Page 168 of My Heart Still Beats
Shit, that stings. I bring my hand to my face and rub it.
He shoves the phone back in my face. “Fucking call the DA. And this time, you’ll be putting it on speaker.”
David squats down next to me. “I’d do what he says, gorgeous. Don’t want that pretty little face of yours to get fucked up, do you?”
I stifle a sob as I get to my feet. I look around my apartment. Poor, sweet Rita is still shaking in her kennel.
I’m out of ideas.
I take my phone, tap in the number of my contact at the DA’s office while Garrett glares at me and David locks the deadbolt on my door. I press the speaker button so Garrett knows I’m not trying to trick him this time.
“Thank you for calling the Suffolk County DA,” the recording says. “If you know your party’s extension, enter it now.”
I tap in the numbers.
Shit. Goes to voicemail. “This is Trish McCoy with the DA’s office. I’m sorry I can’t take your call. Please leave me a detailed message and I’ll return your call as soon as I can.”
“Hi, Trish, it’s Tessa Logan. I’m calling because”—I clear my throat—“I’ve had a change of heart. I’d like to withdraw the charges against Mr. Ramirez. Please give me a call. Thanks.”
I throw my phone down. “Satisfied?”
“I will be,” he says, “as soon as you take off those clothes.”
My jaw drops.
He laughs wickedly. “Not for me, of course. Been there, done that. For my pal David here. Seems he’s had his eye on you for fifteen years. Since you fit into those little white panties.”
“No.” I back away. “Absolutely not.”
“You’re going to show me that grown-up pussy,” David sneers. “Or Ben Black goes down.”
I gulp.
Ben didn’tdoanything. He couldn’t have. He’s a good man. An honest man.
The man who helped me see myself as I truly am—a strong and independent woman who’s no one’s victim.
The man Ilove.
Rita runs out of her kennel, barking and snarling. She leaps at David, clawing at his leg.
He kicks her away. “Get this fucking mutt off me!”
“Rita, baby. Go to your den.”
She snaps at him again.
“Rita, den. Now!”
She cocks her head at me, and for a moment I think she’s wondering why I’m not letting her protect me.
“Go, Rita.”
She finally walks back into her den and lies down.
“Fine,” I say to David. “Do what you want to me, but first, at least tell me what Ben did. Why you think he’s going down.”
“How about you ask him about Travis McKee?”
