Page 70 of Ride Forever
It was as we’d hoped. The key to the Hollow Men’s server hung around that asshole’s neck. Everything we needed to destroy them forever.
Honestly, it wasn’t anything special to look at. The pendant was a long silver stick of metal and looked nothing like a key or thumb drive. It was just a stick of metal hanging on a chain, but Chaser said it might be something like that. If it contained a chip that could be scanned, then that was all King needed to hold the codes. He was a rich son of a bitch, so the latest technology was always within his grasp.
If I didn’t do anything, there wouldn’t be a happy ending for me. I would be cut, beaten, bled, tortured, and raped. I winced as the sounds of Chaser being beaten in the next room intensified. I bit my lip, stifling my tears.
Remember what Chaser taught you, I thought.Remember.Freedom, love, forever.
“Freedom, love, forever…” I whispered.
“You’ll have to speak up, baby,” King said, leaning over me. His face was so close to mine that I could feel his breath against my skin.
“I said…Eat shit.” I pulled my head back and brought it forward with all my strength, my forehead cracking against King’s nose.
He stumbled, his hand flying to his face, and I prayed I had the upper body strength to pull this off. Curling my fingers around the hook, I grasped the metal for dear life and raised my feet off the ground. As King recovered and moved toward me, his eyes full of rage, I struck, kicking him in the chest with everything I had. He staggered to the side, then fell, cracking his head on the bed frame.
Shit! I’d done it!This was one of those superhuman moments where adrenaline fueled the impossible. Right then, I didn’t care why, just that it was.
King moaned as he rolled onto his side, and I knew I only had ten seconds before I was dead. I didn’t know if it was the adrenaline or the fear driving me, but I pulled myself up, holding the hook and edging upward. All I needed was a tiny bit of slack… My muscles burned as my palms were rubbed raw, and I felt blood trickling down my forearms from my wrists, but I didn’t stop. I inched further toward freedom until the rope flicked over the end of the hook.
With a burst of euphoria, my boots landed on the carpet, and I dove for my revolver. My fingers grasped the butt, and I swung around, aiming at the piece of shit at my feet.
King lay on the floor, looking up at me with a snarl on his lips. “You’ll never be able to pull that trigger.”
I clicked off the safety. “That’s what my father said.”
I took the shot, the boom echoing through the room and into infinity. I didn’t even hesitate.
King stared up at me, blood pouring from the ragged tear in his throat. He tried to draw in a breath but choked instead, crawling toward me through the growing red puddle on the floor.
“Now you know what it feels like to buy your own ending,” I said, stepping back as he reached toward me.
His fingers grazed the toe of my boot, then he went slack, his eyes glazing over.
Then…
The blood bubbled through the hole in his throat.
And that was it.
King was dead.
Kneeling beside his body, I reached down and pulled on the chain around his neck. It snapped, and I tugged the key free.
“Thank you,” I murmured to King’s corpse. “Thank you, for showing me how powerful I really am. I’ll never forget it.”
