the harsh word in a furious burst, gun wavering between the two of us, making us both cower. “No! She stays!”
I nodded, breathing shallowly, heart beating like a drum.
“Okay, okay,” I said slowly, totally still, my hands still up. “But please, my mom had nothing to do with this. Just please, take whatever you want, but leave us alone. Please,” I whispered again.
But Miss Lane was on a rant, and couldn’t be stopped.
“You’re a slut!” she screamed. “Say it!”
I nodded furiously.
“I’m a slut,” came my voice. “I’m a slut.”
“You’re a slut who tempted Luke Lyons!” she screamed, even more furious this time. “You’re a slut with a dirty cunt, you made him want you!”
I nodded, eyes wide and frozen.
“I’m a slut who tempted Luke Lyons,” the words came out, frozen with fear. “I have a dirty cunt, I made him want me.”
“And that’s why you deserve to die!” she screamed now, voice going even louder and higher. “You deserve to die because you have a dirty cunt!”
My mouth opened and closed, frozen. Could I say it? Could I say “I deserve to die”? The words were so horrible and my brain screamed. I didn’t deserve to die. I didn’t deserve for this to happen. Sure, I’d made some bad decisions, but dying? Being murdered, right here in the living room, in front of my mom? I couldn’t say it, I wouldn’t.
Miss Lane’s eyes narrowed then, her finger on the trigger, all sanity gone at this point.
“Say it!” she screamed. “Say, ‘I deserve to die!’”
My mouth opened, but the words just wouldn’t come out. My throat wobbled, vocal cords trembling, but I just couldn’t say it. And Miss Lane’s anger went ballistic, rising beyond fever pitch. Her finger began squeezing the trigger, and my eyes closed. Goodbye Mom, I prayed silently. Goodbye Luke, I’m so sorry things ended like this. I love you.
But instead of a bullet, I was knocked over to one side, landing on the furry rug with a whoof. And at the same time, a dark figure tackled Miss Lane, struggling for a moment before wrenching the gun from her hands and forcing the woman face down on the rug.
I lay there, stunned and breathless, unable to move for a moment. But slowly, my eyes focused because it was Luke on me. My big, dark lover had come to save the day, and at this moment, all two hundred pounds were draped on me, pressing me into the carpet, shielding me from any bullets.
“You got her?” came his heavy grunt.
My eyes rolled wildly. What was going on?
But the man who’d tackled Miss Lane sat up now, snapping cuffs around her wrists with one hand while pushing her face into the carpet.
“Got her,” he grunted. “She’s not going anywhere. You guys okay?”
And with that, Luke moved off me. Oh god, it’d felt so good to have him here, that wide chest pressed against my back, the heavy thighs plastered to mine, the assurance of his masculinity, that confidence radiating from his big form. I sat up dazed, looking around as my mom ran over, bursting into tears while throwing her arms around my shoulders.
“Baby!” she sobbed, her voice muffled in my hair. “I thought you were going to die! My baby girl!” she whimpered.
I hugged my mom back, still unable to process what had happened. Had Miss Lane just threatened to kill me? And Luke was here now, my savior during our time of need?
But it was true because the alpha male got to his feet, glowering before hocking a loogie and spitting on Miss Lane. It wasn’t pretty, the glob of saliva oozing in her hair, disgusting and wet. But Luke has never been a nice guy, and if someone threatens his property, he’s all over it. His foot literally raised, ready to kick her in the face, but something made him hold back.
“Tell Kitty,” he rasped, eyes blazing at Miss Lane. “Tell Kitty what you did.”
The older woman was sobbing into the rug now, face down, hands grabbing at her hair.
“Mwmwmwm!” was all we could hear.
But Luke’s bodyguard grabbed Miss Lane’s hair and yanked her head up so that we could see her face.
“Mwmwmwm!” she wailed, a blubbering mess. “Mwmwwm!”
Mr. Lyons wasn’t having it. He seized the gun that had been lying discarded on the rug and pointed it at Miss Lane. The Friday Night Special looked almost comical in his hands, so small in that huge fist. But still, it was deadly and the look in