Chapter 4

Apollo handed the sobbing Brynlee over to Sterling. "Get her inside and find a medic," he ordered, his voice tight with rage.

Sterling nodded frantically, supporting Brynlee's weight as they disappeared back through the glass doors.

The terrace was empty except for Erna and Apollo.

The freezing rain beat down on the broad shoulders of Apollo's custom suit. He took a slow, menacing step toward Erna.

His towering height and the dark, violent shadow over his face made him look like a predator closing in for the kill.

Erna didn't retreat. She stood her ground near the edge of the terrace's decorative wading pool, staring blankly at the man who had once promised to protect her with his life.

Apollo stopped inches from her face. "If you leak a single word of that police report to the press," he hissed through his teeth, "I will make sure you don't survive in New York."

Erna let out a short, sharp laugh. The sound was entirely devoid of fear.

"I am sick to my stomach of your pathetic money and this disgusting circle of people," Erna said, her voice slicing through the rain. "Do whatever you want."

The absolute disdain in her eyes pierced straight through Apollo's massive ego.

In his damaged mind, Erna was a parasite who needed him to survive. How dare she look at him like he was the dirt beneath her shoes?

Blind rage hijacked his brain. Apollo's hand shot out. His large fingers clamped violently around the collar of her trench coat.

He twisted the fabric, pulling it tight against her throat.

Erna's airway was instantly crushed. She gasped, her hands flying up to claw at his wrist, desperately trying to pry his iron grip away.

A stark red line began to form on the pale skin of her neck.

Apollo stared down at her struggling face. Suddenly, without warning, a fragmented image exploded behind his eyes.

It was the same face. But she was smiling, her eyes full of soft light, her arms wrapping lovingly around his neck.

A blinding, agonizing pain spiked through Apollo's temples. It felt like a steel spike being driven into his skull.

He let out a low groan of agony. But the muscle spasm in his arm caused his grip on her collar to tighten even further.

Black spots danced in Erna's vision. Her lungs burned for air. Driven by pure survival instinct, she dug her fingernails deeply into the sensitive skin of his wrist, drawing blood, while simultaneously lifting her boot and stomping down as hard as she could on Apollo's expensive leather shoe.

Apollo cursed in pain, the dual shock of the sharp scratches and the crushing weight on his foot breaking his focus. His reflex was instant. He threw his arm out, shoving her violently away.

The massive force threw Erna entirely off balance.

Her feet slipped on the wet tiles. She tipped backward, her body flipping over the low stone edge of the decorative pool.

Splash.

Erna slammed into the freezing water. The icy shock paralyzed her lungs. Water rushed into her nose and throat.

As she fell, the side of her forehead cracked sickeningly against the hard mosaic tiles lining the pool's edge.

A blinding flash of white pain erupted in her skull. Her vision blurred. A dark ribbon of red blood immediately began to bloom in the clear water around her head.

Apollo stood at the edge of the pool. He pressed the heel of his hand hard against his throbbing temple, his breathing ragged.

He looked down at her thrashing in the water, the blood staining the surface. His twisted logic told him this was just another one of her extreme, manipulative acts to gain his pity.

He stared down at her bleeding in the freezing water.

"Disgusting," Apollo spat, his voice devoid of any human emotion.

The word pierced the surface of the water and hit Erna's ears. It was the final spark that ignited the absolute madness and rebellion buried deep inside her bones.