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I can already feel the bruise, blood coagulating beneath the surface of my skin.

Satisfaction rolls through me like a thick fog, settling deep in my soul as I focus on the pain, using it to propel me into action.

Raising my leg, I kick upward, aiming for his groin.

When my shin makes contact, Vinny groans long and throaty, like a man with sudden tonsil issues. He doubles over, losing the needle again, and I kick once more for good measure, then walk around as he writhes on all fours, gripping his ears with my fingernails and driving my knee into his forehead.

Putting his arms up in surrender, he ducks his head, one hand dropping to the floor. I glance up at Gwen, who’s watching with a bored expression on her face, like this kind of thing happens all the time.

Given the complete disinterest of the other customers, maybe it does.

Pushing my purse strap farther up on my shoulder, I lift my foot and drop it onto Vinny’s fingers, reveling in the crunch of his bones beneath my weight. He squeals like a gutted pig, his other hand stretching and twitching as if having sympathy pains.

I start to turn away, my eyes back on the exit, when I feel a sharp sensation prickle on the back of my calf. Glancing down, I see Vinny’s hand wrapped around the needle from before, which he drags quickly from where it’s just penetrated my skin.

Panic floods my chest, and I look up at Gwen, who stares with wide eyes, mouth slightly parted.

“Vinny...” she says, an edge of worry creeping into her voice.

He rolls onto his back, tossing the needle behind the bar and grabbing his crotch. “Whatever. She had it coming.”

My chest tightens as the seconds pass by, my feet apparently frozen in place as I watch Vinny go fetal on the floor. My heartbeat kicks up, pulsing so fast and loud it’s all I can hear between my ears, and fear claws at my throat, making it difficult to breathe.

I turn around, unsure of what to do, or how long it’ll take for whatever he just injected me with to kick in.

Gwen doesn’t come after me even when my feet start forward, moving me to the door. Pushing it open with shaking hands, I squint against the sunlight and ignore the cool sea air, taking a moment to let my eyes get used to the drastic atmospheric change.

Heart in my throat, I glance up and down the alleyway, realizing I’ve somehow exited through the wrong door. Unsure of how I got turned around, I grab the handle to get back inside, finding that it’s locked behind me.

Swallowing, I shuffle down the alley, my eye throbbing with each step I take until I come to a stop back on the main street.

I don’t see Kal anywhere, and the idea that I’ve actually been abandoned resurfaces, making my stomach cramp. Confusion solidifies in my psyche, rejection weaseling in and making me feel like an idiot.

Just because he gives you his credit card and a couple of orgasms, doesn’t mean he’s interested in more.

Besides, I shouldn’t even want more. Barely any time has passed since our forced union, so what exactly did I think was going to happen? That he’d reciprocate the level of obsession I’ve held for him my entire life, and somehow we’d find a way to make it work despite the outside obstacles hell-bent on keeping us apart?

No, Elena. This isn’t a Disney movie or some romantic poem.

Stupid, stupid girl.

Letting my attraction defy reason, it’s been keeping me locked inside that house without even trying to escape.

Casting a glance up and down the street again, I purse my lips, considering.

Sucking in a lungful of air, I ignore the unease rippling inside of me and straighten my spine, adjusting the hem of my dress with one hand.

And then, I run.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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