Page 51 of Creep (Vulture Hollow MC #2)
Angel
My throat is raw from calling for help. The car rocks over uneven terrain, as if I’m a cat stuck inside a tumble dryer, and my thoughts drift to the tea I dropped when a bag was put over my head.
The man who accosted me out of nowhere fastened it around my throat so tightly I’m struggling to breathe, but with hands cuffed behind my back, there’s nothing I can do but focus on each inhale.
Did the juniper berry tea I got for Creed fall into the car when I was attacked, or was it left in the dark parking lot? It was a special order, and I wanted to brew it for him each morning, using moon water, so he’s safe, no matter where club business takes him.
Did this happen because I gave away my amulet and failed to replace it?
And is it normal to even have such thoughts when the person who shoved me into the trunk of my own car is— No, it doesn’t have to be him.
This might be a misunderstanding. I could have been mistaken for someone else.
After all, Domino is far from the only man who smells of engine oil, tobacco, and bad choices.
But I can’t wish away the grim reality that might just consume me for good.
I’m scared.
No, terrified, but my attempts to kick at the cover were for nothing, and if somebody heard me scream, they’d likely dismiss it as benign.
I’m alone with Domino, and he is taking me someplace I will never leave.
The best I can do is remember that this might not be the end. That Creed now knows of my past with this bastard and… and… what? Confronts him, putting himself in danger without having all the information? Get hurt?
My chest aches just thinking about it.
The car comes to a stop without warning, and as the engine dies, so does my hope. I don’t get to pluck my thoughts out of the smog in my skull by the time the trunk opens, and two firm hands drag me out.
That smell again. After sleeping with my head on Creed’s chest and sensing only the mild aroma of soap linger over his natural scent, the bold, peppery cologne drilling deep into my nostrils is overloading my senses.
But I let myself pretend that the man who took me isn’t Domino until I’m standing and his big, calloused hand settles around my neck in a way I could recall in the middle of the night.
Gasping for air, I kick back, hoping to get him in the knee, but before I can flee into the darkness, to be devoured by wolves, grizzly bears, or whatever else lives in the area, he shoves me forward.
My arms jerk, but I can’t catch myself before I fall, and zip ties dig into my flesh as I collapse like a log.
The impact knocks my lungs empty, and my chin hits the ground, teeth clacking shut as I try to work out If I’m now broken, or if my body just feels that way.
Pain shoots up my back and down my thighs as Domino places one foot in the middle of my lower back, along with a substantial part of his weight, and I explode into sobs as everything darkens. I can’t get enough air, and my nose is getting congested too. He brought me here to hurt me.
His exhale is exaggerated, as if he’s trying to show me how unbothered he is by my fear.
“What did you expect, going behind my back like that, huh? I thought we had an understanding. You come to my place twice a week, and I don’t ask questions.
But I didn’t think you’d stoop to bending over for that creep.
And I see you’re wearing his patches? You’re my fucking property now! ”
He holds me under his boot, and I hear a metallic click that makes my heart pound faster. There’s a tug on my vest, the sound of something ripping. It might as well be my heart being torn apart. Creed put so much love into making that vest for me.
Domino grabs my zip-tied wrists and pulls them up until my arms burn so badly I struggle to stand and get a bit of relief from the pain. I hear him spit, and a hot, wet drop lands on my face. “What’s the next step, pussy boy? Giving freebies at local drug dens?”
He laughs, using my agony-stricken arms as a leash as he leads me onto a harder surface. All I can do is whimper. “I’m sorry.”
“No. I don’t think you are,” he says, and I catch a glimpse of a door through the fabric when a lamp goes on above it. “But we’ll work on that. Then again, maybe this will be exactly the life someone like you secretly needs.”
Tears soak into the blindfold as he forces me down a flight of stairs that feel rough and dusty even through the soles of my shoes.
Uncomfortably bent forward, with my arms in an exaggerated arch, I’m terrified of falling, but we finally reach the basement, and faint golden lights come on in various places, confusing me further.
Domino lets go of me at last, and I shiver with relief until a key clangs against the lock, and the truth dawns on me. He’s locking the door. We’re on our own, and he can do anything he wants .
