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Brynn’s eyes widened. Rage burned her veins with white-hot fire. She brought her knee up hard, hitting him between the legs.
Paul grunted and released her throat. Brynn fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for oxygen.
“You’re gonna pay for that!” Paul roared, his fist connecting with her cheek.
Brynn landed on her back from the force of his hit, her vision darkening as pain split though her skull.
He bound her hands in front of her with heavy-duty zip ties, then aimed the gun at her. Even if anyone passed by them, would they see in the overcast afternoon as snow drifted from the grey heavens?
“Now, get up,” Paul ordered.
Brynn didn’t move, instead lying on the cold hard ground, icy wetness seeping into her clothes as the first few snowflakes drifted down. If she got in the car with him, her life would be over. There was no way she would be able to escape a second time. But if she fought him, he’d shoot her here and kill her.
Tears dripped down the sides of her cheeks: grief for not getting to tell Dani one more time how much she loved her, and how proud she was of her. What were my last words to her? Regret for how she’d left things with Aaron spilled down her face, stinging her wounds.
“Either you get up and get into the car, or I start your punishment here by tearing off those horrendous pants you are not supposed to be wearing and taking what is rightfully mine with my gun in your mouth.”
Brynn clamped her legs closed, immediately rolling to her side, then stumbling to her feet. She straightened her spine and returned his empty glare. “You won’t ever touch me like that again.”
Paul laughed and shoved her around the corner towards a parked Mercedes. He opened the door to the back seat and motioned for her to get inside behind the tinted windows. “You’re mine. I think you’ve forgotten that. You will always be mine to do with as I please. And as soon as we get somewhere more private, I’m going to remind you of who you belonged to first and always,” he seethed, pushing her inside and slamming the door.
She scrambled for the other side, trying to open the door, but it was child-locked, and she was trapped.
And no one will even know I’m gone for hours.
He climbed in and started the engine. “Get on the floor and lie there until I say so, or so help me I’ll use the crowbar in the trunk to knock you out.”
Brynn slid to the floor, wincing in the tight space.
Her face throbbed and her throat burned. Terror encompassed her as he drove, the stops becoming less frequent; she guessed they were out of the center of town. Each second took her farther from the ones she loved—and her safety.
Her hope for escaping dwindled with each passing second until all that remained was a small ember, barely alive. She’d lived most of her life in fear. Fear of her father’s beatings. Fear of her forced child marriage. Of Paul’s summons to his bedroom. Of losing her pregnancy and getting blamed for it. Of carrying a pregnancy to term and having her children be vulnerable just like she had been. Of leaving. Of staying. She’d carried that terror with her, even into her relationship with Aaron. That uncertainty and wariness had really been what controlled her, warping a good thing in her mind until she’d believed Aaron caused her harm.
She should be concerned of dying. But as her mind settled into this realization, a calmness entered her body. Brynn might die today, but it would be on her terms. She wouldn’t submit like she had in the past. She wouldn’t let them control her with fear anymore.
I’m not going down without a fight.
Brynn crawled onto the seat behind Paul’s, quickly grabbing the seatbelt with bound hands and notching it into place.
“Get back on the ground!”
“Fuck you!” She wound her zip-tied hands over his head and pulled as hard as she could, looping her arms against his throat.
Paul’s hand slapped against hers as the car veered off the road. They spun and twisted. The crunch of metal groaned as everything went upside down, the car rolling and spinning to a stop.
Pain lanced up her leg, and her arms felt like they’d been torn from her sockets. White particles floated in the air, no doubt from the powder of the airbags. She blinked, trying to see better. Brynn slipped her arms from under Paul. He didn’t stir. Is he dead?
She hung, suspended in the air from her seat belt. Wincing, she brought her arms up and undid it. Her stomach dipped as she crashed to the roof of the car, which was now below her and covered in shards of glass.
She ignored the stinging in her hands and knees as she crawled out through the shattered window. Her breath turned into white puffs of smoke.
A moan came from inside the car.
He’s alive!
She scrambled to her feet, her ankle screaming at her in pain. She limped as fast as she could down the road, heading back towards town. Hopefully someone would drive along soon.
Bang!
