Page 36 of Break Me Not

He was escalating. If we didn't do anything, it would only get worse.

And I had no issue following through with the threat I made him. If he hurt her…

“I’m not there most of the time,” I said honestly. “And you won't be there either. You have a job, I have a job, so we'll just be there at night, and I have a guest room.”

I took a bite of my pizza, though I wasn’t hungry at all. I'd been so nervous when I got that call. It wasn’t just what he had done to her apartment—it was what else he might be willing to do.

So I had decided to change our tactics. Not only were we going to be looking into keeping her and Claire safe, but we needed to get as much dirt on this man as possible. Most of the time, I didn't go on the offense. My specialty was in defense. But this was Liz… and my gut was telling me I needed to work faster.

Plus, I felt like this was my fault. When I showed up there and got in his face, I knew I was asking for trouble. But I couldn't help myself. When he talked about her like that, the anger took over.

There hadn't been many times in my life that I lost myself to it. A couple of times in high school, once in college. I just couldn’t stand by when I saw horrible things happen to people who didn’t deserve them. Life was so unfair, and when people—men, particularly—jumped in and tried to play God, I found myself wanting to show them exactly what someone they saw as weak could do to them.

On the outside, it might look like I was all sorts of trouble, but I never tried to find it. It just seemed that it had found me now.

Liz wiped her mouth, missing the red sauce completely.

“I don't know. This is just⁠—”

“One week. Give me one week, and if you think you'd be better off somewhere else, I will arrange for it. Hell, I will even buy you a whole goddamn house if you want it.”

She let out a choked cough and took a sip of her Coke. When she got herself together, she let out a sigh.

“We have to have some rules, okay?”

Oh fuck yes.

Excitement burst through me. I tried to keep my smile hidden, but I was giddy at her words.

My house. She's going to be in my house.

“Okay, hit me with them.”

She turned to face me and raised her hand, lifting her pointer finger.

“No touching.”

Damn. But fine, I would respect it.

“Deal.”

“No kissing.”

My eyes fell to her plump lips just at the mention of kissing. When I’d arrived at her apartment, they’d been covered in gloss, making them look completely delectable. But gloss or not, I’d lean in and close the gap the moment she gave me the okay.

“Kind of goes with no touching,” I replied with a smirk. At the look she gave me, I raised my hands in defeat. “Okay, okay.”

“No talk of what happened.”

“Deal.”

Her gaze was turning suspicious. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth set in a firm line.

“And no telling Claire.”

I nodded. “Anything else?”

“Just give me my own space and don't touch my stuff?”