I jerk my hips, trying to buck him off, but just like all the times before, it’s no use.
“What really sealed this outcome was seeing your sister accepting your relationship with your stepbrother.Her stepbrother. A sick fucking family. Is she fucking him, too?” His demonic grin as he leans in toward me has me shivering. “Just like she’s fucking you?”
I scream through the gag and his palm, but he just tuts.
“I took photos of the three of you, planning to send them to my lawyer as proof…” He lets out a frustrated groan. “I had to hike through these fucking woods, Ayden. Pissing me off, yet again.” His thumb and index finger pinch my nose, cutting off my oxygen. He then leans over me slowly, a sadistic smile playing on his lips. “I could kill you right now. It would be so fucking easy.”
For the first few seconds, I don’t react. He isn’t here to end my life… that would ruin his life. There’s evidencesomewherehe is here in Colorado…
Right?
“You took advantage of me. Used me, and when you weredone,you decided to leave.” He’s lost his fucking mind. “I put a roof over your head.”
Wrong!
“Helped you in your career.”
Liar.
“Gave you incredible sex. Yet you gave it all up for what? Family?! A relationship with someone that society won’t accept?!”
Heat spreads across my face, and panic begins to settle in. He doesn’t move his hand, and when I try to turn my head to the left, he keeps me pinned.
“It ends tonight. I’ve thrown out the problem, and now, you’llhave nothingbutme.”
I can’t stop thrashing my body at this point. My shoulder blades lift from the floor as I heave, trying to throw him off.
Only when my eyes roll back does his hand finally leave, letting me suck in a deep breath through my nose. Tears stream down my temples as I draw in oxygen desperately.
“You’re going to come home with me.”
I shake my head. I’ll die before I ever go anywhere with him. The thought of death is less scary and permanent than stepping foot back into his life.
“Yes. Because, Ayden, if you don’t, I’m going to kill you.” I shake my head violently. “If I can’t have you, no one else can. That’s how this works.”
No. The answer is no. It will always be no. I’ve lived a life without Keoni, and it isn’t one I want. If it’s not him, it’s no one. If choosing him means death, then I can only hope we’ve taken the same path in life, so we meet again in the next.
He sighs. “I should’ve let you die that day. You’ve been nothing but a burden on me, and a strain on my heart. I would’ve already moved on, yet you strung me along.”
I open my good eye and watch him swipe something hard and black across my face. The hit is sharp, but I’m out cold before the pain even registers.
52
“Hurry the fuck up.”
“You’re the one struggling!”
I can’t tell the difference between them withoutseeing their faces, but from their voices, I surmise it’s the same two officers from before.
I know I’ve got to get my body moving. They’re dragging me somewhere. My boots catch something on the ground, halting my momentum every few seconds.
My throat vibrates with a groan.
“Fuck, he’s waking up. Hurry!”
Flexing my hands, I begin opening my eyes. The floodlights from the vehicle in front of me are nearly blinding, forcing me to close them again. The sun is completely gone, causing worry to etch into me.
How long have I been unconscious?
