Page 96 of Until Tomorrow Comes
A tear escapes then, rolling slowly down my cheek while I do as he says. Once it’s silenced, the sound of his heavy breathing is all I can hear.
I cry out when he roughly turns me, slamming my back against the wall and removing all space from between us. He caresses my cheek with the muzzle, eyes tracking its path as he slides it down the side of my neck. Stopping at my chest, he pauses there, finally meeting my gaze.
“You’ve been naughty, Kat.”
31
Jackson
“Kat? Kat!” I continue saying her name, pressing down on the gas pedal and cursing again when all I hear on the other end of the phone is the alarm.
Dropping the donations off only took twenty minutes. Luckily, everyone seemed to pick up on the fact that I didn’t have patience for small talk.
I glance at the speedometer, knowing I’m already pushing my luck with going eighty-five in a seventy. But I don’t stop or let up on the gas. When I saw the banner with the red alert icon, it felt like I had been doused in ice water.
I know that I shouldn’t be looking at my phone while driving, but the unease that’s been weighing on me made me unable to resist glancing at it. I try to keep my focus on the road ahead of me but say her name again, hoping this time she’ll answer me. I called her the moment the alarm notification came through on my phone and when she didn’t answer, I rang Thea.
That’s when the panic really began to settle.
When Kat didn’t answer my second call, I told myself that I would try one more time, then call Coop or Alan.
Except she answered my third call, and it does nothing to ease my worries.
Listening carefully, I strain to hear anything over the alarm. There are muffled voices, but I can’t make anything out.
Silence greets me after another few seconds and as I’m about to call out for her again, I hear a faint male voice.
“You’ve been naughty, Kat.”
She cries out then, the sound of a thump making my blood boil. I’m torn between hanging up the phone to call the police, Alan, or Cooper and not wanting to hang up the phone in fear of not getting her on the line again.
Keeping my eyes on the road, knowing I’m still over twenty minutes away, I keep the call active and pull up a new text thread.
Sneaking a glance, I add Alan and then Coop.
Me:
Get to house now. Zack’s there. I’m 20 minutes out.
I hit send just as Kat’s voice comes closer to the phone.
“Zack, don’t do this. Just leave.” She pleads.
“Not a chance, baby.” My teeth grind painfully at him calling her baby, but I keep my mouth shut. He clearly hasn’t realized that she has a call going and I’m not going to risk losing the connection.
The undeniable sound of a slap echoes through, followed by Kat’s muffled cry. She’s trying to keep it together, but I commit every sound to memory.
There’s no way I will make it there before Cooper or Alan. Fucker doesn’t know how lucky he is for that fact.
Although Alan looked murderous that day he dropped Kat off to me. Maybe he won’t get lucky.
That was before though.
Before I got to know Kat. Before I fell head over heels for my friend’s sister.
The prick is hurting the woman I love, whom I have told repeatedly is safe here.
He better hope I don’t get there first.
