Page 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Elodie
T urning off the ignition of the bike, I swing my leg over and stand upright. I need to learn better posture while riding, my back is freaking killing me. Glancing up at the large strip mall, I take a moment to ponder how the hell I’m going to bring anything back with me. My head tips back and forth before simply just shrugging. I can almost guarantee that Henley will be here at some point. If he comes, then the slew of his buddies will also join the rally. Hopefully one of them will bring a truck.
I pull my backpack higher up my back, readjusting when a weird, prickling feeling hits the back of my neck. Almost like someone is watching me. Glancing around the parking lot, I take my time to assess everything around me. No weird creeper vans, no signs giving out free puppies or luring me in for candy. The feeling of being watched subsides. A deep breath in and out is just what I need as I keep moving. Stopping just makes me a prime target for anyone, or so Henley told me not too long ago when he was teaching me to ride.
Letting off the gas, I smile brightly at him as I round back toward him in the concrete lot of the club.
“You are doing amazing, bunny. Just remember, when you’re out riding, don’t stop moving. Bikers are targets, gender doesn’t matter. Fuck, that might make you an even bigger target…”
Shaking my head, I rev the small engine and bring him back to the present. “I’m getting the hang of it. If I feel off, I won’t stop. If someone tries to ram me off the road, I slow down to sike them out then speed past. You’ve taught me what you can.”
Now, I feel like that lesson can be used for me on foot, not just on the road. The unsettling feeling is back almost as soon as I turn around. Refusing to acknowledge it, I hustle inside and attempt to seek refuge in the shopping.
Henley and I talked about my lack of wardrobe recently also, so really, I can say this outing is spurred by his idea. Sure, I’m the one who did it, but potato-potatoh.
The mall is packed full of people today, bustling around and talking loudly to one another. It’s absolutely overwhelming. Having been isolated for nearly my entire life, the noises of people are close to making me spiral. Someone shrieks from the other side of the mall, and my heart slams in pure fear.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
No.
I need to grow a backbone and figure myself out. Henley needs someone who isn’t scared of every sound, someone who isn’t afraid to speak their mind.
He has been amazing at letting me open up to him, giving me a safe space to decompress everything that’s been put on me since I was little. If it weren’t for him, I have no idea where I would be right now.
That strange feeling of being watched makes a shiver race through my body. I look around as nonchalantly as possible, but once again, I come up empty. No one seems to be staring at me like I would expect from a horror movie. Feeling around my pocket for my phone, I realize it’s suddenly not there.
Whirling around, I bump into a tall man in all black. He stares down at me like I’m his prized possession. Before I can even process what’s happening, his hand is over my mouth, a fist in my hair, and we’re moving backward through the hall.
I flail, kicking and shrieking under his palm to catch the attention of anyone. However, through panic-stricken eyes, I don’t see anyone else around me. The once-crowded area is now destitute.
Giving up isn’t an option, so I try to remember the things Father taught me when I was younger if I was ever attacked. Henley wanted to wait to teach me self-defense because he wasn’t planning on me being alone. I regret this outing!
When he finally stops moving, I keep wiggling, trying to make myself harder to hold. I’m also tiring myself out a lot faster than I did when I was a kid. His grumbled voice sounds shallow as if I’m under water. This is the perfect, and possibly only, time I can use his stationary position to my advantage. I move my body slightly to the side for the best shot, and I make my move.
Reeling forward, I slam my balled fist into his man parts. He lurks forward, groaning in misery with me still in his arms. “You fucking–” My elbow knocks into his gut harshly, the hand in my hair immediately releasing me as he howls out. The hand over my mouth shifts down to my neck and keeps me cradled in his bicep. I can’t bite down on him, so I bring my fist up and backward, pounding it right into his nose.
That seems to do the trick.
I manage to get free, his hand barely missing me as I sprint out of his arms. “Get back here you fucking whore!” He shouts from behind me. I know for a fact that I just gave a predator a reason to chase. “Don’t think your father won’t hear about this!” My steps slow just barely, his words registering in my brain. What does my father have to do with this?
Those moments are crucial, and when I realize I slowed down, it’s already too late. A single shot, the deafening sound of a bullet leaving its chamber echoes around me before a searing pain slams into my head just as the world goes dark.