Jon spent an inordinate amount of time checking over her cuts. The bleeding had seeped through the bandage on her leg and the pain made it pulse in time with her heartbeat. He was almost gentle as he removed the old bandage and cleaned it, shhhing her when she cried out as he poured peroxide on it and reapplied a new bandage. Her nostrils flared as she sucked in her breath against the sharp, deep pain that ripped through her wounds. His attention to her cuts belied the evil lurking beneath.

“I don’t know why you ride that silly bike, Juliette!” he said, putting the last bit of tape on the edge of the gauze. She nearly bit her tongue to stop him calling her Juliette. It would only bring his wrath down on her. He ran his hands along her jean-clad legs and she shuddered. At least he’d only cut out a small portion to dress her cut and not taken them off completely. But his touch on that small bit of her skin was enough to turn her stomach even more. The revulsion threatened to make her throw up as he sat in front of her, a smile plastered on his face.

“Once we’re back home, I’ll be sure to keep a close eye on you, so you don’t get into any more nasty accidents.”

“Jon, please let me go. If you just let me go, I won’t tell anyone what happened. I won’t go to the cops. Just let me go.” She couldn’t reason with him, but she had to try. Try to give herself more time. Time for what, she didn’t know, but just more of it.

“I think you know that’s not going to happen.”

“I thought you were arrested. How did you get out?”

He stared at her like she was a little idiot child. He ran his fingers through her hair and she flinched away. He gripped it tighter in his fist and she held back a whimper. Don’t give him the satisfaction. Try to keep him talking.

“Fake IDs are very easy to come by. All I had to do was dangle the right financial incentive in front of the right person and they were willing to do whatever I needed them do to,” he said, so proud of himself.

“You set a trap for me,” she said, kicking herself. And she’d fallen right into it.

“While you were shacked up with your little friend and knew I was still there, I knew you wouldn’t be stupid enough to run. But I knew once you thought I was locked up, you’d run like you always tried to do. Always leaving the minute someone’s back was turned. I knew you’d run out on your little fling, just like you ran out on me,” he sneered. She shook her head. She’d done exactly what he thought she would. He’d played on her insecurities to get her right where he wanted her.

“And I wasn’t ready to let you go because I say when things are over and they’re not over,” he said, leveling a malevolent glare at her. Stomach curdling, she pushed forward. What the hell was she going to do?

“Tomorrow, we’ll go find a nice, quiet place where we can spend time together and get to know one another again.”

“I’m nothing you want, Jon. I’m not obedient like a dog. You can’t just tell me to fetch and expect me to run along. I’m never going to be that woman for you. Why can’t you find someone else? Why does it have to be me?”

“It has to be you because I’ve decided I love you and I want you, it’s as simple as that, Juliette. As for it never being you, I’m sure with some persuading I can ensure you’ll be the perfect wife I’ve always known you could be.”

“I’m not marrying you, Jon,” she said, struggling against the ties on her arms.

“You say that now, but I can change your mind. Stop struggling, you’ll hurt yourself!” he snapped. “I know what will calm you down. How about a kiss?”

He leaned into the bed and Rox knew she wasn’t going to be able to go through with it. Maybe if she could knock him out, she’d have a chance to get these freaking ties off her arms. Or at least scream for help. Crawling toward her, she braced herself as he got closer. The smell of alcohol filled her nose as he was face-to-face with her, then, pulling her head back against the wall to get as much leverage as possible, she whipped her head forward with as much force as she could, slamming it into his nose. Then she brought up her knee to hit him straight in the groin.

Screaming, he held his hand over his nose that was gushing blood through his fingers and fell to the floor next to the bed. She started pulling frantically at the ties on her arms. That hadn’t worked out as planned as he was still very much conscious and sure to be really pissed off. He stood next to the bed, blood dripping from his face. His hand whipped back and Rox braced herself for a blow when a crash diverted both of their attention to the door.

Her heart soared as Liam rushed through the doorway and lunged at Jon, flying over the bed and slamming him into the wall. The plaster splintered as Liam smashed him into it over and over. Jon attempted to fight back. Grabbing for the lamp that was on the bedside table, he slammed in into Liam’s head, dazing him as he stood and Jon took the cord from the lamp and wrapped it around her neck.

The stiff cord dug into her skin as Jon tightened it around her neck. Swallowing was impossible as she struggled against the ties on her arms and her feet kicked and flailed as she gasped for breath. He loosened it slightly, keeping his eyes on Liam who looked ready to pounce.

