Page 14 of Preyless
But me? I smiled.
That was exactly what I wanted.
I had been married to an abusive man who did terrible things to me. A man who made me suck on guns for nothing but his cruel intentions of hurting me. A man who forced me to run through the woods and hide, or else there would be hell to pay. A complete and utter psychopath. The kind of man who would never be missed, and when that drunk driver hit him… I felt nothing but relief.
Even if that meant I’d rot in hell with him.
And yet, through my healing journey and therapy sessions, I had learned that I craved what he did to me, now more than ever.
That danger. That psychotic yet lustful hunt.
But…on my terms.
As I went into my settings to turn my location off—appeasing them, for the moment—I only hoped they did, indeed, possess those scary tracking skills.
Because I already knew that I would let them keep me as their desired third if they tracked me down.
FOUR
RORY
“Fucking…run,”Trent whispered in my ear as I stared out at the wilderness surrounding our townhome. My body quivered in the freezing cold air of February, the chill from the nonstop rain in Seattle doing very little to curb the rod of ice that was starting to coat my spine.
It didn’t help that I was in nothing but a lacy bra and panties.
His favorite set.
My response was barely audible over the clattering of my teeth. “Please don’t make me do this.”
His responding chuckle was all I needed to know that I wasn’t going to get out of it.
It was my punishment, after all.
I fell asleep too early, and his dinner got cold.
It didn’t matter that he had come home two hours later than expected, smelling like various kinds of mixed liquor.
It was still my fault.
That liquor-scented voice started again, right as I felt the cold barrel of a pistol at my temple. “I told you to run. This is what I like. If you can’t handle that, I can always end ourmarriage right here. It’s not like you’re useful to me, anyway, huh? Since you refuse to give me what I really want.”
I shook. I couldn’t tell if it was from the utmost fear coursing through my veins, the adrenaline, or the cold. It had to be a mixture of everything.
Tears lined my eyes. I refused to look anywhere but in front of me. “Why do you hate me? What did I do?”
The safety of the gun clicking off made my eyes widen, and disgust rolled through me as he wrapped a hand around my waist, only to reach up and fondle one of my boobs roughly. “Can’t you see, baby? I love you. This is how I show my love. Now, be a good puppy and run. I’m not going to ask again.”
At the declaration of his so-called love, I swallowed roughly and kicked off in a run, knowing what was coming next.
I was going to lose yet another part of myself. At a meager twenty years old.
And I was going to wish my husband dead the entire time.
“Are you alright, sweetheart?”John’s voice sounded, effectively snapping me out of the terrible memory that often showed itself when I was exhausted.
The night that shattered me in more ways than I expected.
I shook my head as I looked at the old man standing across from me. “Just tired. I’ll be okay, though.”
