AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t slip them back on, just grabbed one in my hand and one tucked under my chin, and felt backward for the steps to the ladder.
Then I moved down them, small bits of the tension leaving me as I went.
The ductwork was the scariest part for me going in. And it was done. The material I was hired to collect was secured.
Now?
Now I just needed to make an exit.
Keep myself calm and collected until I was sure I wasn’t followed, then drive.
The drive would calm my nerves, get my head on straight. Then I could go back to the office, clue in Josie, clean up, and go home.
It would all just be an ugly memory in a few days.
I slipped my feet back into my shoes in the little storage room, not even bothering to put the ladder back up, not wanting to chance the noise again now that I was so close to being done with this awful job.
I took all of ten seconds to try to yank my dress down to wipe some of the blood off my legs, then rubbed my arms against the black material that would hide the stains as well, before making my way back toward the loading dock.
I was rushing.
Ready to be done.
And, therefore, not paying attention.
Careless.
But I didn’t know that.
Not until I felt hands reach out to grab me, pulling me up right off my feet, and slamming me against the unyielding steel walls of the loading dock, my head hitting it so hard that my vision swam for a second.
“Where the fuck you think you’re going?” he snarled as one of his hands released me, only to shoot out and close around my throat. Not enough to knock me out, just enough to be really fucking painful as my head started to feel light, and my thoughts a little sluggish.
I had just remembered my bracelet when I felt his other hand slam into my face, the pain exploding across my cheekbone, then the whole side of my face.
I’d been hit before.
Mostly teenage skirmishes.
But that was nothing compared to a big, grown-ass man using all his strength against you.
He was a big man, too. Just as tall and wide as the security guard out front, but with wider hands.
“The fuck you think you’re doing in here, bitch?” he snarled, landing another fist, but this one lower, catching me in the gut hard enough to knock the wind out of me, and make me want to fold forward to ease the ache, but it was impossible with his hand still around my throat.
“Why don’t you tell me what you were doing in here?” he asked, but he didn’t even give me a chance to feed him a lie, because his fist was landing another blow to my face, making my teeth knock together, the pain blinding for a moment.
Focus.
I needed to focus.
The bracelet.
ThankGodI had thought to put on the bracelet.
My attacker was busy snarling something at me as he held his fist in my face, threatening, like he was waiting for me to give him a reason to hit me again.
I tried to keep the movements of my hands small as I worked the clasp free on the chain, then spread it between my hands, wrapping its length around my palms, then pulling it tight.
