2. Austin #2
“Is it dramatic of me to want you to be careful?” I asked, my mask brushing along the tip of her nose as I inched closer. “Is it dramatic to want you to watch your fucking back, and not be so naive about all of this?”
Her lips parted, and the look lit something inside me. I wanted her to react. To fight. To do something .
Slowly, my fingers glided along her jawline as I widened my hand. I trailed underneath her jaw until my hand was wrapped around her throat. She stood so still, I wondered if she was even breathing now.
If she hadn’t been before, then she definitely wasn’t now. Not as I pressed her harder against the car and tightened my grip enough to cut her breathing off.
But still, she didn’t move. Her cheeks tinted red, her eyes turning glassy as she glared at me. If she was trying to prove that what I was doing wasn’t affecting her, she needed to use some common fucking sense.
Seconds ticked by, and I trailed a finger down her cheek. “You’re stubborn, aren’t you?”
It was almost like my words spurred something in her. Her hands shot out and grabbed my wrist, gripping hard as she tried to shove me away, but I didn’t let up.
“How does it feel to not breathe, McKenna? To know that I could take not only your ability to fill those precious little lungs, but also your life?”
Her eyes widened as the panic set in, her nails digging into my skin where the sleeve of my jacket slid up my arm.
I watched her effort, reveling in her fight. “Good girl. Use your claws, kitten. Fight me.”
Her knee came up, slower than she’d probably anticipated, but I dodged it easily. Knowing she’d likely pass out soon, I let go of her neck and stepped back.
She choked on air as it filled her lungs and burned her throat. Her body bent at the waist. I knew what it was like to be choked, knew what she was seeing and feeling.
I watched her, shaking my head as she gasped for air. Better she hate me than be careless and lose her fucking life.
I wasn’t trying to assert any kind of role with McKenna. I only wanted her safe. And if she wouldn’t listen to me, then maybe instilling fear in her was what would make her open her damn eyes.
No. That wasn’t it.
Killing the person who left that note for her was the solution.
I shoved my mask down my face, leaving it around my neck.
“McKenna,” I started. Maybe I’d gone too far. Maybe?—
She shook her head, but no amount of breathing seemed to calm her. Was she panicking?
“McKenna. Hey. Look at me.” I crouched, looking up at her where she was still keeled over. She had her hands on her knees, her cheeks beet red.
Almost like she’d flipped a switch, she straightened, big, narrowed eyes meeting mine. “You want to turn me on, you’re going to have to try harder than some light choking.” Her words didn’t hold their typical bite, despite how hard she tried to cover up whatever she was feeling.
“Light. Right. I’ll remember how rough you really like it for next time.”
“Fuck off, Austin,” she snarled, a damning scowl on her face.
She was angry. Good. That meant she’d fight harder next time.
“I know you didn’t go on a date the other night,” I stated.
She gave me an exasperated look, like that wasn’t important right now. “How do you guess that?”
“I watched you.”
This time, her eyes widened. “You watched me?”
I shrugged, though the movement was stiff. “Stalking you isn’t so hard when you don’t watch your fucking back.”
Fury lit her gaze. “Is that what this is? Some attempt to make me be careful?” She bent to grab her purse off the ground where it’d fallen when I grabbed her.
“If it is, you’re doing a great fucking job.
Slamming me into a car and choking me.” She forced a smile as she opened her purse with shaky hands.
She pulled something out, and I quickly realized it was a pack of gum.
After popping a piece into her mouth, she shoved the pack back in her purse and fished her keys out. While she was busy, I grabbed her phone from where it had fallen to the ground.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she shrieked as soon as she saw what I was holding. She reached for it, but I was faster.
I held it out of reach as I unlocked it and pulled up her contacts. “You should really have a passcode on your phone.”
“Don’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t do,” she snapped, continuing to try to take the device from me. It was futile, but I was growing easily distracted with the way her tits bounced with each little jump she did.
I added my number to her contacts, sent myself a quick text so I had hers, then locked the phone and slowly lowered it within her reach. Instantly, she snatched it.
“You’ll need that when your life is on the line,” I said.
McKenna shoved her phone back into her purse. “ If my life is on the line. Not when . The note wasn’t that serious.”
My nostrils flared as I held back the urge to fling her over my shoulder, bring her back to my truck, and lock her away in my room until whoever threatened her was caught.
Brynne was important to me, and by association, her best friend was too.
Not to mention the weeks of flirting before shit went to hell between us.
But the way she couldn’t stop being so damn stubborn for one fucking minute pissed me the hell off.
“It’s not a matter of if it’s going to happen, McKenna. It’s when , because that’s what happens when someone threatens your fucking life. They make good on their promises. So get in your car, drive home, and know that I’ll be the one watching your back because you won’t.”
“I don’t need you to!” she hissed, inching forward.
“What? Are you too headstrong for that, too?”
“The only headstrong one here is you, Austin. Let. It. Go.” She emphasized each word before she whirled around and pressed a button on the fob to unlock her SUV.
“Is that why you told Brynne about it, then? So we could all just let it go? Or are you avoiding the fact that you’re scared and you don’t know how to ask for help?”
She hesitated with her hand on the handle, her back going stiff.
The act told me all I needed to know.
I didn’t give her a chance to respond as I turned and headed back the way I came .
Stubborn as she was, I’d fight for her.
She’d hate every second of it, but I would.
Because like it or not, McKenna was afraid of that note, and although she hid her emotions behind a heavily fortified wall, I’d make it my damn mission to make her feel safe again.
And I’d have damn fun doing it.