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She'd bleed out in minutes.
"Take off those clothes, Georgie."
That was the last thing she wanted to do, but right now, she didn't see a viable option. Not as long as he held that knife.
She'd been naked around him too many times to count, but undressing now felt like the prelude to a terrible punishment she didn't deserve. Georgie mentally chanted to herself as she undressed.Endure, just endure until you find a way to escape. Pay attention and do what you have to do to survive.
It all boiled down to that, so with tears streaming down her face, she complied, trying to fill her mind with anything other than what was about to come.
Unwelcome thoughts assailed her. She should have taken Riggs up on the offer when he made it. If she had, maybe they would already be in Texas instead of here, with an insane man.
Josh’s touch made her feel sick, dirty and enraged. She wanted to hurt him, and that thought wiped out her regrets and feeling sorry for herself for being in this situation. With each thrust, each bite or squeeze, or uttered profanity, her hate for him grew.
And rewarded her unexpectedly. She felt resolve and strength growing and allowed that part of herself she never wanted to acknowledge to be released. All the rage and fear, the resentment and pain she'd lived with since she lost her leg, her parents, and her childhood home, welled up and wove together to form her coat of armor of hate.
That hate sustained her throughout the rape. When he finished and shoved her away, she gathered her clothing and headed for the shower. There wasn't enough hot water or soap on the planet to wash away the indignity, the violation, and the pain, but she didn't want that washed away. All that was now part of her power, mixing with her determination to strengthen the shield that would help her survive and overcome.
Just her luck. He violated the privacy of her shower as well. "So, what time do you have to be at work, bae?"
She so hated that. Josh was well past the age of that slang being part of his lexicon. It always irked her when people beyond the age of a younger generation tried to co-opt their slang.
"Less than an hour."
"I'll take you." He stuck his head under the water and turned it up to the spray.
"Yeah, that feels good," he said after shaking his head and running his hands back through his hair. "Do you still have that gray suit of mine? I left it here not long ago."
"I don't know." Georgie wasn't sure how to respond or behave. What kind of new game was this? He acted as if the past week hadn't happened. Like he hadn't just forced her to have sex with him. Was he truly insane?
Maybe so, because this definitely wasn't natural behavior. She wasn't going to do anything to upset him. She'd bide her time for now until she could figure a way out.
"I thought it might be nice to dress up when we go to the hospital to say goodbye to your boyfriend.
"What?"
"Are you questioning me?" He screamed in her face, his suddenly red with veins in his forehead bulging.
Well, there was the answer to her question. He was definitely unhinged. She'd have to be careful.
"No, of course not. I just don't understand the need."
"The need?" He grabbed her face in one hand, digging his thumb and fingers so deep it felt like he was trying to punch through her jaws.
"The need is I say we're going, and you're going to tell him this is it. You're done with him."
"I already did that."
His eyes narrowed as he studied her. "When and why?"
"Yesterday, when he asked me to go with him, I said no."
"You're lying."
"Ask Naomie, she'll tell you."
"That bitch would lie for you in a heartbeat."
"Well, I'm not lying."