54. Cassidy

"What the hell is this?"I ask, the fury that ignites inside of me when I see Roman standing in Saylor"s living room making my voice shake. "Why are you here?"

Before he can answer, a few things click into place and I laugh. It"s a harsh and nasty laugh and he deserves that and so much worse. Shit, I wish I had my phone. "Let me guess." I point at Roman. "The cheating boyfriend?"

Saylor stands up straighter. All her earlier sadness washes away in literally a blink or two of her eyes. I gape at her like an idiot trying to wrap my mind around what exactly this is. Clearly, I"m missing a few pieces of the puzzle.

She smirks at me as she tosses her golden hair back over her shoulder. "You really thought I needed your pity? That I was going to cry on your shoulder about my shitty boyfriend? Please."

Roman hasn"t said anything yet, and I honestly think this might be the longest he"s ever been in a room and not tried to direct the conversation to himself. But I should"ve known it was too good to last, because he opens his mouth, and yep, bullshit falls out. "Do you remember when we were good together? Back before Hayden Vaughn came to town and stole everything from me?"

I roll my eyes so hard I get a little dizzy. "Interesting take on the reality of the situation."

He, of course, ignores me.

"The problem is," he says, taking a step toward me like he"s going to touch me or something. I move back until my ass hits the wall and I can"t go any further. "You never stopped being mine. This whole time, I knew what you were doing. Playing hard to get, punishing me for messing around. You wanted me to chase you. Wanted to punish me for what I did."

I stare at him like he"s lost his damn mind because he has. He really fucking has. "You know what? I need to go." I want to yell at him about how delusional he is, but there"s a manic look in his eyes that I don"t like. It"s making that tiny alarm in my head blare like a damn tornado siren.

I turn to leave, but Roman"s hand snaps out and grips my wrist so hard it hurts. "You"re not going anywhere."

I try to yank away from him, but he just tightens his hold and I know I"m not strong enough to break free on my own. He"s a huge, built professional athlete and just the thought of running is sickening to me. It"s not even close, strength-wise. I glance over his shoulder at Saylor, but she"s fallen back on the couch with her legs dangling over the arm, kicking back and forth as she scrolls on her phone.

It"s like she doesn"t even care about the clear assault that"s happening right here in her house. She fucking tricked me and she"s shooting straight up my shit list to deal with once I get away from Roman.

My heart"s beating scary fast as I consider my options. Kneeing him in the balls sounds like a solid choice. Let"s call that plan A. In fact, I don"t need a backup because if I drop him, I can make a run for the door. No way will Saylor catch me. I'd like to think I've got adrenaline on my side.

Roman leans in so our foreheads are almost touching. My stomach heaves and I bite back bile when I think he might actually try to kiss me. How did I ever find him attractive? But instead, he says, "I caught you, and now you"re going to give me everything you"ve given up to that loser," he leans closer and drags the tip of his nose along my cheek. "Plus interest."

That"s my breaking point. I lift my knee and slam it into his dick as hard as I can. I think he shifts at the last second so it maybe doesn"t connect as thoroughly as I wanted it to, but whatever. He drops me so he can cup his junk and I shove him away so hard he falls on his ass. Then I haul ass straight for the door.

A loud click sounds from behind me and Roman"s voice, cold and scary and not at all like I just rearranged his balls up into his body with my knee, stops me with my fingers inches from the doorknob. "You always did like doing things the hard way."

I turn to face him and he"s got a gun pointed straight at my face. My stomach drops as I realize how bad this just became. Oh shit, the baby. My heart rate reaches new, record-breaking levels when I think about the little life inside of me and the danger they're in.

I hold my hands up in front of me like they"re going to stop a bullet. There was a time I thought I"d rather die than ask literally anything of this man. My lack of begging suggests I still feel that way. "You don"t want to do this."

"Oh, but I do." He grins as he takes a step toward me, then another and another, until he"s close enough to press the barrel of the gun against my forehead.

My fear is quickly turning to rage as I stare into this asshole"s eyes. He cheated on me. He"s done nothing but harass me, gaslight me, and make me feel bad about myself. And now he thinks he can try to take my life from me? Hayden? Our baby?

Not today, asshole.

"Get that motherfucking gun out of my face, you vile piece of shit," I say through clenched teeth. I"m not going down without a fight, and I"m definitely not letting Roman Morozov be the one to end me or my baby. "If you think I"m going to cower for you, kneel on the floor at your feet and beg you for mercy you might as well shoot me now because it. Will. Never. Happen."

Roman"s eyes harden, and his jaw clenches so tight I think his teeth might crack. He"s pissed, but so am I. And if this is how it ends, then so be it. I"ll die with my head held high, knowing I fought back and didn"t let him win.

"As much fun as watching this little showdown is, I"m going to shower and go to bed," Saylor says from somewhere behind Roman like he doesn"t have me at fucking gunpoint and it"s just another night for her.

Bitch.

"Hey Saylor? You"re fucking fired," I call over Roman"s shoulder, not taking my eyes off him even though the barrel of the gun still presses against my forehead.

She laughs as she heads up the stairs, leaving me alone with Roman and his fucking gun.

I want so badly to press my hand into my stomach and the tiny swell there because as much as I"m trying to hold myself together, to think rationally and not just lay down and take whatever Roman has planned, that mama bear instinct is already firing off inside of me and I want to tear his face off for daring to threaten my baby. But I don"t. I don"t want to give away that I'm pregnant if I can help it, though if he doesn"t move the gun, I might have to.

Telling him about the baby"s a risk and I"m not ready to take it yet.

With the hand not holding his gun, Roman grips the back of my neck and I stumble when he yanks me into his body. The smell of his cologne makes me gag and I"m actually sad I didn"t eat tonight so I"d have something in my stomach to vomit all over him.

"Now here"s what you"re going to do," Roman says, not dropping that damn gun even an inch. "You"re going to take off your clothes—"

"Like hell I am," I snarl, raising my knee to hit him in the balls again, but this time he"s ready, and he pulls his arm back and slams the gun into my temple.

I crumple to the floor like the dead weight I am as the world goes black.

Fuck my life.

These goddamn hockey players are going to be the death of me.