Page 95 of Cruel Possession

Noah leans in and whispers something to her as I rummage through the drawer, trying not to make too much noise.

My fingers brush over stacks of paper before skimming over what feels like a pen.

It’ll do.

I pull it out of the drawer, thumbing off the cap back on top of the stack of papers. The tip is pointed enough to stab into skin, but it’s going to hurt like hell on the way in.

Which is exactly what I want.

I take the couple of steps forward I need, ramming the pen down into his collarbone where the neckline of his shirt dips low.

Noah shouts and turns around, hand reaching for the pen. “You bastard.”

I punch him hard, sending him back into the wall as Zoe darts out of the way.

She doesn’t hesitate to grab the hand holding the gun and wrench it to the side.

Noah tries to shake her off, but she holds on tight.

I dig the pen deeper, swatting away his hand when he tries to pull it out.

“We’re going to pay my family a visit. See if Gia or Ellie have anything they’d like to say to you.”

“I’m far more interested in your younger sisters,” he says with a sick smile, head tilting to the side. “Those are the ones you raised, aren’t they? Are they like you? Spineless?”

He laughs, the laughter growing when I punch him again.

Noah spits some blood onto the floor.

I keep my grip on the pen, holding it tight while he tries to thrash free.

Zoe catches his foot the wrong way when he kicks her in the back of the knee. She goes sprawling to the floor.

The gun swings, catching me on the side of the head.

Warm blood trickles down my face, and I draw in a sharp breath, trying to shake away the stars dancing over my vision.

The bastard is putting up more of a fight than I thought he would.

And if I really think about it, I should be dead by now.

There has to be something he wants if he’s keeping me alive. Something other than getting to Gia. He can do that without me.

Zoe pushes to her feet, blood all over her.

I can’t tell where most if it is coming from, but it looks like there are more cuts on her arms from the vase pieces on the floor.

She takes a deep breath and looks at me, her lips pressing into a thin line.

Noah shakes his head, aiming at Zoe. “If either of you make one wrong move, I’m going to kill her.”

“Keep bluffing.” Zoe glares at him like she could cut him down with just her gaze.

He shifts his aim to her thigh and pulls the trigger.

Zoe screams, doubling over and pressing her hands to the wound but more blood pours from between her fingers.

There’s enough blood to make it look like he nicked an artery. Which means that we’re both running out of time to get out of here alive.