Page 10 of Better Run
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The man acts like nothing happened the next morning. He allows me to roam the house. I choose to sit on one of the couches and stare into the fireplace. I think about Kyle. I miss his hugs when he’d rest his chin on the top of my head. That brings a shot of pain in my heart, and I tamp it down, trying to think about anything but my home. As hard as I try, my thoughts keep going back.
There’s a stack of books by the fireplace. Some kind of cowboy romance, it looks like.
He has been puttering around. He grabs one of the books, puts it on the couch next to me, and then goes down into the basement.
I perk up. This is the first time he’s broken his line of sight with me without chaining me up.
I stand. Then I hesitate, frozen.
The sound of a key turning in a knob breaks me from my thoughts.
A key in the front door.
I turn to stare as the door opens, and a man steps in. The alarm softly chimes.
I feel like everything moves in slow motion. A man steps into the cabin. He’s in his late twenties, with short blond hair, scruff, and an earring in his left ear. He’s six feet and it’s obvious he’s built as fuck under his hoodie.
He makes eye contact with me and stops. I see the surprise in his light eyes.
I rush for him. “Help, please help.” I fist his hoodie, muttering gibberish. “A man took me, my name is Jo Hall, and I’ve been kidnapped. Please, let’s go! We have to get away.” I start tugging him towards the door.
He doesn’t come with me.
“Please, I—” I plead and go to grab his arm again, but something in his eyes makes my blood run cold. He’s smirking.
Oh my god. I step back.
This isn’t a friend.
I bolt out the door. I fly down the few steps and out into the yard. My bare feet pound on the frozen earth. There’s a driveway that goes out into the trees and I run for it.
I hear him hoot, “We’ve got a runner Jayden!”
Adrenaline spurs in my blood. I barely see the trees as they fly past. I need to go faster, harder. I’m barely breathing as I fly.
Heavy footsteps, behind me.
“Better run, little one. You won’t like it when I catch you.”
The voice isn’t familiar. And it’s close.
I pant out a tiny scream and veer off into the trees. Instantly I’m whipped in the face by a small branch. I power through, running along a small gulley. I step on something sharp, and I briefly register pain, but then it’s gone. I jump over a fallen log. I feel myself slowing as my lungs scream for air, and I desperately pump my arms and try to go faster.
Footsteps crash behind me right before strong arms band around me. I go flying toward the ground, but at the last minute, I’m flipped and land on a hard body. We slide to a stop. I thrash, kick, punch, and scrabble for contact. I’m flipped again, and a large body presses me into the earth. I look into the wild eyes of the stranger.
He gives a predatory grin. “Caught you.”
I scream out a feral cry and try to scoot away. He presses his pelvis into me. He’s rock-hard. And huge.
The man reaches down and cups my core.
With horror, I realize I’m wet. He also realizes the same thing. His blue eyes flash to mine, his pupils dilated. He rips his hand from my pelvis and grips my jaw, squeezing so hard my teeth cut into my cheeks, and I’m forced to open.
“You’re so hot when you’re afraid.”
He hovers over me and spits into my mouth.
