Page 61 of Cruel Proposal
A shiver rolls down my spine, but it's not the good kind that comes before mind-numbing orgasms. It's more like the one that travels down your spine when you know there's a killer standing right in front of you.
When the man in front of you is going to turn you into a victim for all his men. When you're going to be assaulted and slaughtered.
The alarm bells in my head are ringing.
I'm not safe right now. All I can do is hope that if something happens to me, Noah makes Robert's death slow. Painful. I hope he drags out every second of it.
I move quickly, sweeping his legs out from under him.
His body collides with the floor, and he lets out a pained groan.
After a second, he pops back onto his feet, his smile wolfish. He's coiled like a cobra ready to strike.
Robert's head tips to the side slightly. "You really think you're safe with Noah, don't you? I see the way you look at him. You think he's going to be some kind of savior. You think he's going to do the right thing in the end, but he's never been the kind of man to do the right thing."
"And what do you think the right thing is?" I dance out of the way as he tries to come at me again, circling him like he was circling me.
"Nothing he's doing. He doesn't have a vision for the family. He lost it to his desire for revenge a long time ago." Robert lunges at me, his arms going for my waist.
I drop to the ground and roll, springing back up onto my feet.
Robert shakes his head. "You know, my entire life people have seen him as the leader, but they never think about all the damage he causes. He doesn't take the rest of the family into account."
Maybe Robert is the reason Noah is so unsettled.
Hector storms into the room and heads straight for Robert. "What the fuck are you doing in here? You were told to stay the fuck away from her, so I suggest you do that right now."
Robert glowers up at Hector. "I don't know who you think you are, but?—"
"Leave, before I kill you." The grin Hector gives him is anything but nice.
"I'll be speaking to Noah about this."
Hector snorts. "Good luck with that."
For a moment, the tension in the room is suffocating.
Robert looks like he's going to snap, his hands curling into fists, his face turning bright red. He's coiled tighter than he was before. But if I were him, I wouldn't want to go up against Hector either.
And Robert seems to realize that, turning and stalking out of the gym.
Hector turns to me once the door is closed, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at me like I'm a child who did something wrong.
I drop down to sit on the ground, stretching my legs out in front of me. "Thanks for that. I don't know what his problem was."
"You should stay away from him."
The corner of my mouth twitches. "I've been told that before. Didn't want him to be in here. He snuck up on me. Tossed me to the ground."
"Get up." Hector holds out a hand to me.
I take it, and he pulls me to my feet.
"What are we doing?"
"I'm going to show you how to fight. I've been watching you in here, and you're not bad, but you don't fight against people bigger than you often, do you?"
"Not much."
