Page 241 of Beyond the Blue Horizon

So, she’d cowered. Given into the demand that he’d made with a grin.

She was only in town for another week, the summer almost gone, so she tried to convince herself it wasn’t worth the effort of arguing.

She’d go out with him.

Tell him how much fun it’d been.

Kiss him goodbye and never see him again.

But now, she regretted that decision.

Disquiet buzzed through her consciousness as she peered at the sleeping house.

“What are we doing?” It left her thin and raspy.

“Need you to go up to the front door, ring the doorbell, and ask for directions.”

A frown pulled tight as she shifted to look at Justin from where she sat in the driver’s seat of her mother’s car. “Directions? Directions to where?”

“The nearest gas station.”

“Can’t you look it up on your phone?”

Justin huffed in annoyance. “Can you just do what I tell you for once?”

What an asshole.

She went to tell him no. That she was absolutely not going to be a part of whatever he was up to, but he reached out and snatched her wrist.

Hard.

He yanked her in his direction, nearly pulling her over the console.

A gasp tore out of her, and her eyes blew wide as she stared at the viciousness in his.

How hadn’t she recognized it before?

Or maybe she had, and she’d just ignored it.

The only thing she knew was there was no neglecting it right then.

She could feel it.

Taste it.

Cruelty.

Fear crawled across her skin. Pinpricks of creeping terror.

“You’re hurting me.” It was a bare scrape that she forced through the thickness of her throat. She tried to tug her arm free.

“Then fuckin’ listen, and I won’t have to.”

Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it in her ears. “What are we?—”

“Get out of the car, cross the yard, and ring the doorbell. Ask for directions. It’s that simple,” he gritted.

Her nod was frantic, and he released her arm, basically shoving her back when he did. She fumbled for the door handle, and her hand was shaking so badly, she could barely get it to cooperate.