Page 31

Groaning, I roll to my side, and push myself up.

“See…perfectly fine.” His voice has a sickly lethal edge to it and my heart rate kicks up. Lifting my head and opening my eyes, I’m completely devastated by what I see.

“Thank the fucking gods,” Victoria whispers, spearingher body into mine, embracing me in the most painful hug known to man.

“V-Victoria?” I stutter, terror coiling tight around my heart, threatening to stop it dead in my chest. I band my arms around her, resting my chin upon her shoulder. I lift my eyes to the cop but he’s already watching me, waiting for my shell to crack and my emotions to spill out onto the ground before him. “What are you doing here?” My sluggish brain tries to form coherent thoughts but it’s like trudging through knee deep snow, a slow and full-body tiring process.

“That doesn’t matter. You’re—” Whatever Victoria was going to say dissolves into a scream as the man rips her from my embrace. Snatching her up by her strawberry blonde hair, the black tips swinging chaotically as she fights against him. Her small form is crushed against our kidnappers body as he secures her in a chokehold, one arm around her neck and locked into place by the other arm. It’s the same submission move Ghost used, I recognize it immediately.

“She’s here as leverage,” his voice is thick with anticipation as he easily overpowers my kicking and flailing best friend. Too fixated on what’s happening, time slips away from me as I watch her thrash. Victoria’s movements start to slow, eyes going wide as she struggles for oxygen. I’m paralyzed. Frozen stiff in the ‘freeze’ of the fight, flight, fawn, or freeze response to stress. “Hey, pay attention or I’ll snap her fucking neck.” he yells over the sound of her whimpering.

My brain catches up with the situation I’m in as he allows her one sliver of breathing room. Her chestheaves in oxygen, then he compresses his grip around her again.

Looking up at him, a submissive little lamb awaiting my fate, has his aura beaming. He’s won and he knows it. “What do you want?” falls from my lips as any hope for a future slides through my fingers like sand.

“Stay with me,willingly, and I’ll let her go. I’ll let her live.” He grunts, lifting Victoria’s small frame with ease. Suspended by her neck in his grip, the fight drains from her within seconds.

“FINE!” I shriek, panic gripping my chest like a vice, eyes flicking between his and Victoria. The ‘fawn’ response kicking in, pleasing him to avoid any further conflict.

“You won’t run.”

“Okay.”

“You’ll be whatever I want, and do whatever I ask.”

“Okay, yes, fuck, let her go!” I plead.

“You won’t try to kill me.” His voice is stern but all I care about are the seconds that are climbing as Victoria hangs there without blood flow to her brain or the ability to breathe.

“Okay,” I concede.

“Say it,” he grinds out, clenching his arms tighter around my only friend’s small neck.

“I won’t try to kill you,” I say, stone-faced and holding eye contact.

Sick satisfaction slithers across his face as a full-body shudder overcomes him.

“Now, please… LET HER GO!” I scream.

He drops her. Callously. Viciously. Inconsiderately.Victoria’s small body collapses into an unmoving lump on the dirt floor. No coughing, sputtering, gasping, or wheezing. Nothing. Only silence… Just like the other dead body in this tomb.

I launch myself toward Victoria, but I can’t reach.No. No. No. Please, no.I stretch, fingers splaying, cutting off my own air supply trying to touch her.

“Looks like you took too long, darlin’. Maybe next time you want to save someone, you shouldn’t be so caught up in watching me torture them.” He makes his way over to me, grabbing the chain and coaxing me toward him. “Let’s seal the deal with a kiss, yeah?”

I’m completely lifeless. There’s nothing left, no reason to save myself anymore. My best friend is gone, Ghost isn’t looking for me, and Nox thinks we broke up.Fuck it.

The nameless man sits down on the mattress, calling me to him with a tug on my leash.

My fight response rears its aggressive head. I’m ready to fucking kill him, right goddamn now. If I die, then I die.

Crawling, I move between his thighs, and slink up his body, rubbing my tits up and over his groin, pressing them against his chest as I straddle him. “Killing really does get you hot, don’t it?” he pants.

You have no fucking idea.

I nod, locking my eyes on his as I smash our mouths together. Violently I kiss him, tangling my tongue with his as I grip his shirt, pushing him to lay down on the mattress. He grips my ass, grinding his rapist cock against my centre, and I want to vomit straight into his mouth. Instead, I bite his lip. Hard. The metallic tang explodesacross my tastebuds as he groans into my mouth. My fingers release his shirt and trail up his neck. “Fuck yes,” he breaths, thrusting against me. This stupid asshole is about to be too close to euphoria to notice me extinguishing his sadistic light from the world.

With both hands on his throat, I squeeze. His eyes roll back, and his lips lose their rhythm against mine.Checkmate.His hips roll below me, rubbing himself through his release. I drop my weight onto him, focusing all the pressure to where my palms meet his neck.