Page 76 of Die For Me

I immediately started to sob. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked, more to myself than Billie. I didn’t know if my heart could take any more of this.

“Who told you this? Jack?” I inquired, grabbing my coat to head out into the city, unsure of where I was going.

“Yeah. I guess my fucking roommate, Jackie, is Michael’s ex. She helped him take her. I could fucking kill both of them myself.” Her voice cracked.

“I’m coming over. Are you home?” I quickly walked down the stairs of my apartment building.

“Not yet. I’m on my way, though.”

“I’ll see you there.” I hung up and dialed Jack.

He answered right away. “Emily. Good timing.”

“What the fuck is going on?” I yelled into my phone.

“Michael took Hana. Again! I have no fucking idea where they are. However, my new friend Jackie and I are headed to the police station. Fancy meeting us there?” He seemed so calm.

“Um, yeah. How would I help?”

I had little faith in the police. They were fucking useless before.

“You can tell them what he did to her before. What she told you. Of course, leave out anything that puts me in a bad light.” He laughed nervously.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Yeah, okay.”

I didn’t know why I agreed, or why I let Jack off the hook. Maybe because I was desperate to make sure Hana would get home safely, and if talking to the police and working with Jack helped, I’d do it.

“We should get Hana’s parents involved. The police listen to rich people. Once we find Hana, Uncle Dan will have him in prison for fucking life.”

I tried to think of all the resources I could provide and sometimes having money like our family did could get things done very quickly.

“Okay, you’re right. Thank you, Emily. Meet us at the station—90th Precinct. ” He sounded relieved.

“Okay.” I nodded. “I’ll see you there.”

I texted Billie to give her an update as I hailed a cab.

Hana

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been tied up for. It felt like days had gone by. We had a routine I was starting to get used to: Michael would wake up beside me then he would fuck me and make me come over and over again before he would come inside of me. The light of day shining through the small windows above the bed confirmed my theory that we were in a basement. It looked like it was in a brand new home. There was a couch in front of a TV on the wall. There were stairs that led up to the house where Michael would disappear for only a few minutes at a time. He let me take baths with him at night; he would remove the rope from my wrists and ankles after he carried me into the bathroom. It was a bare bathroom with absolutely nothing in it besides a bath, toilet, and sink. Not even a mirror. Was that on purpose? As he bathed me, he would slowly rub his hands around my tits and turn me on, making me hate myself even more. He would try to make conversation, acting as if everything was normal. I was far too depressed to give him anything good.

“Hana,” Michael whispered in my ear as he carried me to bed, and I finally realized that I didn’t have any rope binding me. “Let’s talk.”

He laid my naked body onto the bed and lay beside me, rubbing circles on my belly.

“Tell me you love me, Hana,” he ordered quietly.

I looked up and shook my head, but the words still came out. “I love you, Michael.” My voice was hoarse from my incessant crying over the last few days.

He looked down at me angrily. “Say it like you mean it.”

I sat up and rubbed my wrists with my hands, looking at the red, raw skin that the rope had left me with.

“I can’t, Michael. I don’t mean it anymore.”

I didn’t want to be his obedient, compliant submissive anymore. I didn’t want to please him anymore. I loved the idea of Michael and I loved his gorgeous exterior, but I hated him. All I wanted was Jack, and now I was certain that was never going to happen. If Michael killed me for “misbehaving,” then so be it. I didn’t want to live without Jack. If I were presented with something I could use to hurt myself, I would do it. I would try to kill Michael first, but then I’d do it.

Michael sat on the edge of the bed, shaking his head as he let it hang in front of him. “Oh, Hana. You don’t mean that,” he said as he looked over at me, his malicious glare staring right through me.

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