Page 8 of Trusting Skulls

“You see this?” He waves his arm out, spinning us in a circle. “There is nothing around for at least thirty miles.”

My gaze roams over the area.

“If you take the road, I will find you. If you take your chances off the beaten path, you will get lost.”

Every word that leaves his mouth makes my heart sink further into despair.

“If you get lost, know that there’s a good chance you’ll never be found.”

He stares at my face intently while I take in the scenery.

“There are sheer drop-offs out there, so watch your step. Oh, and there’s a can of bear spray on the kitchen counter. Don’t forget to take it with you.”

A wind chime blows lightly in the breeze as I come to realize there’s no way out. I glance around, my desperation growing. My gaze stops on his truck. Maybe I can get my hands on the keys.

He laughs lightly, letting me know that’s never going to happen.

“So. What kind of drugs have you been on? You know, so we can anticipate the withdrawals.”

My head pulls back at his question.

“Uppers? Downers? I guess we already know about the oxys. What about ice, candy, or some of that dance fever? What about demmies, morpho, jackpot? Have you tried some of that purple dank? Or do you prefer the psychedelics? You been poppin’ some caps to take you to outer space?”

Slowly, I curl in on myself, knowing he’s calling me out. I don’t know what half of those things are, and he knows it. He sees right through me. There is no using my bad girl bravado to keep him away.

“No?” He shakes his head when I don’t answer. “Let me see your arms.”

I wrap them around myself. “I don’t have any track marks, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

“That’s not what I’m looking for.”

He snaps his fingers, and I do as he asks, pushing up my sleeves and then holding my arms out. His fingers wrap aroundmy wrists as he looks them over. His gaze meets mine when he doesn’t find anything.

“Are you hurting yourself anywhere I can’t see?”

My mind flits to a conversation I had with Elizabeth the night I met her. She told me I might be using sex to hurt myself. It doesn’t hurt. Not physically anyway. Well, not always. And besides, I’m not admitting to any of that with him. I shake my head no.

“Here are the rules from here on out. No sex, drugs, or alcohol.”

My cheeks heat in embarrassment. I’m not a child.

“While we’re here, you will do the cleanup after supper every night. I expect you to pick up after yourself and do your own laundry. I will also not tolerate any disrespect toward my wife. Got it?”

I want to argue with him so bad, but I know there will be no changing his mind. The club really isn’t messing around this time. They brought out their big guns. “I got it.”

“You’re free to move around, but you tell us before you step foot out the front door.”

Not looking at him, I nod. “May I go back upstairs now?”

“Yes.”

You don’t have to tell me twice. I pick up my foot to walk away from him, but he grabs me and pulls me back against his chest.

“One last thing. I’m not as mean as I look, and neither are you,” he says quietly, giving me a gentle squeeze before letting me go.

As soon as he sets me free, I hurry into the house. Jesse looks up from her task, but she doesn’t stop me.

I search through the stuff Elizabeth packed for me when I get back up to my room, hoping she might have included my phone. She’s the only one who seems to have noticed my panic in beingtrapped here. After several minutes, I realize there’s no hope, but at least she packed Toto, my little stuffed dog.

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