When he stopped the kiss, he hauled her up by the arms as the front door splintered open. Cameron let go of her with a curse and she sank to her hands and knees, her body just too weak to stay standing. The shrill sound of the alarm going off was dull compared to the curses and shouts that rang out around her. Her wrists were raw and bloody, but she braced her hands on the floor and pushed herself up. The first thing she noticed when she was upright was the front door hanging by its hinges. The second thing was Adrian standing on the threshold, his hand gripping Cameron’s henchman by the neck. The guy was beaten up, his lips, mouth, and nose bloody and both his eyes already starting to turn black. Cameron was only a few feet to her left, but with him distracted she took a few more steps away. Just being near him had her whole body shaking.
“You motherfucker.” Adrian’s voice was low and deadly calm. “I’m going to make you pay for everything you put Brea through.” Adrian tossed the man aside and as soon as he hit the floor he scrambled up and darted out through the broken door. It was just the three of them and the tension was thick, so very thick.
Her left eye was partially swollen shut and she tasted the tangy flavor of blood in her mouth, but the strength had suddenly surged within her. She looked between Adrian and Cameron, saw Adrian look at her for a split second before his full attention was back on Cameron. A muscle ticked in his jaw and his knuckles were white with the force of how tightly his hands were clenched.
Cameron laughed, the same one he used when she would beg him to stop. “There isn’t anyone, most of all the man that used her for a quick fuck, that can stop me from taking what is mine.” He took a step toward her and she took one away.
“Brea, baby, come over here.” Adrian sounded so calm, so sure of the situation. She desperately wanted to go to him, to let him protect her, but she reminded herself she couldn’t be selfish, she couldn’t let him get hurt.
“Adrian, please, just leave.” Those were the hardest four words she had said thus far. All she wanted to do was run into his arms, to have him tell her everything would be okay. But she wasn’t going to allow that to happen.
Adrian didn’t look at her.
“As you can see, Brea knows her place is by my side.” Cameron’s mocking voice filled the room. “Come here, love.”
“No, Cameron.”
The air dropped ten degrees. Cameron turned toward her, the ice in his stare glacial. “Brea.” The way he said her name, as if it were a command she needed to follow, had her resolve growing a foot. “Come. Here. Brea.”
“No, Cameron.” She had never said no to him in their relationship, and maybe the only reason she felt the strength now was because Adrian was here, but it was a step. A very small step.
“I’ll overlook your disobedience this once if you come here now.” He was fully facing her now, the anger radiating off of him.
“Don’t talk to her that way or I’ll make sure you can never say another word again.”
Cameron slowly turned back toward Adrian. “This coming from a man that treats women as if they are nothing more than a hole to fuck.” Adrian practically seethed with anger. “Are you not the same thug that fucked a different woman every other night before you got your filthy clutches on my Brea?” Cameron was baiting Adrian. Like a flash of lightening, Adrian charged toward Cameron. The two of them fell to the ground and a cry tore from her mouth. She could not let Adrian get hurt. There was no denying he was a fierce fighter and could handle himself, but Cameron was evil incarnate. The things he was capable of…
Chapter Twenty-Three
The sound of glass breaking, wood splintering, the alarm sounding, and fists meeting flesh filled the small room. Everything was happening so quickly with a whirlwind of activity that Brea grew dizzy. She was vaguely aware of the phone ringing, assumed it to be the alarm company, but she didn’t have time to answer it and plead for help. She knew what she had to do, and that was get to her gun. If she didn’t stop Cameron he would kill Adrian. There was no doubt in her mind about it.
The bag was close, so very close. She raced toward it and dropped to her knees in front of it. Fingers shaking terribly, she grabbed the gun and pointed it at Cameron, but he and Adrian were rolling around on the ground, trying to top the other. If she missed she could very easily shoot Adrian. Her purse and all of its contents were scattered just a few feet away. Racing toward it she fell to her knees and grabbed what had caught her eye and shoved it in her pocket.
She turned toward them and a heartbeat passed before she found the opening she needed, but before she could pull the trigger Cameron pushed Adrian so hard he slammed into the doorframe, the sound of his head cracking against the wood deafening. She almost lost her grip on the gun, the need to rush over to him and make sure he was okay running strong inside of her. She couldn’t be weak, not now. Raising her arms and pointing the gun at Cameron, she tried to steady her breathing, tried to remember her training.