were reinforcing the house after the break-in.
But every time I saw that window, all I could think about was how close Amos Anderson had been to Palmer.
My hands fisted at my sides, and I turned away from the window before the anger had a chance to grow into something worse. I headed upstairs.
When I stepped into my bedroom, Phantom was stretched out across the bed like he owned the place.
The gray cat lifted his head and let out a sleepy mewl. He had hidden away in Hailey’s room the first few days after my brothers had shown up, but he had grown used to the company and was back to his usual self.
I ignored him and walked straight to my dresser and stripped off my dress clothes. The button-down shirt and slacks landed on the floor in a heap, and I replaced them with dark jeans and a long-sleeve shirt.