Just like that, I’m covered with cold sweat, but I don’t even know where I am. Trying to run now would be the equivalent of napping in a place frequented by wild tigers, so I stay still, trying to keep my body from shutting down.
Would Creed realize I disappeared in time? Will he know how to find me?
I stiffen when Domino approaches, his body a solid dark form behind the screen of fabric, but then he rips open the string around my neck and removes the bag.
The old-school lightbulbs don’t offer much illumination, but their amber glow reveals a door behind Domino’s back.
Maybe that’s what I should focus on, but I can’t charge my way past my abductor, so I turn my head, trying to seek out another exit.
All I can see are old boxes and trash scattered across a space the size of a large gym, dappled by pillars supporting the ceiling.
Some of the old plaster has cracked or fallen off, revealing raw brick, but closer to where we’re standing I see signs that it hasn’t been abandoned completely.
Boxes and strange appliances are stacked on industrial-strength metal shelves to my left, and to the right is a doorway leading into a darkness that might just take me straight to Hell.
But why would I worry about Hell when I’m already in Domino’s clutches?
I flinch when he pulls out a massive knife from the holster under his armpit and comes closer, but he gestures for me to spin around. I have my doubts, and there are very few things I want less than to stand with my back to him, but I obey, and soon the zip ties fall to the floor.
Domino grabs me by the arm and shoves me against the wall.
Black mold has spread over its upper part, but I don’t have it in me to resist and try to breathe calmly to retain some clarity, in case the opportunity to flee arises out of nowhere.
For now, I’m a bug pinned to a board, yet the hope for an escape isn’t yet completely gone.
“You thought you could hide from me in Vulture Hollow?” Domino asks, shoving his knee between mine as he places his hand on my head and pushes my cheek against the crumbly surface of the wall. “Did you already forget what I told you when you tried to leave last time?”
Every muscle and tendon in my body is rigid, like untreated hide, and I don’t even dare nod when he presses his teeth to my ear. “We’ll be done when I say we are. Not a day before. Was I not being clear enough for your cumdumpster brain?”
I take a step back as my guts twist, but he shakes his head and approaches an old desk propped against one of the storage shelves.
I watch him wipe it with his forearm, but then out comes a little baggie I’ve seen in his hands all too frequently, and my gaze darts to the open doorway.
Domino locked the main door behind us, but the other one?
Chances are he didn’t plan this abduction, which means there might be another exit.
I just need to find it. I spot several windows, but they’re high up by the ceiling, and I doubt I could fit through any of them anyway.
“I… was a bit worried after meeting you at the rally. But I promise to dress in the clothes you got me next time,” I tell him, because whatever happens next, I’m determined to leave this place, and he’s more likely to let me go, if he thinks we’re back to square one.
He inhales a line and pinches the base of his nose, fighting the urge to sneeze, then bends toward the desk again and snorts the rest. Anxiety pulses right under the surface of my skin, because he’s rougher when on drugs, but all I need is to survive and leave.
It will be fine. I just need to put Domino’s suspicions to rest and be the submissive, pathetic creature he wants to see me as.
It now dawns on me that Creed was right. This crazy fucker will not let me go. If he did, I would forever remain a liability, and from his perspective keeping me alive only makes for a sensible risk for as long as he wants to keep fucking me.
Domino needs to die, I can see that now.
He stretches his towering form, reddened eyes staring at me from the black-and-flesh checkerboard of his face. I almost take a step forward, about to kneel for him and act as if I can’t see any other purpose in life than serving his cock, but I stall at the sight of his grin.
“I’ll get you new panties, slut.”
There’s a new glint in his gaze this time, as if he’s made up his mind about something important, and I find myself retreating as the unspoken decision hangs over me like chokedamp.
I stumble over an empty soda can but don’t lose momentum on the way to the open door. My pulse is frantic, because of the way he’s looking at me now, with a possessive kind of pity. As if I’m a pig on the way to the slaughterhouse.
“I have plenty at home,” I say, trying to keep my voice level despite the unease his half-smile is causing.
“You’re not going back to Vulture Hollow.”