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“Hey. I haven’t found the right lady yet, but when I do, I plan on jumping all over her.”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “Said like a true romantic. Go back to sleep.”
“Remember what I said.”
As I ended the call, I gazed down at Apollo. There was nothing much I could do unless she confided in me. “Come on, Apollo. You can snooze next to me. I’m not getting any sleep.”
I left the phone in the kitchen, determined to make the demons go away. Maybe another painting would do it.
Or so I could hope.
As I headed for the second bedroom, the walls permanently color coded with my recent bout of anger, my mind drifted to the day on the mountain just before I’d turned eighteen.
Heat so extreme my skin was seared from several feet away.
Smoke so acrid I couldn’t breathe.
Fire so intense it appeared the entire range was lit up like a firecracker.
And sadness so deep that the six of us were instantly broken.
There was such a thing as karma, and I’d already relived the nightmare. Would it come back to bite me in the ass again?
My instinct told me yes.
* * *
Chasity
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice hoarse from screaming.
“Why? Because you belong to me,” he said as he held up the knife, the blade gleaming in the stream of fluorescent light.
“Then why do you want to hurt me?” I was panicking, my mind no longer able to process what he’d done or even worse, what he might do. He was sick, a twisted fuck whose mind had snapped. There was no reasoning with him. But what if I could entice him? I shuddered from the thought, disgusted at myself for even thinking something so repulsive. But maybe.
He dropped to his knees in front of the cage, his face pressed against the bars. I scuttled to the back, terrified of the crazy look in his eyes. “Because I love you. And pain is the only way to find salvation. I promise you that you’ll feel so good after I’m finished. Come here, little pet. It’s time to play.”
Moaning, I opened my eyes, my body stiff and aching. I was terrified to move, fearful the visions were true. After blinking several times, I realized everything in my room was the same as when I’d fallen asleep, the shadows just as I’d remembered, the quietness only broken by the rapid beating of my heart echoing in my ears. I finally eased one arm from under the covers, turning it over twice, my eyes accustomed to the dark.
There were no chafing marks from ropes or the cold steel he used to strap around them. There was no pain from the torment he’d inflicted. There was just the softness of covers and the warmth from the room.
I rolled over, pulling my knees to my chest, fighting the tears I’d refused to shed. As one then two gently slid from the corner of one eye, trickling over my nose to the pillow, I squeezed my fingers around the covers. I couldn’t let him beat me. That’s what he’d wanted, to break me down so I would never consider leaving him.
A laugh bubbled to the surface. I’d followed through with my plan, getting him to trust me little by little. Only then had I been able to escape.
I glanced at the clock, angry at the interruption. It was a little after four. The bastard had come close to winning again, destroying my happiness. As I closed my eyes, I forced myself to think about Snake. The mountains. The waterfall. The beautiful time spent under the stars. We’d had some wine and cheese, holding each other under the blanket as we tried to warm our bodies. Then the glorious ride home, even if my teeth had been chattering the entire time.
And the man had saved my life at the risk of his own. He was a true hero, a knight in shining armor.
Even if the metal was a little tarnished.
As another laugh slipped past my lips, I pulled the pillow from under my head, wrapping my arms around it. If only he’d stayed the night. Yawning, I realized there wasn’t a muscle that didn’t ache, but as I started to drift off to sleep, my skin tingled from thoughts of the man I…
“Hey. It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
“No. No!” I screamed, thrashing in the stranger’s arms, doing everything I could to break free.
“Chasity. I’m the sheriff. I promise you that man will never hurt you again.”
