Page 7 of Jay Bird

He grabbed the front of the shirt and ripped it apart.

Willow gasped as buttons scattered across the floor and the torn fabric fell away, leaving her standing before him in her bra.

Hatred burned through her. God, she hated this man with every part of herself that he hadn’t managed to destroy over the last three years.

The belt struck her again before she could prepare herself. Willow cried out and stumbled sideways, her hip slamming painfully into the small desk. She grabbed the edge to keep herself upright, fighting through the burning pain while Chen moved behind her.

Her gaze landed on a bronze statue sitting on the desk. It was some Greek god Chen had purchased during one of his trips, although Willow couldn’t remember which one. She only remembered him bragging that it was old, expensive, and incredibly rare.

Right now, she didn’t care if it was Zeus himself.

Another strike landed across her back, and Willow’s knees nearly buckled as pain tore through her. Before she could recover, Chen grabbed the back of her shorts and tore at the fabric.

Understanding hit her immediately. He wasn’t going to stop with the belt.

Something inside Willow snapped. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was three years of anger and humiliation finally breaking through every wall she had built around it. Or maybe it was the image of Lily sleeping peacefully upstairs while this monster had casually threatened to have her taken care of. Whatever it was, Willow was done.

As Chen raised the belt again, she grabbed the bronze statue with both hands. It was heavier than she expected, but the adrenaline gave her the strength she hadn’t known she possessed.

Willow spun around and swung with everything she had.

The statue struck the side of Chen’s head with a sickening thud. He dropped instantly, collapsing to the floor.

Willow dropped the statue as she staggered backward, staring at the man lying motionless at her feet. Blood trickled from his hairline.

Her hands began shaking uncontrollably. She covered her mouth, struggling to breathe as she stared at him.

Had she killed him?

The possibility should have horrified her more than it did. Instead, all Willow could think about were the women she had watched disappear over the last three years, the terrified girls who had been brought through Chen’s homes like merchandise, and Riley, who had nearly suffered the same fate before Willow helped her escape.

Then there was Lily, the little girl he had just threatened so casually, as if her life meant nothing at all.

Willow stepped closer and nudged Chen’s shoe with her foot. He didn’t move.

“I hope you’re dead, you evil bastard,” she whispered. Her voice shook almost as badly as the rest of her.

Pain pulsed through her face where he had struck her, while her back felt as though someone had dragged fire across her skin. Her torn blouse hung uselessly from her shoulders, and she could feel blood beginning to soak into the fabric.

She needed medical attention, and she needed about a hundred other things she couldn’t have right now.

Willow looked at Chen again. She couldn’t just leave him there without knowing.

Slowly, she lowered herself onto the rug, her whole body shaking as she reached toward his neck. Her fingers hovered for a moment before finally pressing against his skin, searching for a pulse she wasn’t sure she wanted to find. Then she felt it. It was faint at first, almost easy to miss, before it steadied beneath her touch.

Chen moaned, and Willow jerked backward so quickly that she nearly fell. He was alive.

Now she had only one option. She had to run. There was no way to talk her way out of this now, no pretending she hadn’t betrayed him, no fragile hope that he might ever forgive her. When Chen woke up, everything would be over, and he would come for her without hesitation. And worse than anything he could do to her, he would go after Lily.

Another low groan came from him, and Willow scrambled to her feet. She yanked open a drawer on the nearby dresser where she knew Chen kept lengths of rope among several other things she preferred not to think about. She grabbed two pieces and dropped beside him again, tying his wrists tightly behind his back before securing his ankles.

It wouldn’t hold him forever, and she knew that. It didn’t have to. All she needed was enough to get away before he came back to himself.

Her gaze landed on a ball gag in the drawer, and disgust rolled through her, but she grabbed it anyway and secured it in his mouth. If Chen regained consciousness before anyone checked on him, he wouldn’t be able to yell for help.

“Let’s see how you like being helpless,” she muttered.

Willow pushed herself upright and ran from the bedroom into the adjoining office, stopping abruptly when something caught her attention.