AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shrugs me off. “Cut it out.”
“No. Someone has to get this through to you. I’m not Marissa. She’s not reincarnated into me. I’m not some kind of sign from God. And I will certainly not be your new shrine.”
I see his lips quiver in anger.
“She wanted it to burn,” he speaks as if there’s an audience around us.
“Anabel? Yeah, no shit,” I try to drag him out of it.
“Marissa—she… wanted me to stop worshipping her.” He swallows past a lump.
His eyes are growing glassy. It does all sorts of things to my insides. A man this dangerous, vulnerable? I don’t know whether to swoon or leap out of the speeding car.
“And then she sends you.” His bloodshot eyes bore into mine. “An undeniable reminder of her beauty.”
I gasp.
Beauty? I haven’t heard someone compare me to beauty in years…
Wait a second. Oh God. If he thinks she wants him to stop worshipping her. Am I a test? Is he going to burn me too?
He steps on the gas, and the roar of the Cadillac engine frightens me.
“Leandro.” I gently touch his arm. “You have to know she’s gone. I’m not part of her. I don’t need to die to fulfil any wishes. I’m just me.”
He’s not there. He’s not listening. It terrifies me to new heights. He’s somewhere deep in prayer, gripping the steering wheel hard. The car rumbles as we head onto an off-road path.
“God.” I hold onto the handle and squeeze my eyes shut.
Leandro takes a deep breath as he pulls deeper into the woods.
He’s going to burn me alive where no one can hear me scream.
God—
He shoves the car into park – making it jerk forward abruptly – and I gasp.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he says. I don’t believe him.
“Then why am I here?”
“To give you an ounce of freedom.” He pushes open his door and pulls himself out of the car.
I stare at him dumbly as he moves around to the hood and just leans there, crossing his legs while lighting a cigar.
It takes a minute for my breathing to calm, but eventually it does. I’m not going to die, my new mantra repeats in my head, until I find the courage to get out of the car.
It’s freezing out here. I hug myself to shield from the biting cold, eyeing Leandro tentatively as he stares at the clear blue sky.
“You see across the pond, over there?” He points his cigar.
I lean against the hood and trace where he’s pointing.
“There’s a cell tower. I take my calls at noon, every day. This is one of many spots in my rotation, so I can never be pinned.”
“There’s no service by us?” I ask.
“Of course not. Why do you think we have no visitors?” he says. “We are completely cut off from society. I have to travel an hour just to get groceries. All to keep you five women alive.”
