Page 3 of Save Me

This is wrong, I think to myself.This is all wrong.

I run my hands over his bare stomach, his muscles tightening in response to my touch, but the warmth of his skin is nowhere to be found, and I shiver as my hands trail up his cold body, feeling as though I am reaching through a veil to get to him.

I inhale again, searching desperately for the familiar scent of home, of leather and citrus, but once again I’m met with an overpowering smell of cologne.

“Jax. What’s going on?” I say, trying to hold the panic at bay long enough to make sense of this.

My eyes find his and he looks at me with a sad smile, grief straining his features.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“Remember the promise I made you, love. Remember it for me.” He reaches for me, trailing circles around my skin, except now his touch feels far away.

I close my eyes, focusing on my breathing, trying not to succumb to the terror building inside of me.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I open my eyes slowly, and the tapping stops abruptly.

I squint, temporarily blinded by a bright light while trying to make out the room around me.

“Ah, you’re finally awake,” a familiar voice drawls as Rhett steps into view.

CHAPTER 2

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Ijolt upwards,scrambling back until my body is pressed firmly against the headboard of the bed I’m on. The movement makes me wince, and the bright lights in the room only aggravate the pounding I feel in my skull.

A quick glance around tells me I’m in a bedroom, my black dress and dirt-stained legs a stark contrast against the white sheets I sit on top of.

“Settle down, would you, babe? I’m just here to talk,” Rhett says casually as he reaches for the blue accent chair in the corner of the room. Like nails down a chalkboard, the chair drags against the wooden floor until he brings it to a standstill at the side of the bed.

My heart is beating wildly and the sound pounds in my ears as I shrink away from him. I bring my knees up to my chest, holding onto them tightly as I try to put as much space between us as possible.

“How did I get here?” I start, trying to figure out what’s going on.

Rhett laughs, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Always the same aren’t you, Evi? Never able to remember the night before.”

I rack my memory, piecing together the events leading up to this. I take a breath as fragmented memories come flooding back—getting ready for work, Jax’s green eyes looking me up anddown, ready to devour me, holding onto Jax on the back of his motorcycle, and taking out the trash at work.

I inhale sharply.

“You,” I say, my eyes wide with the realization of what Rhett has done.

“Me?” Rhett asks as he sits down. His blue slacks and white polo shirt fit in perfectly with the nautical theme of the room around us.

“You organized this?” I ask incredulously.

“Never the sharpest, were you?” he asks rhetorically as he looks at his watch, the Rolex he is never without. “Of course I organized this. Why else would you be sitting here in front of me?” He moves forward and I jump back slightly, my whole body on edge as I wonder what his next move will be.

“Always so dramatic.” He scoffs as his elbows come to rest on the edge of the bed.

My heart is pounding in my chest as pain pounds through my body. I feel as though I am drowning, unable to come up for air, unable to make sense of how I got underwater to begin with.

“Why?” I ask hoarsely, blinking quickly, trying to keep the tears at bay as the gravity of the situation starts to sink in.

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