I fight with everything I have, but he keeps his grip.He won’t listen and now he’s forcing me to follow him.Limping, I drag my feet toward the car.
“I don’t want to go.Let me go.”
I hold the car door with my hand.Even when he tries to yank it open, I hold it tight.Outside, Laird keeps trying to smash through the door.I buy as much time as I can, waiting for him to reach me.
“Fenella, don’t test me.Get in the car right now,” Alan threatens, the gun pointed at my forehead.I push him, and fury flashes across his face.His free hand clamps around my neck.
“Alan!”I try to scream, but his grip tightens.He growls right in my face.
“Don’t play games, Fenella.Get in the car.Or should I kill you right now?”
My face scrunches up as I fight for air.My throat burns, my chest is tight, and my coordination slips.He means every word.
“Why are you doing this, Fenella?Why are you working with them?”he whispers, voice low and raw.Tears run down his cheeks, his breath hot on my skin.He releases my throat and grabs a fistful of my hair instead.
I grimace in pain.“Please, Alan.Let me go.”
“Didn’t you say you were gonna marry me?Were you lying?”
“I’m sorry.I love Laird.Please let me go.”I choke through ragged breaths.
“No.You’re mine, Fenella.”
Alan kisses me.He sucks my lips hard and forces his tongue into my mouth.I clamp my mouth shut and pull back, but both his hands hold my head in place.
He grabs my neck again.I cough, desperate for air, and my mouth opens.He kisses me again.His tongue forces its way in, reaching for mine.
I bite down hard on it.He groans and jerks back.He holds his bleeding tongue, wipes his lips with the back of his hand, and spits blood on the floor.His hand swings, and the bottom of the gun hits my temple.
“Damn it!”His mouth hangs open as he realizes what he’s done.“It’s your fault.Why’d you hurt me?”
I cough and cough.My jaw throbs, my legs scream with pain, and my head spins.I try to hold on, waiting for Laird.As I lie helpless on the floor, Alan hauls me up again.He grabs my waist and forces me into the car.
“Alan!You bastard!”
Laird’s voice echoes from behind the door.Bang after bang rattles the frame, but he still can’t break through the locked room.
“Get lost, Laird!Fenella and I are getting married.We’re gonna live happily ever after.”Alan fires at the door.The blast makes me flinch and my hands fly up to cover my head.
“Get out, you coward!”Laird yells, but Alan only laughs.He swings open the driver’s side door and shoves me roughly inside, my head hitting the side of the hood.
“Alan!You’re hurting me!Let me go!”I groan, but he doesn’t care.
“Listen, Fenella.If you don’t obey, I’ll kill him.This gun’s loaded.So move,” he snarls, pressing the barrel against my forehead.“Stay put, or I shoot.Understand?”
I have no choice.My body trembles.Tears blur my vision as I crawl fully into the car.
Alan moves toward the driver’s side, but suddenly a heavy wrench sails from the entryway and cracks him across the skull.It’s Laird.He jumps, kicking him, and grabs Alan by the collar, smashing a fist into his cheek.The gun falls to the floor.
Alan lands a gut punch.They tumble, grappling at the car’s flank.I scream as they slam into the vehicle, metal rattling beneath them.Laird yanks Alan into the wall, but Alan grabs back, returning blows and reaching for the gun.
They grapple on the hood, their bodies thrashing.Laird slams Alan against the metal again and again.I flinch with every impact.Alan elbows him in the neck, and Laird spits blood, groaning in pain.
Alan pins him against the windshield, one arm choking him.Our eyes meet; his face twists with the strain, his hands clawing for freedom.Laird’s breath comes ragged.His arms wobble for a second, the hits taking their toll, but he keeps swinging.
With a forceful swing, Laird breaks free, but Alan knees him in the stomach, then shoves him onto a metal shelf against the wall.Blood trickles from Laird’s temple, and he struggles to rise, legs trembling.Alan, breathing heavily, bends to the floor, grabs the gun, and points it at Laird’s head.Blood streaks down Alan’s cheeks, but his eyes blaze.
“Goodbye, Laird,” he says.His hand tenses, ready to pull.
