Page 108 of Ugly Beautiful Scars

The Director.

The Director is sitting next to me.

Chapter 34

LONDYN

I ONLY GET A GLIMPSE OF The Director, not caring for a better look, before I'm clawing at the door handle and screaming. The door won't open; the childproof lock must be on. I smack my palms against the tinted windows, screaming and trying to get anyone's attention outside.

The Director's large hand fists in my hair and he yanks my head to the side before slamming my forehead against the window.

Pain explodes in my skull and the shock makes me stop screaming.

"Stop," he hisses, still fisting my hair. He yanks my face closer, forcing me to look at him.

He's very much the same. The same perfectly styled black hair, the same manicured hands, the same dead eyes that have haunted my nightmares for six years. He's older, with a few more lines on his forehead, but otherwise unchanged. Still handsome. Still terrible.

He grins, and it's like looking into the face of every fear I've ever had.

"You look different," he says, his eyes traveling over me with the same possessive gaze I remember. "But good. I like the changes."

Josh slides into the driver's seat and starts the engine. The car pulls away from the curb as my hand dives into my purse for my mace, fingers closing around the familiar canister, but The Director is faster, stronger. He grabs my wrists. His grip is like iron as he restrains me.

He leans in close, pressing his nose to my neck and inhaling deeply. I have to swallow back bile as his breath stirs my hair.

"You smell so wonderful. Just like I remember."

I yank against him, determined to struggle and fight my way out of this. He slams my head into the glass again and the shock destabilizes me enough to make me stop fighting. My head spins while The Director pulls zip ties from his pocket.

"In case you get any other ideas," he says, securing my wrists together. He does the same to my ankles, the plastic biting into my skin.

My head is throbbing and my ears ringing as I blink and try to clear the fog suddenly in my mind. The pain causes my eyes to fill with tears, even though I don't want to cry. I should be figuring out how to escape.

While I'm dazed, The Director grabs my purse and rummages through it until he finds my phone and laptop. The window slides down, and he tosses them carelessly onto the street before turning back to me with that same terrible smile.

"I've missed you," he says, as if we're old friends running into each other at a coffee shop. "I hated letting you go because I don't like losing my possessions. I had no choice at the time, but it's different now, isn't it? This will be our little secret." He pulls out his phone to send a message, mumbling to himself, "He doesn't know this time."

My entire body is trembling. The daze is wearing off and my mind starts wading through possible escape scenarios that all end in blood and pain. I force myself to inhale, trying to think past the panic.

How can I get out of this?

Sean.

Sean will notice. Sean will find me. He and Mike will save me. I have to believe that.

But underneath the terror of what The Director might do, there's a different, deeper fear taking root. What if I never see Seanagain? Never feel his hand in mine, never hear him call me 'beautiful,' never get the chance to tell him how much he's come to mean to me? That instead of pushing him away I want to keep him close?

I think I love him.

Please, God, get me out of this. I was stupid for pushing him away. I promise to tell Sean I love him. I promise. Whatever he thinks or says about that, whatever happens in the future, just please give me a chance to tell him.

Please.

All the worries about the future, all the fears about what I can or can't offer him, all seem so meaningless now. I just need to get back to him. All my doubts vanish, replaced by the simple, desperate yearning to be in his arms, no matter what complications that brings.

I have to escape.

I glance at the driver's seat. Could I try to make Josh crash the car?

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