Page 24 of Point Proven
Blood spurted down my throat, and I opened my mouth, spitting out his missing ring finger. Heaving, he snapped his hand back, a mix of pain and unyielding wrath coating his blackened irises.
Opening his mouth to speak, it wasn’t him who did. Instead, I heard an unrecognizably vengeful tone as the click of a gun sounded.
“Get.Off. Him.”
Simon leaned against the wall, palm flush against the surface as he used it to balance his disproportionate stance. Weapon trained on Stefan, nothing but a darkened glower coated his once-happy personality.
Biting through the pain, Stefan ripped me against him, locking his arm around my neck with enough strength to crush my windpipe.
I kicked my legs, struggling for air as I looked over at Simon with teary eyes. “Sim?—”
Squeezing harder, the rest of his name fell away to nothing.
“Are you ready to see what happens when you piss me off?” Stefan whispered before twisting us both to stare at Simon. With a sharpened whistle from his lips, the corners curled into a wicked smirk. “You see his face, Simon? See how scared he is?”
Simon’s gun trembled as he locked eyes with a predator. “I said?—”
“Shouldn’t you be memorizing his face?”
“Memorizing—”
The crack of his skull echoed in the dimly lit hallway as he collided with the floor, a trickle of crimson staining the carpet. Yanking back the butt of the gun, a man dressed in black flicked his eyes to Stefan. A balaclava mask hid his features, his compression shirt hung snug as he dipped his chin in a nod.
I tried to scream, but no sound came out. Ripping against Stefan, I wanted nothing more than to escape, to run to Simon and make sure he was okay.
“We’re going, little lamb. Hope this image stays with you, because if youeverpull what you did tonight again, I’ll kill him.”
Struggling against the bindings on my wrists, I desperately tried to free myself, needing to reach for him… to touch him. Each attempt became weaker than the last as the darkness surrounding the edges of my vision closed in. And as I focused on Simon with that speck of remaining consciousness, it swallowed me whole.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
OREN
Staring at the dumb dog who’d woken me in the early hours of the morning, I leaned against the doorframe as Prince relieved himself in the grass.
It’d taken him nearly thirty fucking minutes to decide where he wanted to go, and with Thorne asleep, I couldn’t scream at him to hurry up. Instead, I flipped him off, rolling my eyes as if it would ease the exhaustion threatening to topple me over.
Thorne and I had talked for hours, and while some parts were heated, he’d relinquished at least part of what he was struggling with. While it wasn’t everything, pride swelled that I could break through even just a little bit. I loved it when he talked to me about his feelings, because I wanted to be there for him in the way he was for me.
He was my partner, best friend, and the man I was completely in love with. He held me with grace and compassion when most would turn aside, especially when my judgment was clouded in anger. Most would walk away, but healwaysstayed, and it made me want to become a better person for him.
Much of my happiness had dwindled from the impact of the bullet and my father’s continued stain, but slowly, Thorne was brightening my world with each languid kiss and tender caress.He was the reason I breathed, and the reason I continued to push forward. Without him, I wouldn’t want to survive.
And despite all the horrors that continued, we had each other, a home, and two loving dogs, evenifone of them loved to harass me.
Moonlight illuminated Prince’s prancing figure, and I beckoned him to come inside. “Come on, Prince. Please? I want to snuggle with Thorne,” I practically whined.
Me. Whining to afuckingdog.
Tongue flopping against his chin, hefinallydarted inside the house as I sighed in relief. “Thank you,” I muttered, gliding the door shut.
As if in annoyance, he barked, and I huffed, placing my hands on my hips. Staring at the cute fluff ball, my resolve cracked the moment he rolled onto his back, paws folding to his chest as he gave me those watery eyes.
Lips curling, I couldn’t stop my smile from spreading as I bent down to rub his tummy. Chuckling softly, I scratched his fur a few times before resting my hand on my thigh.
“Look at you being so adorable. Can’t you always be like this?”
Reaching down to pet him once more, Prince flipped over, paws digging into the ground as he barkedloudly.
