He held out a hand. “Now.”
“Fuck off, Blake.”
His face twisted. Then suddenly, he backhanded me.Shit. His palm cracked against my cheek and I fell to one knee. My face throbbed.
I shifted and realized I was kneeling right beside the duffel bag.
“Allie, Allie, Allie.” Sticks crunched as he took a step closer. “I should have known you were playing me. You can’t play a player.”
I grabbed the duffel bag, leaped up, and ran.
As I bounded into the trees, I heard Blake shouting behind me. I picked up speed, sprinting as fast as I could, dodging around tree trunks.
I needed to get back to the hotel.
Running as fast as I could, I crashed through the undergrowth, branches slapping me in the face.
“I’m going to fuck you up, Allie.” Blake’s shout echoed in the trees. “No one messes with my business.”
My chest hitched, but I kept running.
Air was sawing in and out of my lungs. Ahead, I saw a small clearing and some rocks. I detoured around a boulder.
Suddenly, a weight tackled me from behind. I hit the ground with anoof.
No.
The duffel bag slipped from my hands.
“The game ends here.” Blake’s voice was low and angry in my ear. His weight pinned me to the ground. “I make too much money from my business to risk it. I’ve no desire to go and sit in a fucking cubicle being a lawyer like my father wants.”
Bucking my body, I tried to kick him off. But he was too damn heavy and too strong.
“Quit that.” He smacked a hand into the side of my head.
Ow. Pain throbbed through my face.
Then I felt him reaching around my body and in the pocket of my hoodie. He pulled out my phone, then tossed it into the trees.
He also pulled out the packet of pills.
He reared back enough to turn me over, then pinned me down again. He smiled. “You’re going to get to sample my goods. When they find you, you’ll be another sad statistic. An overwhelmed single mom who took the easy way out.”
No. I thrust my body up.
He jostled and almost overbalanced. With a growl, he pressed his forearm against my chest, shoving me back down.
This couldn’t happen. I couldn’t leave Ollie alone.
I didn’t want to leave Caden. We had something special, I knew it in my heart. If the stubborn man would just let me in. Let me love him.
I wasn’t going to let Blake Moreland ruin my life.
I kept fighting, but he was too strong.
He gripped my chin with one hand, holding my jaw still. Then he opened the baggie of pills with his other hand.
“Time take your medicine.”