AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Stop being such a cunt. You’ve been playing hard to get around here for weeks.”
She recognized the voice that came from further inside the room. The manager. The creepy one who always stared at her too long, his eyes lingering on her breasts or her ass.
“Get off me, or I’ll scream.”
The manager’s laugh was a wheezing cough. “Go ahead and scream, slut. Who’s gonna rescue you?”
No one would. They both knew that. Screams for help in this place would go ignored more than if someone screamed fire. She had to get the fuck out of here with her body intact. The junkie who held her in a vise grip struggled to pull her inside, and she went limp in his arms, hoping to catch him off guard.
When he loosened his hold, she spun to face him, kneeing him in the balls until he doubled over and backed away. She lunged for the door, yelping when the manager flew at her and grabbed her by the hair. She fought against his grip, but he slammed her forehead into the doorframe, and she felt the warm trickle of blood over her skin and into her eyebrow.
Caught somewhere between hysteria and deadly calm, she actually laughed. He would have to do worse than that if he expected her to stop fighting.
“Come on, girl,” the manager whispered in her ear, his stale breath making her gag. “You know you want this big cock.”
If she could distract him enough to get close… Hands shaking, she reached back to run her hand over his crotch, nearly retching when he ground it into her palm. She could hear him fumbling with his zipper, the other man still laying on the floor clutching his battered prick, and when she slipped her hand into the manager’s pants and found the length of him, she wrapped her fingers around it.
His hold loosened on her hair, and she used his momentary distraction to squeeze his dick as hard as she could. He screamed and dropped to his knees. When he looked up at her, she kicked her foot up into his face and delighted in the sickening crunch of bone.
She didn’t wait to see if he would get up, pivoting and scooping her bag off the floor along with the takeout box—she didn’t want this fucker to be able to find her—and ran back out to her car.
She threw herself into the still warm SUV and locked the door, shoving the key into the ignition and groaning with relief when the car started right away. She could see his silhouette in the doorway as she yanked the gearshift into reverse and flew out of the parking lot.
Her hands shook as she weaved through traffic, but she willed herself to keep it together, using the adrenaline still pumping through her to keep her going. She could call Addy or even Clara. Either one of them would let her crash on their couch for a night or two. But she knew there was only one place she’d feel truly safe tonight.
The floodlights were on in the employee parking lot. Enough light for her to see by as she grabbed her bag off the front seat and tossed the to-go container into the dumpster on her way to the door. She prayed he was still awake as she pounded on the door with her fist. Please let him still be awake.
The minutes felt like hours before the door cracked open.
“Delaney?” His eyes narrowed on the cut on her forehead and the bruise she knew was forming. He took quick steps forward until they were nearly touching. “Who did that to you?”
“The manager. At the motel. He…he was…”
“Come on. You can tell me upstairs. Let me clean that up.”
He bent for her bag and reached for her hand, lacing their fingers together as he led her through the kitchen to a door that opened onto a narrow flight of stairs and spilled into a lofted apartment.
He set her bag by the door and pulled her gently through the kitchen to a small table tucked under large windows. Easing her into a chair, he retrieved a first aid kit from under the sink and sat in front of her.
His eyes were angry, but his hands were gentle as he used a sterile wipe to clean the blood from her face. She winced as the alcohol hit split skin.
“What happened?” His voice was low, hoarse, like he was afraid he might yell if he tried to speak any louder.
“It was such a long day. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Don’t do that.” She jumped at the sharpness in his tone, and when he spoke again, his voice was gentler. “Whatever the fuck happened wasn’t your fault. Don’t accept any of the blame for this when you tell me the story.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded. “Itwasa long day,” she said, and the corner of his mouth quirked up before firming into a hard line again. “I got back to my room and realized all the lights were off. I always leave the lights and the TV on when I’m not there.”
He used a cotton swab to dab antibiotic ointment on her forehead, nodding for her to continue. “I was going to leave. It happened so fast. He jerked the door open.”
“Who?” His voice was a low growl.
“I don’t know. I’d never seen him before. But the other guy. He’s the manager of the motel.” She shivered. “He’s always creeped me out, always staring at me whenever I pay. They were going to… He said they were…”
Her breath hitched, and she pressed her fingertips to her lips to hold in the sob that wanted to escape. “I kneed the first guy in the balls, and he crumpled. The second guy, the manager, he grabbed me by my hair.”
She reached up to rub a hand over the tender spot at the back of her scalp. James's hands were steady when he unwrapped a bandaid and pressed it against her forehead with gentle fingers.
