"Now, you're going to be a good little slut and suck my dick for me," he snaps, waving his gun around pointedly, "and you're not going to bite me, do you understand?" His other hand settles on his belt, hesitating when I refuse to speak. "I asked you aquestion,bitch."
I can't do this. No matter what I choose, I'm about to die. I can feel it in my bones, can tell from the way he stares at me now, that there's nothing left behind that empty glare. He's gone, Theo is long gone, and whatever is left is running on autopilot, trying their damndest to ruin me and anything good that he thinks he can taint, or things he can't touch but wants desperately to attain.
So I do the only thing that guarantees I'll be long gone before Kai gets here and gets caught up in this.
I lunge forward and bite Theo's hand, not stopping until I taste blood in my mouth that isn't mine. His scream of fury is loud, makes my ears ring, but I know if I don't take this chance, I won't get another.
I kick his legs out from under him and sprint for the door, not even stopping to formulate a plan as I run wildly for what feels like an eternity, the only goal to put distance between me and Theo. The air iss tifling in here, and though I'm not wearing a stitch more than undergarments, I make the decision to leave the cabin, my only hope to reach the resort or the assistance cabin, before he reaches me.
Leaves and branches tear at my skin as I dart through trees, hoping I remember the direction the resort lies in. Nothing can stop me now, not even?—
"Denali?"
Kai.
His shout of my name has me hesitating, coming to a stop, turning around. If Theo isn't behind me, that means he'll turn his rage on Kai. And the thought of leaving Kai for a second to the madman who wants my soul is more than I can bear.
I can't let a mistake from my past take away the love of my future.
I turn around and take one faltering step toward the cabin, then another, until I'm running again—this time, toward my own demise.
I can't lose him.
By the time I get back to the cabin, the front door is open, and I don't hesitate before running blindly into the damn thing, the only goal to save Kai, to keep him safe. But he's not in the living room when I go in, nor is there any sign of him in the kitchen either.
"Kai? Kai, where are you?" I call out, but he doesn't answer. I don't understand; I heard him a minute ago. He'sgotto be here?—
"Boy, you reallyaregullible, Denali," I hear his voice say, and I spin around, ready to grab him and go, but it's not Kai my hand closes around—it's Theo.
I forgot he did voiceovers for awhile. That he's good at it. And now, he used that to his advantage to lure me back.
I did all the work for him, all he had to do was play on my weakness. I was a goner from the start.
The last thing I see is the devil in his eyes as he brings the gun down on my temple and knocks me out.
chapter thirty-four
Kai
"What the helldid you do to her?"
Theo, his face covered in blood, hands tainted with red, stands in the middle of the room with Denali at his feet, a gun dangling limply in his hands. He doesn't even seem to notice me as he scratches his head and nudges her lifeless body with the toe of one boot.
"Stupid bitch," he mutters, and I don't hear a hint of the man I met once before at an event hosted by a friend of mine. I don't hear a hint of a human at all. He's all beast, a creature with no remorse and no goal other than to cause pain and steal what I have, what he doesn't. "Shouldn't have run away. Now I have to be mean."
He's got a gun. It looks suspiciously like Anton's gun, but I can't be sure. I can be sure that Denali's breathing still, though, because of the noises that slip from her lips any time Theo touches her.
Hold on, baby. I'll save you.
"Swanson!"
His dead eyes lift from my girl and settle on me instead, that twisted smile curling as he realizes he's got two targets now instead of one. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the piece of shit she'sfucking. What's so special about you that you get what I didn't? Hmm?"
I don't like the way he waves that gun around like it's a toy to him. Like it's nothing to just casually play with a loaded weapon. It puts us all at risk.
I've got to lure him out of here, away from her. But how?
"I dunno, man," I try, aiming for arrogance. I've starred in how many fucking movies now? Played how many good guys and bad? I wrack my brain for something I can use. "Maybe my dick is bigger?"