“I would stop right there. I could yank this cord and crush her windpipe.” Jon gurgled through his blood covered nose.

“Don’t hurt her! Just put the cord down and we can all walk out of here,” Liam shouted, a cut on his head from where the lamp had hit him.

“You weren’t invited. This is between me and Juliette. You’re the one that needs to leave.”

“I think you know I can’t do that, Jon.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because I love her and I can’t let you hurt her.”

“She belongs to me!” he said, tightening the cord around her neck. Black spots danced in her vision as she started to lose consciousness.

“Do you know why she left you?” Liam said, his eyes locked on Jon.

“Because she thought she could find someone with more money. Someone like you,” he sneered, lunging at Liam, but loosening the cord. She took a gasping breath and Liam’s eyes darted to hers.

“No, she left you because you were an abusive asshole. And she knew she deserved better.”

“I wouldn't have done all of those things if she hadn’t put up so much resistance to my suggestions. She was always so willful, headstrong. I knew I needed to break her of that and then we could be together forever,” he said as the cord came loose from around her neck and Liam took his opening, tackling Jon into the nightstand and the wall behind them. Rox moved her head out of the way as bits of the wall exploded around her face.

She could hear the pulpy, wet sound as Liam punched Jon over and over again, finally getting him to the floor. She could see his fists raising in the air and landing just out of her line of sight, but she saw them getting bloodier and bloodier with each punch. Whose blood it was, Liam’s or Jon’s, she wasn’t completely sure. The adrenaline rush that had sustained her throughout the whole ordeal was slipping away as she finally felt safe. Liam was here, he’d come after her. He’d saved her.

She had to stop him from killing Jon, not wanting Liam to get in trouble or have it on his conscience.

“Liam, don’t kill him!” Her voice came out more a raspy croak than a scream. “Liam!” He was in another world, as he grabbed Jon by the collar and slammed his head into the floor. “Liam, don’t kill him!”

The room was turning sideways, half tilting and half spinning as her head lolled to the side. “Liam!” she called out before everything went black.

* * *

She called out to him, but he couldn’t stop turning Jon’s face into ground meat. He’d put his hands on Rox, had beaten her, bloodied her, choked her, hurt her! The rage burning inside of him wasn’t anything he’d ever experienced. Rox called his name again, but even then, he couldn’t stop himself from wailing on Jon until he stopped responding.

Only when he glanced up and saw that Rox was passed out could he pull himself from Jon’s listless body on the floor. He clambered onto the bed and felt for her heartbeat. Relief washed through him as a faint one pulsed under his finger. Gripping the ties on the bed and mindful of her injuries, he ripped the ties away from the metal and laid Rox down flat.

As sirens blared in the distance, he picked her up, cradling her in his arms. He carried her to the door where he was greeted with flashing red and blue lights. An ambulance pulled up behind the five or six police cars. The cops jumped out with their weapons drawn. Holding her close, but showing them his hands, he paused in the doorway.

“I’m Liam Lavery, I’m the guy that called you. Jon, the man who kidnapped her, is in there.” He nodded to inside the room. “I’m not sure if he’s still alive.” The cops rushed forward and past him. The EMTs came up with a stretcher and he gently laid her down. Holding onto her hand, he followed along with the stretcher and climbed up into the ambulance as they pushed it in. The EMTs checked her vitals while he tried to keep out of their way, but there was no way he was letting go of her hand.

When they arrived at the hospital, he had to let it go as they rushed her into a room and the cops arrived to get his statement. After what seemed like hours, they finished getting all the information he had. He sat in the waiting room until a nurse finally came to get him when they were ready to move Rox to a regular room. She looked so small and frail in the hospital bed. An IV was in the back of her hand and a blue and white hospital gown covered her to her knees. Relief and fear washed over him as he pulled the chair up to the side of the bed. Rox was safe, finally. She was safe, but what did any of this mean for them? For now, he would hold onto the fact that he’d been able to save her and maybe, just maybe, he would convince her to forgive him.

Sitting in the chair, he held her hand to the side of his face. The box sitting in his pants pocket called to him. He’d had it in his car for a week now. Not the best place to store something like this, but that was where he ended up putting it. After making so many mistakes he didn’t even know if he’d get the answer he wanted, but he knew that when she woke up, he had to ask the question.