But it’s too late.
I stand up, staring down at her. Small. She looks so small. Is that how I looked to her? Small and weak and helpless? I understand now. Why she believed my sobs, my tears, my whimpers. From up here, I understand.
She couldn’t fathom that something so feeble and timid could possibly be full of fire.
A mistake. One I won’t make.
“Emery?” Toni props herself up, frantically glancing down at her foot, pulling on the restraint. “What… What are you doing? Why are you?—”
I blink at her, tilting my head. “Who’s thedog, now, Toni?”
Her mouth gapes open. “I don’t…” She swallows, realization dawning on her. “I never said that about you. I never?—”
I rest my index finger across my lips. “Shh… Toni. I think it would be best if you simply didn’t speak.” I glance around for my clothes. With a sigh, I bend down and pick up the T-shirt, slipping my arms through the thin material as Toni’s gaze burns into my skin. “I’m going to borrow your shoes, if you don’t mind.” I stride toward the doorway, sinking my feet into the fur-lined boots. I flick the jacket off the hook, slinging it over my body. “Oh, and I’ll be taking these too.” Toni remains silent, perhaps in shock, as I walk over to her desk and pick up the phone, hesitating for a moment before I grab the gun, shoving it into the big jacket pockets. I turn around and smile. “Well, I suppose this is it. Goodbye, Antonia.”
Toni’s ears burn, her eyes darkening. Maybe I shouldn’t have used her full name. “You tricked me!” she screams, violently tugging on the chain. “You fucking used me? Is that it, EmeryJones? This… This was all a trick?!” I cringe, averting my gaze. Definitely shouldn’t have used her full name. “Look at me! Fucking look at me!”
Straightening my sore shoulders, I tip my head up and our eyes lock. God, she’s furious. More livid than I assumed. “You kidnapped me, Toni,” I say with a nonchalant shrug. “What did you expect?” Her jaw ticks, and I narrow my eyes, and unfortunately, a little laugh slips past my lips. “Oh, God. Did you… Did you think I was…?” I cover my mouth, the humor of her delusion nearly too much. She glares at me, her hand shaking as I finish my sentence, truly amused by her irrational logic. “You did, didn’t you? You thought I liked you?” I cock my head, chuckling. “Honestly, that’s kind of cute.”
Her eyes twitch, her chest rising and falling. I lick my lips, gaze flitting across her perfect breasts. I might miss her a little. She sure knows how to use that tongue.
“Everything…” she seethes, snapping me out of momentary weakness. “Everything you did was a lie. Everything you said…was a lie.” Her hands ball into fists as she stands up on the mattress. Uh-oh. “You fucking bitch!”
I take a couple of steps back as she attempts to charge at me, the chain yanking her backward. She falls. “Careful, Antonia,” I say, my tone low and flat. “You wouldn’t want to hurt yourself.” Slumped over, Toni’s shoulders rattle, and I lift a brow. “Are you…” I tilt my head. “Are youcrying?”
Toni twists her neck in my direction, her curls cascading down her face, sticking to the tears rolling across her cheeks. “You are a snake, Emery Jones. I-I thought—” Her words are cut off by the slamming of a door, and heavy footsteps sound above us. Shit. A devious grin spreads across her face as she wipes under her eyes. “Simone is back.”
I swallow, a zap of fear coursing through my bones. But then I remember. I remember their relationship. I remember that Toni is chained to a mattress. Naked. Freshly fucked.
“I wonder how you’ll explain this to her,” I muse, quietly moving to the door. Toni’s triumphant expression falls, and now I’m the one grinning. “Relationships are so hard, aren’t they, Antonia?”
“You—”
“Shh,” I hush her as I press myself up against the wall.
I wrap my hand around the gun in my pocket, pulling it out. Toni’s eyes widen with fear, and I’m not surprised that she doesn’t utter a word.
An internal struggle churns in my belly, the gravity of taking a life. I’ve only ever thought aboutmydeath. Never others. Not by my hand. Never by mine. I saw nothing in the ‘after’ before. But maybe that’s because I never truly died. Maybe it was a waiting room and I never made it to my appointment.
But what happens when I do get greeted? When they call my name and I enter? Will there be consequences? Is there actually something beyond this life? Is there something waiting for all of us? Should I risk damnation, even in the name of self-defense?
The door creaks open, and I make a split-second decision—I won't jeopardize my soul.
Simone takes a step into the basement, unsuspecting and unguarded. With a surge of adrenaline, I swing the gun with all my strength, connecting with Simone's head. Her skull cracks from the impact and Simone staggers backward. For a moment, she teeters, and then she falls backward.
My stomach drops, both from the exertion and the realization that she’s still conscious. Shit. Simone looks up from the floor, her eyes narrowing as they land on Toni chained to the mattress.
"What the..."
Before she can finish, she jumps to her feet and charges at me, full force.
I barely have time to react before we’re fighting, limbs colliding in a chaotic struggle for dominance, for victory. Simone throws a sharp punch at my head, but I fight back with everything I have. Everything.
No. I won’t lose. I can’t lose. I’m so close. So fucking close to freedom.
Why did I ever think that death was a friend? That death was someone I wanted to know. To meet? How stupid. I don’t want to die. Not today.
Not ever.
