Page 135 of Sinners Reunion

He yanks my ankle, and my clumsy ass stands no chance. I’m not a heroine in an action flick. I’m the screaming pair of tits who ran up the stairs in a horror movie.

To make matters so much worse, I crack the back of my head on something hard when I land, and I’m too dazed to get up. I can’t even see straight. My eyes close tight, and I wait for the ground to stop spinning.

I’m powerless when Blayne moves to get on top of me. He’s breathing hella hard as he climbs up and presses his weight into my body. I wish he’d blow that dragon’s breath in another direction. Each warm puff smells like onions and coffee, and I don’t think he flosses, because there’s a distinct undertone of hot dookie.

It takes everything in me not to gag, but I manage to turn my head and discreetly pull my olfactory senses away from the horrific stank.

“You should’ve run, Josie,” he growls against the side of my head.

“And make killing me more fun for you?” I’m trying to sound confident, but my voice is so weak.

Something brushes my cheek, and I shudder internally when I realize it’s his hand. “Kill you? Josie, I don’t want to kill you. I want to do the things I’ve seen King doing to you. Did you know I watched a few times?”

“Fucking ew, David,” I say.

He brushes my cheek again. “Name’s not David, Josie. It’s Blayne.”

“Okay, first, it could never work between us if you don’t get Schitt’s Creek references, may Catherine O’Hara rest in peace. Second, if you ever call yourself Daddy Bleh—” My throat convulses, and I gag. “I can’t say it. It’s mega cringe.”

King is going to be really pissed when he finds out Blayne killed me, because there is no way in fucking hell this halitosis-having cow patty is coming anywhere near my vagina while there is still breath in my lungs and fight in my body.

Now, if I can just get the fight into my body, I could finally get out from under him and run like hell. While we wait, I need to stall him. He seems to enjoy talking, so I’ll just keep doing that.

“I have a question.”

He gets close to my cheek and blows another breath, and I feel my soul leave my body as his putrid tooth air marches into my nostrils. If he puts his mouth anywhere on me, I’ll have to disinfect with bleach.

“Anything, my beauty,” he says, and I hope this is a onetime thing. It sounds so ridiculous coming out of his mouth.

I ask the first thing that comes to mind.

“Why did you fuck Charity?”

He chuckles. “Why? You jealous?”

“Nope. Just curious why you’d do that to your best friend.”

He grinds his crotch against me like a kid dry-humping his pillow, and his weight pushes the air from my lungs. “He’s not my friend. I used him to get into this retreat. Charity was my fiancé, but I let Ice Pick fuck her a few times so we could both keep eyes on him when he wasn’t out on killing sprees. I let him think they were a thing. But when I realized I couldn’t be without you, I had to let her go. She didn’t write the journal entry for Ice Pick to find. I did that. For you.”

This is getting creepy, and I’d like off this ride now.

Blayne’s hand goes around my throat, and he squeezes. It isn’t hard enough to send me into a panic, but it’s enough to get on my fucking nerves. I just don’t have the energy to wrestle him off me. That blow to the head is still making my ears ring.

King will save me. I’m sure of it. He’s an excellent tracker, and once he sees the takeoff scuffs near the base of the tree, he’ll know which way I ran. Then he’ll roll his eyes and follow the game trail because he knows I’m a lazy rabbit. He would have found the note by now for sure, and he’s probably already⁠—

The note.

How did Blayne know to find me in this part of the woods?

“Did you follow me?” I rasp.

The hairs on my neck rise in defiance as he pulls his grip away.

“You could say that. The ring you’re wearing helped me pinpoint your exact location. If you know what’s good for your little boyfriend, you’ll keep it on.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. He didn’t take the note. I’m also disgusted that neither King nor I saw this coming. A tracking device in a ring is so fucking obvious. At least the note is safe.

“I found a note in your camper, but I couldn’t make any sense of it. Went ahead and took it with me so we wouldn’t be interrupted.”