Page 113 of Stalking Ginevra

His gaze lifts toward the end of the corridor as though someone just rounded the corner. Just as I’m about to dart forward, he lunges.

I scream but a massive paw clamps over my mouth, muffling the sound. My elbow lands in his side, but he barely grunts. I kick at his shin with my bare foot, but a meaty arm wraps around my waist and lifts me off my feet.

Panic crashes over my senses, drowning out all rational thought. My mind spins, scrambling for a way out, but all I can see is his leering grin as he drags me into his room.

The moment we cross the threshold, he throws me onto the bed with a force that knocks the breath from my chest. I gasp, trying to fill my burning lungs, but terror grips them tighter.

“Get away from me!” I scream at the advancing bastard.

The suite we’re in is dark, its windows obscured by blinds. The brute looms over me, his broad silhouette blocking out the light from the hallway.

“Put her down!” screams a shrill voice.

Carla, the room service woman, rushes inside with an empty bucket. Hope flickers in my chest, until the man whirls around and throws a punch toward her head.

“Wait your turn, bitch,” he roars.

Carla skitters backward, the bucket slipping from her fingers with a clang. She fumbles for her walkie-talkie with trembling fingers and holds it up like a shield. “I’ll call security!”

The brute’s fist connects with her jaw with a sickening thud. Carla spins across the suite, hits the wall, and crumples to the floor.

My jaw drops. What the hell am I doing still on the bed, waiting my fucking turn?

Something inside me snaps, pushing away the terror, replacing it with a rush of adrenaline. I lunge for the nearest object—a glass bottle of water—and clutch it so tight my knuckles ache. Heart pounding, I scramble off the bed and raise the weapon just as the man turns around.

Hunger gleams in his dark eyes, and he bares his teeth into a sadistic grin that makes my stomach lurch.

“Nice tits.” He advances on me with slow, deliberate steps, his gaze flicking down to the front of my gaping robe.

Desperation claws at my throat. I scream, but that only makes him lick his lips.

“Do you want the bottle first, or me?”

Before I can even react, he slams into my front, crushing me onto the mattress. Pain explodes across my ribs, and the air rushes from my lungs. As he pins me to the bed, I swing thebottle at his head, but he catches my wrist before the strike can land.

“I love it when they fight,” he growls, his hot breath making my skin crawl.

Terror surges through my veins, powering my limbs. I thrash beneath his bulk, but he’s too heavy, too strong, too determined to trap me to this bed. With my free hand, I claw at his face, but his other hand clamps down on my throat and cuts off my air.

“That’s it, baby.” He rocks back and forth, the movement making my stomach heave. “Lie back and enjoy the ride.”

I suck in a breath but it’s stuck in my crushed windpipe. I jerk my head to the side, trying to dislodge the hand gripping my throat, but his fingers only tighten. Stars dance at the edges of my vision, and my lungs burn with the need for oxygen.

If I can’t muster up a surge of strength, I’ll die.

Just as the world starts to fade, Carla’s voice breaks through the haze. With a cry, she throws herself at my attacker and clings to his back with her arms wrapped around his thick neck. She tries to choke him, but it’s like wrestling a beluga whale.

The man’s head jerks to the side. “What the fuck?”

Carla’s teeth clamp down on his ear. Roaring, the man lurches backward, leaving enough space for me to reach the fallen bottle.

It’s time to fight back.

Fingers tightening around its glass neck, I swing the bottle on his temple with all my strength just as Carla turns her head to avoid the impact. It lands with a satisfying crack, sending a jolt up my arms.

With a pained bellow, the brute reels back, his grip on my throat loosening just enough for me to gasp for air.

“You’re dead, both of you.” He rises off the mattress, his hand shooting out to grab Carla by the neck.

---