Page 71 of Colton
I wince as I shift, bringing my knees together and pumping my legs back and forth, forcing the blood to circulate. The last thing I need is pins and needles when I’m about to attack that murdering piece of shit. I hear footsteps again, and I steady my legs, trying to put as much weight on them as I can before he steps back into the light, that pathetic grin on his face.
“Ah, Luella,” Xavier says, his voice dripping with disdain as he descends the stairs once more. “Still here, I see. Good. We have unfinished business.”
I glare at him, my hatred burning within me. “Come closer and say that,” I taunt, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through me.
I’ve waited years to be face to face with this bastard, and even though I didn’t quite imagine it being with my hands tied behind my back and groggy from being drugged, I always knew it was a possibility. But here we are, him with a knife and me with a need for vengeance so strong I feel ethereal.
Like I’m going to turn him to stone with one look, Medusa-style.
I wish.I’d believe in anything right now if it meant me killing him.
He chuckles, taking a step closer, the knife still in his hand. “You’re a fighter, I’ll give you that. But it’s time you understand your place. You’re nothing, Luella. Just like Sophia was nothing.”
This motherfucker!
I grit my teeth, my muscles tensing as I prepare to strike. “You’re wrong,” I spit.
He’s so fucking arrogant, and maybe that will be his downfall. He already thinks I had help getting here, and now he thinks I’ll be easy—putty in his hands.
Little does he know.
He laughs, a cruel, mocking sound. “We’ll see about that.”
He lunges, the knife slicing through the air. But I’m ready. I lift my feet, slamming them into his groin with a force I’m proud of, considering my shitty circumstances. He stumbles, caught off guard, and I seize the opportunity. I force myself onto my front, knees burning as I scrape them to help me rise to my feet. I grit my teeth as the rope cuts into my open wounds, but I swing around in time to see Xavier barreling towards me, his head down.
I slip out of the way, watching as he tries to stop himself from hitting the brick wall, but he fails. I take the second opportunity and slam my knee into his crotch, grinning like a madwoman when Xavier grunts, doubling over in pain. The knife clatters to the floor, and I waste no time. I kick it away, sending it skittering into the shadows. He curses, his face contorted with rage and pain.
“You little bitch,” he pants, trying to straighten up.
I smirk, a bitter taste in my mouth. “That’s the best you’ve got? I thought you were supposed to be scary, Xavier.”
He snarls, lunging at me again. But this time, I’m not quick enough. He grabs me by the shoulders, slamming me back against the wall. My head hits the concrete with a sickening thud, stars exploding across my vision. I can feel the warmth of blood trickling down the back of my neck, but I refuse to succumb.
Never to him.
“You're going to pay for that,” he hisses, his breath hot on my face.
I laugh, a cold, hollow sound. “You think this is bad? You should see what I’ve got planned for you.”
His grip tightens, his fingers digging into my flesh. “You talk too much,” he says, his voice like ice.
I shrug, a small, defiant gesture. “Maybe. But at least I’m not a pathetic coward who preys on innocent women.”
His eyes flash with rage, and I know I’ve hit a nerve.
Good.I want him angry. Angry means sloppy. Sloppy means I might have a chance.
He raises his hand, hitting me again in theexactsame place he did earlier, and this time something cracks. A sharp, throbbing pain splits my cheek in half, spreading to my eyes, jaw, and ear. Despite everything, my eyes fill with tears.
“Oh, you will fucking cry,” Xavier snarls as he shouts for his men. “You will beg, you will scream, and you’ll cry.”
I sag against the floor, gasping for air, my face torn in two with agony. My eyes dart toward the shadows as footsteps echo down the hall.
My eye begins to swell, and I kick out at the men who come rushing in, but there’s three of them, and they’re strong.
“Get off me!” I scream, kicking one in the jaw.
Xavier reaches down and grips my cheeks, his thumb plunging into the soft flesh where my cheekbone used to sit.
