جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 260

Liam sat in his apartment, the curtains drawn against the late afternoon sun because it hurt his eyes, his phone was clutched in his hand so tight his knuckles had gone white.The I*******m post glowed on the screen, mocking him.Lauren's face. Smiling and radiant. Beautiful in that way that made his chest ache and his cock hard at the same time. But it wasn't just her in the photo. The ape was there too, his massive arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest. And on her left hand, clearly visible, deliberately positioned for the camera, was a diamond ring.He'd watched them buy that ring. Had followed them to Tiffany's this morning, stood across the street wearing his sunglasses and hat. He didn't want the ape to see him. Didn't want Lauren reporting him to the cops again. He'd only walked by the front window once and nearly had a heart attack when he realized they were looking at rings.Forty minutes he'd waited. Forty minutes imagining what was happening inside.

Lauren stood in front of her bathroom mirror, applying the last touches of makeup while Wyatt leaned against the doorframe, watching her with that intensity that still made her stomach flip."You don't have to do this," he said for the third time that morning."Yes, I do." She set down her mascara, meeting his eyes in the mirror. "I'm not letting Liam take my career. This is a screen test with Leo, and I really want this gig, Wyatt. David already apologized for what happened with Liam. He wants me for the role. I'm going. This is the first vertical I've done that's different. It has depth.""I know." Wyatt's jaw was tight. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."Lauren turned to face him, crossing the small bathroom to place her hands on his chest. "You'll be there the whole time. Clark and Nelson will be there. Nate's team has already swept the building. I have my panic button, and I have my gun. I'm as safe as I can be. We knew it would come to this, allowing Liam to get close to one of u

The gunshot was deafening in the small room. Liam stopped mid-lunge, almost like he was suspended in time, then his expression shifted from rage to confusion. He looked down at his stomach, where blood was already spreading across his white shirt, dark and wet."You shot me," he said, almost wonderingly. "You actually shot me.""I warned you." Lauren's hands were shaking so badly she could barely keep the gun pointed at him. "I told you to stay back. Why didn't you listen?"Liam took a step toward her, stumbled. His hand pressed against the wound, coming away red. "This isn't... this isn't how it's supposed to—" He was looking at the blood, shocked, then back at her as his knees buckled. He went down hard, landing on his side. Something white fell from his other hand—Michelle's panties.They landed next to him on the floor, and even now, even dying, Liam's hand reached for them. Clutched them. Brought them to his face.Lauren stared, horror washing over her. His first victim's underwe

The next seventy-two hours passed in a blur.Lauren barely left her apartment. Barely left her bed. Wyatt stayed with her constantly. He only answered any important calls that came in. He was there when the nightmares came, and they came every time she closed her eyes.Liam's face. The gunshot. The blood. Over and over and over.Honey came by on the second day, bringing food Lauren didn't eat and sitting beside her bed, just holding her hand. Not saying anything. Just being present.Maggie came by that evening, checked her vitals, examined her throat, which was now a spectacular purple bruise. Prescribed sleeping pills that Lauren refused to take because she was afraid of what she'd see in deeper sleep.Nate and Prue brought dinner on the third day. They sat with them in the living room while Lauren picked at pasta and tried to pretend she was okay."The media's having a field day," Nate said, his voice careful. "Actress shoots stalker in self-defense. Stalker turns out to be serial k

Emma woke to voices arguing.Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, her body heavy and disconnected. She was lying on something soft, a couch maybe, no it was a bed, and there were people nearby. Too many people. Their voices overlapped, some angry, some confused, all of them too loud."—need to give her space—""—supposed to be dead, you were declared KIA—""—calm down, let him explain—""—three months, you bastard, three fucking months—"That last voice was Grayson's. Emma forced her eyes open, blinking against the light. She was in a bedroom, Honey and Grayson's guest room, she realized. She had spent more than one night here after… after…The voices were coming from the doorway. Grayson stood there, his body blocking someone from entering. Beyond him, she could see faces, Wyatt, Nate, all of them crowded in the hallway.And Daniel.Daniel was there, trying to push past Grayson, his face desperate.This wasn't a dream.Emma sat up too fast, the room tilting sideways. Hands i