Page 57 of Love Bites
With a sigh, she sat down at the dining room table just as the home phone rang. Reluctantly, she walked to the phone, answering it on the fifth ring. Her bodyguard stood behind the island that separated the dining room and the kitchen, observing her.
“Hello?” she said, unhappily. She knew it would probably be Hunter or one of her parents—neither of whom she had the desire to speak to.
“Katheryn.” Hunter’s cool voice came on the other end.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Always the ray of sunshine, I see.” He chuckled. “I just called to inform you I’ll be coming home tonight. My business has been finished, and now, I’m free.”
He sounded as though he were making an appointment with her. She sighed, wearily. Of course, he was making an appointment with her—an appointment she didn’t want to attend. Katheryn hated his guts, and if he’d decided to never return, she wouldn’t have minded. But her heart dropped at the news he was coming back tonight. He’d probably expected her to perform her “wifely” duties. She shuddered at the thought.
“Katheryn, did you hear me?”
“Yes, I heard you,” she snapped.
Her mind raced, trying to work up a plan of escape. Damn it, why wasn’t she smarter? Why couldn’t she trick her guard or have vampire strength to knock him out?
“I’ll be home soon. And I expect you to be on your best behavior,” Hunter told her then hung up.
Katheryn placed the phone back. She wasn’t a vampire, but she wasn’t helpless, either.
Eagerly, she rushed to the bathroom. As expected, the guard followed, closely behind her. Katheryn kept her hand on the door handle and turned an annoyed glance on him. He was staring at her with his mouth set in a tight line.
“What?” she demanded. “Are you gonna follow me into the bathroom and watch me take a shit, too?”
She swung the door open and stepped aside to reveal the inside of the room. “As you already know, there’s only one small window,” she said, indicating the small square window above the shower. “I can’t fit through it, and even if I could,I’m not going to jump from the third floor, you dumb shit, so let me use the bathroom in peace.”
The side of his mouth quirked up, whether with annoyance or amusement, she couldn’t be sure. However, he walked away. She breathed a sigh of relief as she shut the door behind her.
She couldn’t believe it had worked. She should have thought of it sooner, but she’d been too depressed, too busy thinking about Ignacio, wondering if he’d ever find her. She should have been doing something useful on her own. Well, now, she wouldn’t wait for Ignacio to rescue her. Now, she’d take matters into her own hands and deal with it herself.
She frantically searched around for something she could use to defend herself with. The toilet seat came to mind, but she knew if she tried to wiggle that thing off, it’d make too much noise. She needed something sturdy, something quiet…
Her eyes snagged on the metal rod that held the shower curtain up.
Bingo.
She turned on the shower, letting it drown out the noise. She pushed aside the curtain and stood on the edge of the tub and pulled the rod down with a hard yank. She tossed the curtain into the tub and held the long, shower rod in her hand, testing its grip.
Perfect.
Now all she had to do was wait.
It felt like an hour had passed, though she couldn’t be sure, when her guard finally knocked on the door. She planted her feet on the floor, held the rod in her grip, and waited. Anxiety ratcheted up her fear, but she didn’t give into the tremors of her nervous body.
Another knock came, followed by a curse. Then slowly, the door to the bathroom was wrenched open.
Katheryn didn’t think.
She swung.
A cry on her lips that sounded almost animalistic belted from her chest. She swung with all her might and the poor, unsuspecting guard, felt the blunt of her blows. Once she started, she couldn’t stop. Over and over again, she swung the rod against his head until he dropped to the bathroom floor. Even when he went down, she screamed like a madwoman, hitting and hitting until blood pooled beneath his head and against his face.
The rod slipped from her fingers and she took in a gasping breath.
Shit, shit, shit!
Chest heaving, she bent cautiously and pressed her fingers to his neck. When she felt a pulse, she sighed. Her fingers and clothes were smeared with his splattered blood, but she didn’t care about that. He would be fine. Surely Hunter would find him a doctor once he came home.
