Beautiful Surrender (The Surrender Series Book Three) Read Online Free PDF

suffering. There were small
signs like arguing but it seemed normal—couples usually have fights every now
and then. It wasn’t until I saw her bruises that . . . that I decided I needed
to intervene. I made sure he got the message.” He sighed.
    “I’m
sorry about what happened to your sister, but in this case you took it too far.
Way too far. You didn’t have to break Marty’s face. He wasn’t going to hurt
me.”
    “What
did he want?”
    “He
said he just wanted to talk.”
    Vincent’s
eyes narrowed as he ground his teeth. “I wouldn’t believe him. That’s a classic
trick they use. He hurt you before. That’s enough to establish that he’s
dangerous.”
    “He
said he was sorry and brought me flowers. He just wanted to apologize.”
    “You
don’t know that Kristen. Kurt and Bernie were watching. If they made a move, it
meant they thought you were in danger.”
    “You
don’t know either. He was just extending his hand to say sorry. Last time I
checked that wasn’t a felony.”
    He
looked at me probingly. “Why are you defending him?”
    “Jesus,
Vincent. Can you be any more insensitive? I’m not defending him.” My eyes began
tearing again. “Don’t treat me like I’m a helpless victim. I can’t stand it.”
    “My
team will make sure you won’t be.”
    “Why
aren’t you listening to me?” I screamed. “Get rid of them! I hate the idea of
being watched and monitored.”
    He kept
his gaze firmly on me as I broke down. “Kristen, he might come back. You have
to take this seriously.”
    “You
nearly killed him for bringing me flowers, Vincent! I doubt he’d be coming
back. I think he ‘got the message’.”
    He
quietly handed me a tissue. I took it and wiped my eyes, pulling mascara off in
the process. I knew I looked like a mess but I didn’t care.
    “I
don’t like it. I want you to feel safe. If he does come back, you’ll be
completely exposed.”
    I
closed my eyes for a moment and forced out a shaky breath. “Right now, I’m more
afraid of you than I am of him.”
    He
narrowed his brows. “You don’t mean that.”
    I
looked at him directly. “I do. You don’t know what it’s like watching your
boyfriend nearly beat your ex to death. I’m scared of you and what you’re
capable of.”
    Vincent
staggered back for a moment, no doubt reeling from my response. “All right,
fine. I’ll get rid of the security team. I’ll tell them to put a tracking
device on his car so we can monitor his whereabouts.” He stared into my eyes.
“But you should know that I’d never hurt you.”
    “You
already have. Maybe not physically like Marty did, but you hurt me emotionally.
You betrayed my trust.”
    “Okay.
How can I make this right?”
    I shook
my head. “I don’t know if you can.”
    “I really
care about you Kristen and if you need space, I can do that.” He got up from
the couch. “But if I had to choose between us breaking up and you being safe,
without a doubt I’d choose the latter. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself
if you got hurt and I had the ability to prevent it. I’d even lie to you if it
meant saving you from harm.”
    “You
can’t do that. You can’t take away my choice from me. I’m a grown woman who can
make her own choices balancing her privacy and her safety. You made it your
choice.”
    “It’s
what happens when you—” He cut his sentence short. “When you really care about
someone. If you’re asking if I’d do it again. I’ll tell you right now: I’d do
it in a heartbeat.”
    After
he left, I locked the door. Then I went to my room to cry.
    ***
    I’d
cried until I felt nauseous from everything and vomited. It was incredible the
police didn’t show up. The commotion from the fighting, shouting, and cursing
was probably heard on multiple floors. I didn’t know my other neighbors on the
floor that well but I knew they were in their mid-twenties. They were probably
out clubbing. It was Friday night after all.
    I
walked from the bathroom