“You locked the doors,” I say aloud so Zade can hear me.
“The fuck did you just say, baby?” His voice comes in a second later, and I just know he’s rushing toward my door.
In order to protect the privacy of those who use private rooms, they don’t allow cameras in here. And surprisingly, there’s not even a shady camera hidden in the room like Zade would have thought. Which means now that I’m locked in here, he won’t be able to see a damn thing that happens.
Adrenaline pumps into my system, and dread pools in my gut.
I may be stronger than I was, but that doesn’t mean that PTSD doesn’t have me by the throat still. Trauma isn’t something that just poofs away. I’ve been improving, but it’s a work in progress, and I have a sick feeling Xavier will roundhouse kick me back into that dark place it took me weeks to crawl out of.
He’s the boogeyman in my nightmares. The face I can’t get out of my head. The things he put me through were far worse than any of the things Rocco and his friends did to me. What he did to me was fucking personal.
I wasn’t just another body being passed around from man to man. I was a possession that he took his sweet time with. He drew out my suffering for as long as he could, and those are the moments that haunt me most.
I pleaded for a death he’d never grant me, giving him power over a life that was never his to take.
But I refuse to cower now. I refuse to give him any control over me ever again. Tonight, I’m going to take back that power and make him wish he’d just stuck the knife in my fucking throat.
The doorknob wiggles behind me, attracting Xavier’s attention. I seize the opportunity and drive my fist directly into his nose in a snap movement.
His head knocks back, eyes bulging with surprise. Before he can recover, I’m lunging at him, landing another punch to his stomach and then to his temple.
He roars, his arm whipping out and catching me on the side of my head, the gold ring on his finger slicing across my cheek. Blood pours from his nose as he tackles me, a snarl on his face.
We land against the door harshly, knocking the breath from my lungs. He then grips me by the biceps and throws me with all his strength, pure rage on his face.
I fly to the ground, crying out as I land awkwardly on my shoulder, my temple knocking on the tile floor. Stars explode in my vision, drowning out Zade’s now panicked voice in my ear.
He’ll have Jay working to unlock the doors, and it won’t take him long to figure out how, but all Xavier needs is a second to kill me.
Through blurred vision, I see Xavier’s fist fly towards my face. Instinctively, I roll out of the way, causing his hand to bound off the hard floor. He shouts, shaking out his hand to rid himself of the pain.
Gritting my teeth, I kick out my leg, but he manages to catch me by the ankle and drags me towards him.
His face is contorted with animalistic fury. Blood pours from his broken nose, leaking into the cracks of his bared teeth.
I struggle against him, kicking my leg with all my might, managing to dislodge his hand long enough to drive my foot into his face.
He turns just in time, my heel only clipping his temple.
“Fucking bitch,” he snarls, grabbing at my legs again and climbing on top of me. I thrash violently, only assisting him in rolling me to my stomach and pinning my hands to my sides with his knees. He tears at my dress, and for a moment, I lose control and descend into panic. A scream rips from my throat as he lifts my dress up past my ass.
No matter how hard I fight, he only squeezes me tighter between his thighs, and my efforts are useless.
The clang of his buckle is what snaps me out of it.
I’ll be damned if this fucker ever puts his dick anywhere near me again.
Panting heavily, I stop moving and lie my face onto the cool tile.
He chuckles, believing I’ve given up just like every other time. I used to lie there and just take it, knowing that fighting would only make it worse.
“There ya go, diamond. That’s a good-“
Growling, I buck against him, catching him off guard and causing him to pitch forward. And then I rear my head back, bashing it directly into his nose.
He lets out an agonized wail, his grip on me loosening. Twisting, I drive my fist directly into his trachea.
His eyes nearly pop out of their sockets, his cries depleting as he struggles for oxygen. Right at that moment, the door bashes open, the sound thunderous.
Zade strides in, the fury on his face so potent that all his distinguishable features get lost in it.
“Zade, don’t kill him,” I shout, a different kind of panic sprouting when he grabs Xavier by the back of his blazer and lifts him like he’s holding up a goddamn cat by the scruff of its neck. He grips him tight enough that it reopens the cut on his hand, his blood beginning to trail down his wrist.
“Zade!” I shout, scrambling towards them when I see him slide his gun from the back of his pants, a silencer already screwed on. He doesn’t hear me, so I do the only thing I can think of and grab the barrel of his gun, twisting it towards me.
His head snaps to me, his eyes wide with a mixture of rage and disbelief.
“Don’t. Kill. Him.”
Breathing heavily, he growls and yanks the gun from my grip, shoving it back into his pants. He punches the side of Xavier’s head, knocking him out cold. Despite that he is now dead weight in Zade’s hand, he still holds him up like he’s as light as a feather.
He’s too busy getting in my face, baring his teeth. “You ever do that again, little mouse, I will bend you over my knee and use that barrel in your tight little ass. You understand me?”
I grimace and nod my head, realizing now how close he came to shooting me. Even if it were my fault, he would’ve never forgiven himself.
“Slap me, punch me, kick me in the goddamn balls. But do not point my gun at yourself.”
I nod my head again, reality starting to catch up to me now that I’m no longer under attack. Zade’s voice becomes a distant whisper, and I grapple with the tunnel vision, slowly narrowing my sight.
My system is crashing, and I struggle to hold on to my sanity.
Xavier tried to rape me. He came close to succeeding.
Spread those legs, diamond.
You’re so pink. I can’t wait to turn it red with blood.
Jay must say something to Zade because he quickly drops Xavier, his head hitting the tile with a fleshy smack, and slides his mask back over his face.
Security comes barreling into the room a moment later, distracting him before he can see just how panicked I am. Two men wearing three-piece suits are pointing their guns right at us.
“Drop your weapons!” one of them shouts. Zade raises his hands, and mine go up on instinct as well.
“No need to shout, gentlemen. I was simply saving my girl from getting assaulted by this man right here.”
The two guards glance down at an unconscious Xavier, but they don’t seem inclined to drop their weapons.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.