“Fuck, treat. You’re absolutely perfect,” I tell him, even though he can’t hear me. He needs to know it, and I will tell him every day forever, if he’ll let me.
By the time I reach his ankles, he’s starting to twitch, and my heart jumps into my throat. I work as quickly as I can to secure his right foot, but by the time I make it to his left, he’s gained some sort of consciousness and starts to fight against the constraints.
“W-what the hell? What is this?” He’s yanking and pulling against them, straining with all his might, and I grin up at himbefore I spin around and put my full weight down on his left leg to keep it still as I wrap the length of rope around his ankle and twist the knot into place.
He jerks at the sensation, but I keep him in place enough to tighten it and then…
He’s all fuckin’ mine.
I slowly pull away from him and stand to my full height just beside Madison’s quivering frame.
“Welcome back, darlin’.”
“S-Static?” he intones, voice raspy from where I choked him. “What?...” he trails off and pulls against his restraints, eyes darting down to them, before shooting back up to my gaze pleadingly.
“Welcome back to Mayhem,” I cackle, tossing my head back as I’m wracked with the laugh, and Madison’s scream accompanies the noise.
Perfect.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Now Open Wide
Madison
Everything comes back to me in disorienting flashes.
Static.
The Motel.
Me.
Why I’m here.
Why the hell am I here?
Fear has overtaken every part of me, and I can’t remember anything other thanescape.
But Static has me trapped—literally tied to him in every way imaginable—and there’s no running away any longer.
But this is what I wanted, isn’t it?Isn’t it?
He’ll take care of me, right?
“There he is, my little treat. Back to the land of the living.” Static’s thick southern accent garners every ounce of my attention, and I strain my neck as I look every which way to find what direction it’s coming from.
“Over here,” he taunts, and I jerk my head but come up short.
“No, this way.” I whip around and again find nothing.
And then, I scream.
Because Static’s face is directly in front of mine, and all I see are ghostly white eyes and sharp white teeth splayed wide in front of me.
My heart shoots into my throat, and I can’t breathe.
“That’s more like it. I was beginning to worry I’d lost my touch…”
