I pause, listening, the ringing gone, the sound of thunder booms above, and light fills the room in a flash. I clutch my chest, and where there should be a pearl necklace, it’s not there.
“What do you mean the waters are rough? I don’t give a fuck! The brothers are dead, Johnny is gonna come after me, so you'd better get here now! She’s going to wake up soon, too, and the stupid necklace broke after one use.”
Greg.
I sit up, my jaw aching, but I move quickly to hide. Greg’s voice is coming from the room over. I survey my surroundings, and it looks like I’m in an old house. Creaky floorboards will be a dead giveaway, but I smile because I already put Vera in this situation.
Move when the thunder booms and the lightning cracks, move as your life depends on it. Move with a purpose—the purpose to kill.
I ready myself, perched on my feet. The crack of lightning comes, and I tiptoe on the balls of my feet towards the door. I stand flush against the door; it’s not shut, but I’ll have to move it to get through. I wait again, the seconds feel like hours, but he’s still arguing on the phone. Lightening cracks again, and I push the door open, quickly making my way down a hallway to the stairs that open to a wide living area.
“Where are you!” Greg shouts.
My heart quickens, and I quietly creep down the steps,picking up a fire poker from the nearby abandoned fireplace. There’s a closet to my left, and I throw open the doors, tucking myself in, hearing his footsteps coming down the steps.
I cover my hand over my mouth to stop my loud breathing.
“You can’t hide from me, Elena. I will always find you!” Greg shouts, and I stop myself from screaming. “No matter if you change your name, no matter if you move across the world, I’ll be there waiting to take you back home—but when I find you, you’re going to beg me to stop, and I won’t, not this time.” Greg comes into view from the cracks in the closet door.
It’s like I never left. Trapped in the closet once again, waiting for him to find me and beat me, but not this time. My mind transports me back to the night I left. I’m standing over him as he sleeps in the chair. I wanted to do it then; the darkness I feel now called to me, but I ran, scared.
This time, he dies.
I tighten my hold around the fire poker, aligning the sharp iron hook to face outward toward the door. “I found you, Elena, always hiding,” Greg says, standing in front of the closet.
I kick hard against the door, and Greg goes flying back. He’s stunned, but I don’t let it deter me from the goal.
Kill him. Kill. Kill.KILL.
I scream as I hoist the iron and swing it down—deep red blood sprays all over my face, matching the rage in my vision.
I dislodge the iron, gurgling moans fill the roon. I look down, the metal hook is punctured into Greg's skull, blood pouring out of the wound, and he stares at me, his hands reaching out for me, but they have no strength left as he tries to claw at my legs. “Who’s weak now?” I stand over Greg, looking down with nothing but pure hatred for him.
Kill him, finish it.
I hoist the iron again, swinging down, another crunch of his skull, and wet moans, but I don’t relent, I swing another, and another. I keep swinging, my lungs burning, and my arms feel like they’re on fire, blood soaking me from head to toe.
“Angel, that’s enough.”
Avoice breaks my trance, and I snap my head up to find green eyes looking back at me from the doorway in front of me. I drop the fire poker, and it clatters to the ground. “Dante?”
I run to him, and we crash into each other in a rough embrace. “Oh, my angel, I’m so sorry,” Dante whispers into my neck.
He’s here. He’s here, and he’ll make it better now.
A sob rips from my chest, and I collapse into him. “Dante, I–I,”
“Shhh, it’s okay, angel. You did what you had to do to survive. I’m sorry I didn’t come fast enough. I tried, angel,” Dante says, lifting my chin to meet his gaze. “But you protected yourself, and I’m so proud of you, angel.”
I thrust my hands in his hair and pull myself up to meet his mouth, kissing him hard. Dante returns the kiss, picking me up, throwing my legs around his waist, and pinning me against the wall. His grip on me is so tight, like he’s afraid I’ll float away if he lets go, and fresh tears start to fall.
Dante pulls away, resting his forehead against mine, smoothing his thumb over my face, brushing away a tear. “I need to call Alex, and then we will get out of here, okay?” I nod as he gently sets me down, pulling out his phone. “I got her. Send someone up to collect the body in the abandoned house on the island before Johnny finds him. We need him for leverage.”
My eyes drift from Dante over to where Greg’s body lies lifeless—lightning flashes again, illuminating his corpse. The front part of his skull is completely caved in, his eyes are smashed into his face, and his mouth hangs open, blood still spilling from it.
I feel nothing. Maybe it’s just the adrenaline, but I feel nothing looking at the mutilated body thatwasmy abusive ex. He got what he deserved, and I caused it. I was the one to cause fear this time.
He didn’t even have time to beg.
