I decide to give Zeke one last chance to redeem himself, to prove to myself more than anything that I don’t have any other option but to protect myself and use the knife. “Zeke, maybe we should wait… I don’t know if I’m ready after everything that’s happened…”
“No more waiting, Lena, I’ve waited long enough. You’re mine.”
Zeke climbs on top of me, forcing my legs apart roughly and pawing at my breasts. He begins nuzzling at my neck again, and I reach my arms up, grabbing the knife with my right hand.
“Zeke, stop,” I say forcefully, giving him one last chance.
He leans back, and I think for one brief moment that he’s going to listen.
The force of his fist is so sudden and unexpected that I barely have time to process that he’s hit me before he grabs me around the throat and begins to squeeze. Instinctively, I fight him, bucking and clawing at him with my free hand. My eyes grow wide with panic.
“This is your fault, you made me hit you. I’m going to have to teach you a lesson so you learn how to behave,” Zeke hisses, almost to himself. It’s as if he’s trying to convince himself he had no choice, but I can tell, canfeelhow aroused hitting and choking me is making him.
He rips at my panties in his frenzy, too desperate to take them off properly. He’s so lost to the madness of his arousal that he doesn’t realize that I can’t breathe, that he’s choking the life out of me. He’s going to kill me while he fucks me, and he’s going to enjoy it, I think in horror. If I had any last doubts about whether or not I could do it, whether I could actually use the knife against him, this thought overwhelms them.
It’s now or never. Kill or be killed.
He’s too distracted by his own needs to notice what I’m doing. I don’t hesitate. I pull the knife out from under the pillow and, using all of my might, I shove it into the side of his neck. Warm blood splashes my face, and Zeke makes a grunt of surprise and confusion before releasing the pressure on my neck to clutch at his own.
“You bitch,’ he coughs, the sound wet, as he realizes what I’ve done.
He sways as if to lash out at me, and I use his momentum against him, pushing him as hard as I can. He falls off of me to the side, crashing onto the floor with a loud thud. I springinto action, jumping up, ready to run for my life. I stumble in the dark, and Zeke manages to grab onto my ankle, sending me crashing to the floor face-first. I can hardly see what I’m doing, but it doesn’t matter. I fight for my life, thrusting wildly with the knife. Several blows connect, hitting and slicing flesh. I think of everything he’s done to harm the people I love, every horror he’s inflicted upon me, and I forget everything else.
Finally, Zeke stops moving, and I come back to myself. I look around at the destruction I’ve wreaked, the blood that stains the cream carpet and spatters the walls. The air is heavy with the metallic scent of blood and death. I realize with sickening clarity that there’s no way I can get away with this. Zeke’s still managed to ruin my life, his final act. No jury would believe this was self-defense, would they? My little girl is going to grow up without a mother. I’m going to rot in jail for the rest of my life.
But I’d do it again to save Mia, to save the men I love. Right now, I need to get us out of here. Zeke may be dead, but this place is crawling with men who will kill me for what I’ve done.
The sound of the door opening stops my heart, and I clutch the knife in my hand. I’m not going down without a fight.
Chapter 32
Rex
When we eventually find the room where he’s holding Lena we’re met with a sight I wasn’t expecting. She’s standing over Zeke’s dead body, half naked and covered in his blood, her eyes wild as she brandishes the small knife in her hand. She looks like some sort of mythical creature, some fearsome thing of nightmares, but I feel no fear, only relief. We blink at each other, both rendered momentarily speechless with surprise and shock. I can’t quite believe my eyes. Lena killed Zeke.
“Rex?” Lena says, dazed, as if wondering if I’m a mirage, some figment of her imagination.
“Yeah, it’s me,” I say, slowly stepping closer, as if she’s a wild animal that’s been spooked. My hand reaches out to take the knife from her. “It’s okay, you’re okay.”
Her eyes flick to mine, searching, like she’s waking from a dream—or, more accurately, a nightmare—and then she slowly lowers the weapon. She falls into my arms, and I can feel her trembling. She’s in shock, I think. “Rex, you came for me,” she breathes, her voice filled with love and adoration.
In that moment, everything else falls away. The fear I had that Lena didn’t love me, that she’d betrayed us, that I’m not good enough, that the relationship is too complex, too unusual, just a fling, an experiment to her, every single thing that’s been holding me back, disintegrates to dust. I realize then that the guys were right, everything she said, everything she did, was totry to protect us. She wasn’t on Zeke’s side, was never his. She’s ours, mine.
Remorse washes over me, and I feel like the worst boyfriend ever for even doubting her for a second. She was going through hell and was simply doing what she thought she needed to do to stay alive, to protect her daughter, and us, before killing Zeke and trying to rescue us—my brave, fearless, incredible Lena.
I hold her in my arms, needing to hold her to believe she’s real. I don’t want to ever let go.
“How are you here? Where are the others? Are they okay?” Lena asks, her words coming out in a rush as she looks up to me with trusting eyes.
“It’s a long story, right now we’ve gotta get out of here,” I reply. We don’t have much time, Zeke’s men could discover us at any second.
At that moment, Doc and Judge appear, their faces transforming from grim and determined into delighted and concerned.
“Lena,” they exclaim, coming over to embrace her.
“Are you okay?” Doc says, checking her body for injuries.
“Yes. It’s not my blood,” Lena replies, her voice monotone from shock as if she’s only now noticing she’s covered from head to toe in Zeke’s blood.
