Page 143 of The Restoration Program

Her next sentence was drowned out as Ryan slammed his hand so hard in Nicole’s path that a two-foot section of walkway tore from the wall, dashed into pieces against the carpet.

Nicole staggered at the broken edge, windmilling to stop her momentum from sending her to the floor. For a moment, even Ryan looked shocked by his own act of violence.

But only for a moment.

Before she could turn and run toward the bedroom again, he seized her arm, engulfing it in a fist. He pulled up, yanking her off her feet. She kicked her legs helplessly, her other hand clawing at his fingers.

“Ryan! Ry! Put me down!” Tears flooded her vision and streamed down her cheeks in rivulets.

Though he dangled her closer to his face, his gaze was more faraway than ever. His grip tightened, threatening to snap her arm as he uttered a single syllable. “No.”

She gave a primal scream and tried to swing herself close enough to claw at his face. His other hand darted up and caught her lower body. The grip on her arm loosened, but not before she was fully trapped from the waist-down. Her struggles became all the more violent. She threw herself down and tried to bite his hand. Her teeth barely grazed his skin before his other fingers shot up to seize her jaw, forcing her to straighten.

“Are you getting off on this?” Nicole hissed through clenched teeth. “Is your ultimate fantasy playing outfinally? Huh? Me, helpless in your hands while you get to do whatever you want to me?”

“Fuck, Nicole,stop,” Ryan snapped. “You’re gonna stay right here whether you like it or not, sostopalready.”

She wrenched herself back from his fingertips, jaw throbbing as she thrashed wildly. “Like hell! You’re sick! Fucking sick! Put me down right now!”

Both hands gripped her, trembling as they restrained her. “Quit squirming, and I won’t have to—”

“Put me down! Put. Me. Down!”

“Dammit, Nicki, just—”

“Put me DOWN!”

His face twisted with a measure of rage she didn’t think existed. Several pops and crackles exploded along her body. He squeezed so hard, she expected her bones to turn to dust in his grasp. Her screams were stolen. She couldn’t even breathe in the agony of the moment. She could only observe the black spots filling her vision.

He gave a deafening bellow. His grip spiked her down, then vanished.

For a split second, her broken body sang with relief, only to seize up as gravity claimed her.

The demolished walkway filled her vision as she plummeted to the floor. She thought she might hit the carpet, but the mangled railing stuck out just enough to catch her neck and

DAY ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SIX

DAY ONE-HUNDRED SEVENTY-SIX

DAY ONE-HUNDRED SEVENTY-SIX

DAY ONE-H?U?N?D?R?E?D? ?S?E?V?E?N?T?Y?-?S?I?X?

DAY ONE-HUNDRED SEVENTY-SIX

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DAY ONE-HUNDRED SEVENTY SIX

Ryan stared numbly down at the floor, waiting for Nicole to move. Every second of stillness ate at him like acid.

“Nicole?”

She was splayed out on the carpet. That awful, crooked angle of her neck…Jesuswas that bone protruding?

What have I done?

“Nicole, baby… Say something.”