Page 126 of Thaw My Heart

My hands shake. My body convulses as I remove my hoodie, leaving me in a T-shirt.

He waves the gun. “Now the other.”

“No, please⁠—”

He stalks towards me, grabbing my arm. I try to break away, begging for him to stop. In frustration, Markus grabs a handful of my hair, shoving me down onto the floor. Resting his weight on the center of my body.

I struggle beneath him, but I can’t move.

The sound of a lighter flicking, followed by the smell of a cigarette, sends my body into a panic. “No, no, no. Markus, please! Please don’t—” I start to scream.

“Shut up!” He slams my head into the floor so hard that I feel it in my spine. “This is what happens when you disobey me, Emma. You want to run away and fuck cowboys?”

The feel of cold steel presses against my skin as Markus pulls out a pocketknife and cuts off my T-shirt, leaving me in a blue bra.

“This is your punishment for your behavior. You’re mine, Emma.”

Fear jolts my body with adrenaline. I try to scramble beneath him, kicking my feet. But it’s useless. “Please, don’t—PLEASE—” The feel of burning skin cuts off my words. I scream so loud my throat strains from the pressure. I can’t form words.

I can’t think about anything but the pain.

The door bursts open, and Kit comes barreling through, letting in a cold chill, but not as cold as the ice in his deep voice. “Get your fucking hands off her!” He shoves Markus off me with force, reaching for me.

Markus points his gun straight at Kit’s chest. “Back up!”

“No, please!” I gasp, reaching for the gun, trying to rise from the ground. “Markus, please let him⁠—”

“Shut up!” Markus yells at me.

“Let her go,” Kit warns.

“Back up now, or I’ll shoot,” he counters.

A muscle ticks in Kit’s jaw, and he takes a step back.

With the gun still pointed at Kit’s chest, Markus pulls me to my feet. “Kit, run—” I start to say before Markus’s fingers wrap around my throat.

“I’m assuming you’re the cowboy that’s been fucking my wife,” Markus insinuates, squeezing harder.

“There’s only one person who’s allowed to call me that, and it sure as hell ain’t you. Now get your fucking hands off her. I will not ask you again.” I don’t know how Kit’s voice is so calm, so steady.

Markus laughs. “What are you going to do about it, country boy? She’s my property.”

“You’ve got about a minute before the other cowboys on this ranch bury you in the ground. You don’t have time to argue with me,” his voice airs with confidence.

Markus lowers his voice with authority. “I’m a police officer. You touch me, and I’ll throw you in prison.” A fact that kept me from reporting him for years. No one believed me anyway. Or if they did, no one tried to do anything about it. Or maybe they were too scared.

The floor creaks as Kit dares a step closer. Markus’s grip tightens around my throat. My eyes squeeze shut, seeing stars dancing around in my eyelids.

“You forget where you are,” Kit says calmly. “I own 200,000 acres of untouched land. People get lost out here. If something happened to you, they’d never find the body.”

“Are you threatening me?” Markus’s shaky voice reveals the unease at Kit’s threat.

“Believe me, if I were threatening you, you’d know it.” By the saccharine tone of his voice, I imagine he’s smiling at him, but my vision is too blurry to tell.

My nails dig into Markus’s forearm, trying to loosen his hold, but I can’t breathe. Panic settles in. I try to speak, but only choking sounds come out.

I can’t breathe.