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“I told you to—”

“Just shut up!”

Even her own voice made the pain worse. It was unbearable when she yelled. She had to be quiet. Needed silence. She needed…to get out of there.

Lennox approached her with a cup and shoved it in her face.

“I said drink this.”

She slapped the cup out of his hand, and it flew across the room, its contents splattering on the wall.

“You ungrateful little bitch.”

“What was in that joint, Lennox?”

“The audacity of you.” He sneered and got closer to her face. “Do you think I need to put something in a joint to have you?” Hetsked. “You’re easier than you think, bi—”

Smack!

Carla reached back to slap his face again. Though her palm was stinging, her anger was boiling over.

He caught her hand. “Do it again, and I’ll return the favor.”

She shook out of his grip and smacked him, then ducked and rolled across the floor in an attempt to escape him.

He caught Carla rising on her feet, grabbed her neck, and pushed her body against a wall. “You don’t want to fight with me. You’ll lose.”

“Let me go.” It came out as a whisper as he choked her esophagus. He squeezed tighter, and she grabbed his wrist with both hands, desperately trying to pry his fingers from her throat.

Veins popped in her forehead, and she scratched at his wrists, her feet dangling against the sheetrock as he held her steady.

“See, I told you, you wouldn’t win.”

He dropped her, and she fell to the floor, wheezing, spinning, on the brink of passing out again.

I’ve got to get out of here.

She closed her eyes and steadied her breath, then opened them and scanned the room for her shoes.

Fuck it.

Rising back to her feet, Carla snatched up her clutch and headed around corners, searching for the front door.

“You need to sit down.”

“You need to go to hell.”

When she found a door, Carla didn’t know if it was the front or the back door, but she increased her speed, desperate to get out.

“I need you to attend a gathering with me.”

She stopped in her tracks.

“I’m running for mayor, and I need you on my arm at a private event this weekend.”

Carla turned around slowly. “Why do I care about what you need, Lennox?”

“Trust me. You will.”