Page 44 of Guarding Rory
It was before I’d realized just how easy it was to buy judges, pay off the police, get blackmail on those who might try to bring my dad to justice. Before he had the infamous ‘Xander’ and his crew to cover up all his crimes.
I’d abandoned the need to become a lawyer quickly, but everything I’d learned about the law had stuck. At the very least, I knew some of the Hollywood-lawyer lingo. Like assertions, evidence, and rebuttals, which I employed to lay out the facts of my relationship with Dev.
Assertion:Dev wanted to be married to me.
Evidence: He never tried to get out of our bargain, changed our wedding vows to promise ourselves to each other forever, took care of me.
Rebuttal: He was forced into our marriage and was attempting to make the best of the situation.
Assertion:Dev was attracted to me.
Evidence: He fucked me on our wedding night (and every night since).
Rebuttal: Dev was too nice of a guy to have an extramarital affair, so I was the only source of sex he had.
Assertion:Dev was falling for me as thoroughly as I was falling for him.
Evidence: The warmth in his eyes when he looked at me, the sweet nicknames he had for me, the way he’d forced Bex to return all his furniture and yet my bed remained missing.
Rebuttal: I was allowing my own emotions to clog my reason, taking any friendly or kind action and molding it into something that fit what I hoped he felt.
Noneof my evidence was concrete, all of it gut instinct and hope, and the idea that I’d misunderstood our entire relationship had me feeling sick to my stomach. I’d seen the mangalsutra and the sex as indicators he felt something real for me, but maybe it was just the fact that he knew he was stuck with me and was hoping to make the best of the situation.
Maybe he simply hoped he’d fall in love with me, and had been acting the part to help encourage the feeling. Somehow, realizing I might have to wait for months for Dev to feel an ounce of the love or attraction I felt for him made it that much worse. Mostly because those months might turn to years, or those years might turn into never. The idea that I could love Dev the rest of my life while he only felt some sort of obligation and general attraction toward me - enough to fuck me, but not to love me - had me puking on the side of the road, the food I’d eaten purged to make room for all the negative emotions swirling in my gut.
I wiped my chin, stomach still heaving and brain still churning as I squatted on the sidewalk. Deep down, I knew I was overreacting, that my ever-present anxiety had watered a small seed of doubt, allowing it to grow into something self-pitying. But in the moment it was hard to reason with myself, worst-case scenarios flitting through my head as my chest grew tighter.
How many years of trying to force himself to love me would Dev put up with before leaving like my mother had? How long would it take for him to find another means to keep his friends safe that didn’t require him to stay married to me?
I didn’t have time to stifle the choking sob that came from my throat, both because I was weak after throwing up and becausesomeone took that moment to wrap an arm around my neck and jerk me to my feet.
Chapter 21
Rory
My assailant chosethe right time to attack. I was still dizzy from throwing up and tears blurred my vision as they pulled me to my feet. They immediately set me off-balance, and I stumbled backwards as they started dragging me toward an alleyway.
It was the sight of the alley that finally had me fighting back, the memory of the last time I was stuck in an alleyway flooding my mind. The bruises I had for a week afterward, the anger on my attacker’s face as he backed me against the dirty brick wall. I had gotten lucky then, Dev arriving out of nowhere to rescue me.
But Dev wasn’t here now, and I didn’t have the luxury to assume he’d arrive in time, before my attacker dragged me away. An unmarked van waited at the other end of the alley, ready to take me wherever they wanted me to go. And I knew once I got in that van, I was as good as gone.
Dev’s training, the self-defense and sparring exercises he’d led me through these past few weeks, kicked in. I got my feet back under my hips, tucking my chin into the crook of my attacker’s elbow to protect my neck. I thrust my elbow into their stomach before tilting it up to shove it into their jaw.
A pained, distinctly male groan was the only warning before they loosened their arm, and I took advantage, untangling myself and taking the breath they’d stolen moments before.
“Dev!” I screamed, the only word I could muster as I tried to run from my attacker, only making it a few steps toward the corner they’d all disappeared around before I was pulled back against my attacker’s body, his palm slapping over my mouth to keep me from screaming out again.
He’d learned from my previous attack, wrapping my arms in a bear hug against his chest. He was tall enough that my feet were off the ground, giving me no leverage to push him off balance. I tried to kick at his shins, but it was no use, so I settled on biting his hand, clamping on the soft skin until I tasted blood.
“Bitch!” He yelled as he dropped me on the ground, kicking my stomach as I tried to get to my feet. I spit onto the sidewalk, grinning up at him, teeth still red with his blood.
I felt better with his blood in my mouth, the pain I’d caused him a tangible thing. I felt more confident I’d fight him off long enough for someone to come back looking for me, and I got to my feet, wincing slightly at what would likely become a giant bruise across my ribs. I held my fists up, making it clear I wouldn’t go easily, the unfamiliar face in front of me sneering around the split lip I’d caused with my elbow.
But before either of us could make a move, Dev was there, punching the man in the throat and kneeing him in the groin in quick succession. He was barely on his knees before Dev rained blows on his face and torso, the man barely able to curl into the fetal position as Dev brutally attacked him.
Bex was the one to pull him off, the man’s face bloodied and broken from Dev’s fists. He was still alive, groaning and attempting to drag himself away. Bex rolled her eyes at his desperate attempts to escape, muttering under her breath,“Pathetic. Why these weak men think they can fuck with our women, I’ll never understand.”
Then she called around the corner, “He’s down, Alex. You can bring the girls around.”
