Fighting Solitude (On The Ropes #3)(88)

“Damn it!” Davenport slung me forward.

I stumbled before slamming into the tile and then skidding to a halt on my knees.

Just as quickly as I’d gone down, I popped back up, scampering to get away. I didn’t make it but a few steps before his thick arm hooked me around the waist.

“Where you going, Livvie?” he purred, lifting me off my feet and holding my back to his front.

Bile crept into my throat as he rubbed his scruff into my cheek.

I wanted to fight any way I could. Claw my way out his arms, biting and scratching before jamming my high heel into his balls. I wasn’t usually a violent woman, but I had an overwhelming urge to watch him bleed out onto the floor in a slow and agonizing death. I wasn’t going to be able to do that to him though. Quarry had told me not to challenge him, and right then, I knew exactly why. Physically, Davenport was superior to me in every way.

“Nowhere,” I replied through clenched teeth.

“Good answer,” he said, carrying me across the room.

I went willingly until I saw his knife come into view on the floor.

My legs thrashed violently, but his large hand bit into my hip as he bent over to retrieve it.

“Easy there,” he soothed. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

I sucked in a shuddering breath, fighting back the reemergence of my tears.

“At least, not without Page here to witness it.”





I don’t remember taking a single breath as I sped down those icy roads faster than any mortal should ever drive. My lungs were on fire, and my chest ached with every passing minute. The gas pedal was on the floor as I weaved through traffic like a maniac. I’d even passed Leo on the highway.

I was less than a minute from the community center when Liv’s number lit up my cell phone. A huge breath of relief flew from my mouth, and my foot slowly lifted off the pedal.

“Thank f*cking God,” was my greeting.

“Don’t come here!” she screeched into my ear, spiking my pulse all over again.

My lead foot fell back on the accelerator. “Liv!”

I heard the bellow of a maniacal laugh.

“You better hurry.” Davenport’s voice filtered through the line, solidifying my worst fears. “Before it’s too late”

“What the f*ck are you—” I started but stopped midsentence when Liv’s agonizing screams hit my ear. The pain in her voice was paralyzing, and my already-tense body convulsed. “Liv!”

I helplessly held the phone as her cries continued. It wasn’t until her voice disappeared that I realized Liv had always been right.

The silence was f*cking terrifying.





“Please don’t do this!” I whispered, cradling my dislocated finger against my chest.

Davenport had left it mangled after forcefully ripping my engagement ring off.

“Please, shut the f*ck up,” he replied, casually lifting my ring in the air as if he were inspecting the stone.

Tears were streaming from my eyes as I stared at my phone, lying on the floor across the room. The screen was lit with an incoming call, which I knew was Quarry. Davenport had just hung up on him. I was in unbelievable pain, but nothing hurt as much as the agony in his voice as he’d shouted my name just before the call had been ended. It was a sound I could never unhear.

Suddenly, red-and-blue police lights caught my attention as they filled the parking lot. Davenport gripped the back of my neck and hauled me in front of him.

“Looks like your boyfriend brought reinforcements.” He laughed, not a care in the world.

He was seriously insane, and as if I hadn’t already been scared, the sound of his hollow laugh sent me into the petrified territory.

Movement from the floor caught my attention.

Don was starting to come to.

Lifting my hands, I silently signed, Help is here. Don’t move.

His confused eyes shifted from me to Davenport before closing again.

I was forced to the double glass doors, where dozens of police cars had joined our party. Tears of relief flooded my eyes as I saw my dad’s SUV and Quarry’s Porsche parked behind them.

“He took my belt,” Davenport whispered ominously.

“N-not yet. You could still win,” I replied as a cold chill ran down my spine.

“Dumb bitch,” he mumbled.

I saw Quarry’s strong body in the crowd long before Davenport did.

But, judging by the terror on Quarry’s face, he saw Davenport lift the knife long before I did.

We all heard the gun explode before Davenport did.





It was unquestionably the scariest moment of my entire life.

“No!” I roared as a gun fired from out of nowhere just as Davenport lifted a knife to Liv’s throat.

It was a wonder I wasn’t sucking the oxygen out of the state of Indiana for as hard as I had gasped. Blood roared through my veins as my worst nightmare played out in front of me. Dozens of officers were rushing toward the door when another shot was fired, forcing them all to shift to the sides of the building, flanking the door.

“Get down!” an officer at my side ordered, but my legs were already moving—and it wasn’t to hide.

Sprinting down the middle of the sidewalk, I ignored every single officer shouting my name.