Page 68 of Killer Notes
My lungs seize at the meaning of those words. I try to shake him off, but he adjusts his body to where he’s on top of me now. I’m face to face with the man who has tormented me for way too long. But I’m not the same man that left that day. I’m stronger.
For a brief second, Siles loosens his hold on my face, so I take that moment and bite down hard on his finger. He yelps, then reels back and, before I can defend myself, he slaps my face with the back of his hand.
I immediately curl up onto my side, my hands covering my face and I feel wetness on my palms. But my position won’t be a deterrent to what Siles wants from me. I know him so well that what he’s getting out of this isn’t sexual gratification, but dominance. He’s done this to me before and it took my ass a while to heal from his rough dry fucking.
Oblivious as he always is, Siles slides his arms around me again, spooning in tight against my back. “Come on, baby. One more fuck for old time’s sake,” he says gruffly into my ear before biting down on my lobe. The shot of pain has me yanking my head away, which ultimately has me slamming the back of my skull to his face. Siles wrenches back and falls off the bed.
I scramble off the mattress but end up trapped on the side opposite the door. Pressing tight against the wall, I gather whatever resolve I have and face my tormentor.
“Stupid motherfucker, you broke my nose,” he muffles out through his hands. “Now you’re going to pay for everything you did to me. Then and now.” Siles lunges for me. I dodge and take that free moment to punch out, hitting his face.
He screams and comes after me. I try to hurdle the mattress but I’m not quick enough and he has me by the hair. With a firm grip, he slams me down onto the mattress. “You deserve everything you’re gonna get from me.”
Just as I twist, the door to the room crashes open and Tobias barrels in. He launches himself on Siles, knocking the asshole down onto the floor.
Through the chaos, I don’t realize that two other men appear inside the small room until one of them turns on the light, and immediately wrangles Siles to his stomach.
“I’m going to fucking sue all your asses for bodily assault. Especially you.” His crazed eyes are on me as he tries to twist out of the men’s hold. I can’t look away as he continues his rant. “I’m going to take everything, especially your fucking balls. Once I’m done with you, you’ll wish I’d fucked you instead.”
“That’s not happening,” Tobias declares as John and Dean haul Siles to his feet.
“Don’t talk to me, dumb fuck,” Siles spits out and turns back to me. “Danny, you owe me.”
Dean shoulders Siles, and whispers something in his ear. All the color drains from Siles’s face before John and Dean drag him out of the bedroom.
I’m physically shaking as I realize what could have happened if Tobias hadn’t raced in. I doubt I would have had enough strength to fend off Siles another minute.
As the rush from fighting back and then the guys storming in to save the day subsides, I finally begin to feel the pain from the backhand Siles gave to my face, especially my lips, and the ache on the side of my head. I glance down at my shoulder and see blood droplets running down my chest.
My hand automatically goes to touch my ear but Tobias stops me. “Don’t, Danny.”
He pulls me into the bathroom and has me sit on the toilet in the tiny space. “I can take care of it myself, Tobias,” I say shakily, not looking at him. My shame over what happened overwhelms me.
“Is the bathroom cold?” I ask as chills run across my skin, and I shiver. I can’t seem to stop, either.
“Hold on.” He leaves, then quickly comes back and wraps the thin comforter around me. The warmth of the blanket and of Tobias’s action eases some of the cold from my body.
“Thank you,” I quietly say, still not looking at him.
“Look at me, sweetheart,” Tobias says softly.
I shake my head, but Tobias crooks a finger under my chin and slowly lifts my face up. What I see in those amber-green depths scares me more than anything Siles slung at me.
“I’m fine,” I say, hoping to ease the anger lines at the corners of his eyes.
“He hit you,” he admits with another guttural growl, while running a gentle finger along my cheek. The strain on his face says so much. Tobias is holding back his rage. For me. And to my surprise, I’m not afraid.
Maybe in the beginning, when I first met the man, I would have run from him. But now, knowing how gentle Tobias is, and how fiercely he protects, I’m not scared.
“He did, but that’s all he did.” I give Tobias a quivering smile. “And you saved me before he did anything else.”
“Yeah,” he grunts and then proceeds to clean me up. I love it that he wants to take care of me. And really, aside from my friends, no one has taken care of me or made sure that I’m good for a long time.
Tobias wipes all the blood off, and then tenderly washes the area where Siles bit me. More grunts and noises emanate from him, before he puts a bandage on my earlobe.
As I step back into the bedroom, I hear, “I’m sorry.” Tobias’s hushed words catch me off guard.
“What?” I turn around, dropping the blanket. I inhale sharply at the anguish I see in his eyes. “Tobias.”