I believe him but say nothing, just simply dip my head in a nod and climb out, the grit on the ground digging into the bare soles of my feet. The grubby tiles of the bathroom floor are cool, but I don’t have the capacity to be horrified about what I’m standing on right now.
At the basin, I start to run the water, my fingers beneath it in the hopes it’ll warm up, but it remains an icy temperature. The warped mirror ahead of me shows the dark bruising on my face, black and purple smears on my cheekbone and beneath my eyes, and there’s a very obvious bump on the bridge of my nose now, my skin crusty with the rust-colored blood.
Since I have no choice but to use the cold water, I cup my hands beneath the stream and carefully wipe the blood from around my nose and mouth, being gentle since it feels as if my face is broken. It comes away, tinging the water swirling in the basin pink, and once it’s gone, I shut off the water, pulling some paper towels out of the dispenser to dry my face.
A loud thump on the door startles me. “Hurry the fuck up, Sloane!” Felix shouts.
“I’m coming,” I call back.
What if Dean isn’t coming?
What do I do then?
Survive.
Tightening the sheet around me, I head to the door and unlock it, finding Felix waiting there. His hand grasps my arm tightly as he yanks me back to the car, shoving me inside. I remain silent, I don’t fight back, and even though inside my head I’m screaming, I keep my expression neutral. I don’t want to set him off and forhim to decide he wants to finish what he started all those months ago.
He pulls us back onto the dark road, the GPS kicking back in.
We’re forty minutes out from the address, but it may as well be hours with how long it feels time is dragging.
I need to start thinking up a plan, a way out once we stop. He needs to sleep at some point but then so do I. I’ve no idea where we are going or what’s going to be around, in my condition, with the lack of clothes and the near-freezing temperatures, running feels like a death sentence.
But staying with him is too. I don’t know when he’s going to flip that switch.
He pulls the car into a lot, but it doesn’t appear to be anything other than a dark and what looks to be empty house.
“What did you do?” Felix snaps at me, that anger flipping on again.
“I didn’t,” I stammer, “I don’t know what happened!”
A sudden pop sounds inside the car, followed by a loud hiss that sounds like air escaping through a hole, and the car physically dips on the right side.
“You did something!” Felix growls, “What did you do!?”
“I didn’t!” I yell, “I promise I didn’t!”
“Get out of the car,” He commands, “Now.”
“What are you going to do?” There’s a tremor in my voice now, that fear making my heartbeat faster.
“Get out!” He pulls a knife from his pocket and points it at me. “You want to finish what we started, hm?” He growls. “Get the fuck out of the car!”
I scramble to get the door open and practically fall out of the car, my knees hitting the dirt. I hear his door open and close on the other side and only just get to my feet in time for him to come to me. His hand is in my hair next, tugging my head back hard, the bite of pain forcing a yelp from me.
He presses the blade into my neck, the sharp edge kissing my skin, a sting following as it cuts me. “How did you do it?” He demands as he tugs me around, forcing me to see the flat tire, a clear slash in the side.
“Let her go,” Dean’s voice echoes off the trees surrounding us, the deep timbre of it sending goosebumps over my skin. Felix spins us around so we’re facing him.
His gun is pointed toward us, but his eyes are on me. He takes in the bruises, the busted nose, and now the blood running down my neck. A darkness comes over his eyes, and a muscle in his jaw ticks.
“I said, let her go,” Dean’s voice is an octave lower, a menacing sound.
“You can’t shoot me without shooting her first,” Felix laughs manically, “You want her? Then you can have her dead.”
“Drop it,” Malakai’s voice sounds to the left of us.
“You heard the man,” That’s Sebastian.
