Barely Breathing (The Breathing #2)(146)

"You should have listened," he grunted. The hardened glare in his dark eyes sent a chill through me. I knew that look. I instinctively began to raise my hands to protect myself, but the punch knocked me to the floor. Pain flooded through my jaw, and my eyes filled with black dots.

I scrambled to my feet, trying to find my focus, needing to reach him before he could make it to the stairs. I pulled at his hand. He turned back around, snatching the necklace out of reach and exclaimed, "You little bitch. What the fuck are you thinking?" 

"You can't have it," I cried. "Please, I'll pay you. But you can't take that from me."

He laughed and shoved me hard. I collided with the wall and grunted.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" he sneered. He swung his arm and back handed me across the head, knocking me to my hands and knees. My head pounded, but I willed myself to get back on my feet. Before I could, his boot crashed into my ribs.

I screamed out and fell to the floor, my arms wrapped around me as I curled into a ball, unable to catch my breath.

"Emma!" I heard from the bottom of the stairs.

I couldn't find my voice to warn him, to tell him to leave. Immobile in my curled position on the floor, I heard scuffling and grunts. I rolled over to see Jonathan shoving the guy against the wall and thrusting his fist into his stomach. The guy buckled over.

I used the wall to help me up, and leaned against it with an arm across my ribs. Every breath was agonizing. I wanted to yell out, but I could only gasp in staggered breaths. I fumbled for my phone, but it wasn't in my pocket. I searched for it on the floor but couldn't find it.

The sparkle of the diamond caught my eye on the floorboards at my feet. I wrapped my fingers around it and clenched it tightly in my fist, feeling the stone digging into my palm.

Jonathan landed a punch to the side of the guy's head, causing him to stagger back. Before he could regain his balance, Jonathan followed with another to his jaw, and the guy teetered over, landing hard on the floor. Jonathan kept a hold of his shirt, keeping him propped up, and slammed his fist into his face. The guy's arms went limp by his sides, but Jonathan was relentless, swinging over and over again.

"Jonathan!" I screamed as blood smeared the man's face. The tendons in Jonathan's neck strained as he slammed his fist into the mangled face, blood spraying out of the mouth and nose. His rage was insatiable.

I staggered over and grabbed the arm that was holding the guy up. "Jonathan!"

Jonathan's head snapped up. His eyes were dark and feral. I didn't recognize him with his lips pulled tight in a hateful sneer. I stumbled back, inhaling sharply.

It took him a moment to focus on me, for his face to soften. The stone disintegrated from his eyes. I stood with my mouth open in abhorrence. His face contorted painfully when he saw the horror on my face.

Jonathan slowly lowered the guy to the floor and stood up, not taking his eyes off me.

"Emma," he breathed desolately. I shook my head, unable to comprehend what I'd just witnessed. I backed away and stared down at the unrecognizable figure on the floor. He wasn't moving. I couldn't even tell if he was breathing. His face was deformed and drenched in blood; he didn't look human.

"Emma, look at me," Jonathan directed calmly, no longer dazed. "Don't look at him, look at me."

I pulled my eyes away from the blood spattered remains on the floor and focused on Jonathan. "Emma, keep looking at me. Are you okay?"

He moved to touch my cheek. "Your face." I pulled back sharply, forcing him to withdraw his blood covered hand. I absently raised my hand to my mouth and winced at its touch. When I pulled it away, my fingertips were covered in blood. At first, I wasn't sure if it was mine. But then I tasted the tang of it in my mouth. I ran my tongue along the cut on the inside of my lip where my teeth had punctured the tissue.

I was too numb with shock to recognize the pain. Everything moved slowly. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. I just stood in that spot and stared at Jonathan's concerned, blood speckled face.



       
         
       
        

"Is he..." I rasped, but couldn't finish the question, my eyes drifting back down to the blood covering the floor.

"Don't look at him." Jonathan stepped toward me to block my view. He guided me to the stairs with outstretched arms, without touching me.

"What did you do?" The intensity in his hardened eyes flashed before me, and I shuddered. "You looked so... angry."

"I'm sorry you had to see that. But he hurt you. And I will never let anyone hurt you." There was a quiet strength in his voice. "Sit here, okay."