“I’ll kill you this time, you f**king bitch.” He was at the door, his fists hammering on the door as Marey began to tremble nervously. “What makes you think you can whore around on me? I’ll kill you for even thinking of letting another man touch you. You f**king slut. You’re a dead woman!”
Enraged, almost incoherent, his curses slammed into her, making her stomach knot in fear as she bit her lip to hold back the cry of rage that built in her throat. They had been divorced for years, and she had been careful. Very careful to make certain he had no reason to torment her as he had that first year after their split.
His fists hammered into the door again, shaking the panel. He was a brute of a man. The door was heavy but she had no doubt he would get through it.
“Janey, this is getting serious,” she breathed out, her voice shaking as she moved to the bathroom and locked the door there as well. There were no chairs to place against the door, nothing to hold him back. “These doors won’t keep him out.”
“Two minutes, Marey,” Janey promised her calmly. “You can hold on two minutes. Get a can of hairspray, anything harsh. If he makes it past the doorway, spray his eyes full. Do whatever you have to. Sheriff Richards and Deputy Carlson are almost there. You’ll hear the sirens soon and so will he. Maybe it will run him off.”
She was right. Seconds later the sound of sirens wailing in the distance could be heard. Relief poured through her as tears filled her eyes. Her nerves clashed as she felt the jolt of Vince throwing himself against the door.
“The gates are locked,” Marey told Janey, moving along the wall as she heard him crash into the door again. “The code is six, four, eight, three, two, nine. That’s going to delay them.”
Janey relayed the code to the sheriff before coming back.
“You hear them now?” The sirens were growing louder.
“You f**king whore. You slut,” Vince screamed then. “I’ll get you, bitch. When I do, I’ll kill you. That damned sheriff won’t save you every time.”
The sound of running feet down the stairs assured her he was leaving. Breathing a sigh of relief, she collapsed against the wall, a tired, nervous little laugh escaping her throat as tears tightened her chest.
“He’s gone,” she whispered then. “Janey, he’s going to f**king kill me. What the hell am I going to do?”
The house was a mess.
Evidently Vince had found quite a few ways to amuse himself before she woke up. Curses had been spelled out in lurid detail in black and red permanent marker across the walls. Her living room furniture was slashed, vases and heirloom glassware shattered. Some of the items Marey knew she would never be able to replace.
She stared around at the destruction, dressed in jeans and a sweater to ward off the chill that filled her body as the sheriff and his deputy filled out their reports and called the security company. Within hours, the house was filled with people, and all Marey could do was stand and stare around in confusion at the mess her ex-husband had made.
“You need to find a hotel, or stay with a friend for a few days, Marey.” Sheriff Richards stepped around the mess in the entry hall as he moved from the living room. “The security system is intact, but he obviously has the codes. You’re not safe here.”
Duh. No shit.
Marey kept the sarcastic comment to herself as she stared back at the sheriff.
“What are you going to do about him?” she asked him carefully. “They let him out on bail. He could terrorize me further, Sheriff. Now what the hell are you going to do about it?”
He sighed roughly, propped his hands on his hips and shook his head. As handsome as the man was, right now, she wanted to kick his teeth in. He was being of no help whatsoever.
“We’ll pick him up. He’s violated the terms of his release, so the bail will be revoked. But until we catch him, you’re not safe.”
“She will be.”
Marey froze at the dark, dangerous voice behind her. She turned slowly toward the open front door and stared back at Sax Brogan with a sense of fatal resignation.
Now, why hadn’t she guessed he was going to show up?
A man shouldn’t be so sinfully sexy, she thought. He shouldn’t steal a woman’s last breath with a frown, or make her knees weak from one of those hot little looks from dark, chocolate brown eyes. And he sure as hell shouldn’t make her pu**y burn in the middle of a situation that was precarious to say the least.
“Hello, Sax, it’s good to see you again.” Sheriff Richards nodded back at him as Sax stepped into the house. “I hope you’re going to convince her to get out of here until we pick up Vince. She’s getting a bit testy on me.” He cast her an amused look.
Marey frowned back at him.
“I am neither testy, nor a child, Sheriff,” she snapped. “And I don’t need a man to take care of me. I can make decisions fine on my own.”
She hated it when men acted as though a woman was only safe if she had a man in front of her. In Sax’s case, if things went the way he wanted, she would have one behind her as well.
“Of course you can.” The sheriff nodded. “Which means you’re going to take my advice and get the hell out of here until I let you know we’ve caught Vince Clayton. Aren’t you, Marey?”