Chapter 145
I scowled, trying to push him away. “Let go!”
Blake caught my wrists and pinned them above my head in one swift motion. I was trapped.
My phone rang suddenly, cutting through the tension. Blake reached into my pocket with his free hand and pulled it out, still holding my wrists with the other.
His brow furrowed at the screen. “Ethan? Ethan Davies?”
He looked from the phone to my face, expression darkening. “It’s ten at night. You know that, right?”
The phone stopped ringing only to start again immediately.
“How close are you and this Ethan? He’s calling this late?” His thumb hovered over the answer button. “Seems he won’t stop until you answer.”
“No!” I cried out, struggling against his grip.
I know exactly why Ethan’s calling. My last words to him were that I’d handle Blake myself. Ethan, young and impulsive, is calling to tell me to stay out of it, that he can handle Blake alone.
If Blake answers, Ethan will confront him immediately. Instead of protecting Ethan, I’ll be throwing him
to the wolves.
“No?” His eyebrows rose. “I used to answer your calls whenever I wanted.”
“That was then, this is now!” I snapped. “Blake Parker, we’re divorced now! Our marriage is over!”
“What if I insist on answering this call for my ex–wife?” he challenged, his finger moving toward the
screen.
འབྱུང་བ་ཅུ་གང་ཆར་ཞུད་སྔ་དྲ་བ།
“Blake Parker!” I shouted, my voice echoing in the stairwell. “Don’t force me to hate you!”
Blake’s finger froze just as he was about to answer.
He gave me a cold look, then glanced at the phone again.
After a moment, he tossed it back to me with an icy expression. “Boring.”
With that single word, he turned and climbed a few steps, stopping at the landing above. He leaned against the wall, pulled out a/cigarette, and lit it with a sharp click.
I frowned at him before covering the phone and answering. “Ethan, what’s wrong?”
1/3
Chapter 145
“There are men in black suits knocking on doors in my dorm, Ethan’s anxious voice came through “They’re asking everyone which room I live in…”
“Are these Blake’s men?”
I bit my lip, glancing at Blake smoking in the corner. In the dim light and cigarette smoke, I couldn’t make out his expression.
“Stay hidden,” I said quietly. “I’ll handle this.”
“Okay,” Ethan’s voice carried real fear for the first time. “There are four guys inside, but I saw five vans downstairs with about fifteen more men waiting…”
He paused. “Are they going to hurt me?”
“I thought they’d delete my posts and that would be it. It was only online for an hour… I didn’t think
it would hurt Miss Rose that much. At worst, I expected police involvement, maybe a public
apology…”
“I never expected a small army at my dorm in the middle of the night…
His voice dropped. “Audrey, you and Astrid are my only friends here, and I can’t drag you two women.
into this at this hour.”
“Do you know any guys who could pick me up? Find me somewhere to crash? I just stepped out for water. My wallet, clothes – everything’s still in my room. I’m hiding in the stairwell…”
I glanced again at Blake, who continued smoking, content to wait out my call.
“Stay hidden,” I whispered. “Put your phone on silent. Save your battery. I’ll figure something out.”
“Thanks, Audrey.”
I hung up and walked toward Blake, stopping as he took a final drag from his cigarette.
He crushed it against the trash can and looked at me coldly. “Was that your goodnight call with little
Ethan?”
I narrowed my eyes. “With you involved, will Ethan sleep at all tonight?”
Seeing my serious expression, Blake frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
