Page 95 of The Player
Shelley had left, and I was in the bedroom, changing the sheets, when I heard Tiny barking in the living room. I say bark, but with her little lungs it was more of a yip.
“Hush, pup. I’m coming,” I called out, and when she stopped, I figured she’d heard my voice, and it’d helped her to settle down.
I gathered the discarded bed linen off the floor and bundled it up in my arms, heading to the bathroom to put it in the laundry basket. Then, I picked up one of Tiny’s chew toys from the bathroom floor and headed to the living room to find her.
As I stepped into the room, I stopped dead, fear pinning me to the spot as I saw a man standing in the middle of the room, holding Tiny in his arms. He was the same kind of build as Will, dressed all in black with a black leather jacket. His hair was dark and cropped short, and tattoos covered his hands that stroked and held my puppy. But when he lifted his head to smile at me, staring at me with eyes that were black, soulless, evil to the core, my fear turned to a spiralling twister of rage and terror whirling inside me. Across his neck was a spider’s web tattoo and the word ‘death’.
He was here.
“Get out,” I hissed, and he laughed.
“Now that’s no way to greet an old friend, is it,Bryony?” He glanced down at my pup in his arms and grinned as he stroked her, scratching behind her ears.
“Let my dog go, you fucking freak!”
He sneered at my words, then said, “What kind of sick fuck do you think I am?” He lifted his head, staring across at me, and he sniffed in disgust. “Do you really think I’d hurt a dog? I’m not a fucking monster.”
“Yes, you are,” I rasped.
“To people, maybe. To you. But dogs?” He shook his head. “Nah. Dogs are special. They’re a gift. We don’t deserve dogs. They’re too good for us.”
“So put her down then,” I hissed through my teeth, keeping one eye on my little pup and the other on the door behind him. I knew Will was due back any moment, and I was praying it was sooner rather than later.
“Did you know that petting dogs is good for us? It’s good for them too. It releases a feel-good hormone in the person and the dog. Gives you both a little mood boost. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that?” He continued to scratch and pet my pup, and I stood still, watching, feeling every muscle tense as I clenched my jaw and concocted an escape plan in my head as quick as I could.
Time wasn’t on my side.
“Relax,” he said, mocking me. “Don’t you want me to be in a good mood? Lower my stress levels courtesy of your dog here?”
“Go to hell,” I seethed, glaring at him.
He smirked, a half-smile appearing on his evil face, and he bent down to put Tiny on the floor. As he did, I took advantage of that millisecond of distraction and darted for the door, praying Tiny would run after me, but I wasn’t fast enough.
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” he snarled, grabbing me from behind and pinning me to the wall, his front to my back. He pressed his body into mine, making me sick to my stomach at his closeness. Then he whispered in my ear, “You need to learn some fucking manners, woman. I’m a guest in your home.”
He pulled me off the wall and dragged me back over to the sofa, throwing me down onto the cushions and leering over me.
“Bitch. Sit there and shut the fuck up. I’m doing the talking now.”
He stood over me, folding his arms as he stared at me. Tiny strolled over and sat on his feet, and he grinned, looking down at her.
“They’re a great judge of character,” he chuckled. “She knows who she can trust.”
“She’s a puppy,” I snapped back. “She’s not old enough to detect a psycho fucking freak when she sees one, but I do.”
“You know,” he went on. “If your dog doesn’t like someone, you shouldn’t either, but your dog? She fucking loves me.”
“And I fucking hate you, so give her time, she’ll get there.”
I sat there, breathing heavily as my hand slipped down the side of the sofa, trying to find one of the knives I’d hidden there. But I was careful not to show him what I was doing. I had to be smart.
He glanced at the door then back down at me.
“You think he’s gonna come and save you, don’t you?”
I wanted to tell him, no. I was going to save myself. But I just lifted my chin and glared back at him.
He huffed at my silence and nodded. “All right then. Looks like it’s time to wrap this up.”
