nch of alcohol rolling off him made Jacqueline's stomach heav

stiffening as she dodged his greasy hand. A heavy gold ring on his i

scene unfold with cold detachment, his jaw ticking. To him, this looked exactly like a dispute betw

to explain herself to Christian while Wayne spewed

vy door, trying to squeeze past Wayne's

ed red. He lunged, his large hand grabbing the leather strap of her

ly in her high heels. Pain shot up her calf as she stumbled backward, crossing t

as she gripped the other side of the bag. Her laptop, her clien

g his other hand up, his thick fingers wrapping tightly around Jacqueline's

s. Jacqueline didn't scream. Pani

eight, and drove her knee upward with every ounce of

-pitched, guttural squeal tore from his mou

her tote bag from the floor and spun toward the elevators

made it t

ulders, forming an impenetrable wall of muscle right in front of the elevator doors. For a split second, Jacque

The pain in his groin morph

s hand clamped down on the back of her head,

oared, yankin

gasp tore from her lips, and hot tears instantly flooded her eyes. She bit down hard on her lower

s arm, throwin

blade crashed into a heavy brass wall scon

e slid down the expensive wallpaper, collapsing onto the floor. The pris

hest heaving. He pointed a

our rent!" he screamed, his spit flying onto her cheek. "And now y

out, their eyes wide with curiosity. But the moment they saw Wayne

her lungs. The harsh fluorescent lights above her flickered. The suffocating helplessness of her p

ew bolder. He bent down, his hand grabbi

lled

y. The seam at her shoulder gave way, splitting the dress down to her coll

p inside Jacqueline's mind. The paralyzing fear vanis

d her spilled tote bag. Her fingers closed ar

s fingers aiming for the to

single second of hesitation, she drove the sharp m

rced his skin

stumbling away from her. Thick, dark blood instantly welled up

rds at the end of the hall cursed and charg

ll. She held the bloody pen out in front of her, her chest heaving, her blue ey

raised his fist, aim

A

d open with such terrifying force that the wood splintered aroun

t stopped inches fr

idor. He looked like a demon dragged straight from hell. His face was a mask of abso