He gripped the seat near my head, snagging a stray wisp of hair in the grip. “You will obey me. That was the bargain.”
“I will do nothing you say. We had a deal that ended today. I’m going to your sister’s house tonight. And, when Beth is in remission for a full year, then we’ll renegotiate.”
He tightened his fingers, and the hair pulled out of my scalp. He noticed and twisted the strand around his finger. “I bind you, Roishin Black. You are mine to control.”
Was he using magic against me? “You need blood to make that stick.” I spat onto the palm of my hand, curled it shut, and held it toward Carl with the horns of my pinky and forefinger poking out. In Latin I spoke, “Contrere brachia iniqui rei et lingua maligna subvertetur.”
“Witch.”
I wore that label proudly. Carl didn’t like my lack of reaction, however.
He reached across the console and grabbed the steering wheel. His yank pulled us off the road, and I slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a fence post. The car barely stopped in time.
“You could have killed us!” The car hissed, and every warning light was lit. I tried starting it, and it wouldn’t turn over.
Carl smiled. “Oh, so sad. You can’t use my car tonight.” He pulled out his phone and called one of his buddies for a tow.
If I had my own car, this wouldn’t be an issue. But I had a sneaking suspicion Carl paid someone to vandalize it. He’d definitely paid the tow and repair guy to delay its return.
“I hadn’t planned to.”
But Carl wasn’t listening. He was making plans to torture me.
The same guy he’d called for my car arrived and surveyed the damage.
“Oh man, your poor car. What did she do to it?” He stuck his hands inside his overalls. It wasn’t lost on me that he was fondling his junk.
Carl told him I grabbed the steering wheel and tried to run the car off the road. And oh, poor him, he just got out of the hospital. He barely got the car stopped in time.
Lying sack of shit.
“I could take her off your hands for a night. Teach her some manners.” He tipped his hips at me so I could see the tent his cock made as he stroked it. “Bet she needs them beaten into her.”
Carl laughed. “Do you want to know a secret? I think she’d enjoy that. Right Rose? Whipping is more your style. I can make that happen. How much?”
“Hell, I’d do it for free.” The tow truck driver laughed.
Carl pulled out a gun. He must have stored it inside the car because he hadn’t carried it into the hospital. “I meant, how much will you pay me for her?” True to form, Carl wanted to profit off my misfortune.
The guy swallowed. “I was just kidding man.” He took his hands out of his pants slowly and held them in the air.
The sight of them made Carl grimace. His face twisted up like he smelled the stink of dirty cock on them. “Don’t make jokes about my Rose,” he warned. His glance strayed down the street and he pocketed the gun. A second later, a police cruiser drove past, slowing down to assess the situation. He pulled in front of the tow truck and turned his lights on as he backed up.
“Not one word. I know where your kid goes to school,” Carl warned the driver.
Then he plastered on a friendly smile.
And lied once again. This time, his story was that I’d been spooked by an animal crossing the road and swerved to avoid it. No harm, no foul. And Carl played the hospital card once again, begging for a ride home.
Too soon, we were dropped off outside his house by the officer. Carl shook his hand, then waved at him as he drove away.
Then he did something I swear he’d rehearsed. “You are trapped by our bargain. If you leave me, I will call that policeman back and tell him you tried to kill me. And he’ll believe it. Because I pay him a lot of money to believe anything I say. I have everyone, and everything in my control. Don’t ever disobey me again, Rose. Because if you do, you will lose what little freedom you have. Forever.”
And just like that, I was fucked.
4
Bear
