One moment, his hand is on her arm, and the next, he’s grabbing her by the throat and slamming her to the wall.
“Tell me you didn’t.” He’s in her face now, so close his spit lands on her mouth.
Her hands grab his wrist, trying to pull him off her throat. “But I love you.”
I think that’s what she says. He’s crushing her windpipe and words can’t make their way out.
Lunging at him, I grab for his arm, but he releases her long enough to backhand me across the cheek. The blow lands so hard I see stars as I fall to the floor.
“I’ll deal with you in a minute.”
I grab the side of my face, momentarily hearing Angelina sputter something before her breath clogs from his grip once more.
“You never meant anything to me, and you knew that,” Rhett says, and I’m stumbling to my feet trying to steady myself, not sure which one of us he’s talking to. “You were a means to an end. Just like her. And if you’d all have played your parts, we could have avoided this.”
My vision focuses, and Rhett backhands Angelina like he did me, only she doesn’t fight it. She stays down. She lets him take her power away as she looks up at him with tears in her eyes.
I rush toward him again. She might not fight, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to bow down. I get in one good hit before he catches my wrist and spins me around, slamming me against the wall.
“Don’t test me, Echo. Playing rough with my brother isn’t the same thing. He’s dumb enough to actually care about you—to think he loves you. I don’t. You’re a tool. And by choosing him, you’ve just relinquished your importance.”
I clutch the wall and turn around, refusing to back down to whoever this man is. The person I thought he was in the hospital, or at the engagement party, has all but faded. The man I’ve spent years around slips away.The face in front of me is a mask in an intricate game he’s been playing.
Rhett is a psychopath, and I’ve seen his truth.
“What are you going to do?” I tip my chin up, facing off with him.
He grins, planting a hand on the wall beside my head and gripping my chin. It’s not sweet or caring. It’s a warning. Evil in his eyes.
“I’m going to get what was promised to me out of this relationship, even if it means I have to take it by force.”
I claw at his face, getting one good scratch that draws four lines of blood down his cheek before something connects with the side of my temple, and everything goes dark.
35
Crew
Walking into the church,the flames of Hell feel just past the horizon. My blood boils and my fingers clench. There’s nothing but rage as I hit Echo’s number again and it goes straight to voicemail.
She always answers her phone. Even if she’s mad at me, she’ll pick up simply to say something snide to piss me off. And when she can’t, she’ll text back with whatever her feisty little mind is running away with at any given moment.
All things I didn’t appreciate enough until I couldn’t get her to manifest on the other end of the line.
The church is still half full from Sunday service. People are mulling around and talking, but I make a beeline straight to Echo’s father.
“Crew.” He nods when I stop in front of him.
I can’t help but laugh. “I’m going to fucking ruin you for what you’re doing to her. She trusted you.”
His smile falls and his face pinches. “What are you talking about?”
“The money.” I dip my hands in my pockets. “You’re messing with Kingsleys and you really think you can hide it?”
He sets down the Bible he’s holding and steps to the side, shuffling us to a quiet corner. “You’re going to have to elaborate. What money?”
“Lying in the house of God is a sin, right?” I chuckle. “Although I suppose funneling money from a church is as well.”
His face pales, and I’m not sure what to think of his expression.
