Page 56 of Such A Bad Girl

Chapter Thirty-Four

EVERLEIGH

Finally, a little progress.

My wrist twisted painfully as I worked at the knots. But I felt the tiniest movement, sparking a twinge of hope in my heart.

It was just the motivation I needed. Not that I needed additional motivation to escape this crazy bitch.

Fear loomed over my head like a black cloud. I was well aware of the danger I was in but I couldn’t focus on that too much. Instead, I focused on my rage, letting it fuel the adrenaline flooding my veins. And right now, my rage was entirely directed at this bitch daring to cut my hair off.

I’d spent years growing it to the perfect length, spent thousands upon thousands on the best stylists in fucking Hollywood and I felt completely violated.

Not to mention, it was in the contract of the film I’m supposed to be filming right now that I don’t change my looks during production.

That fucking bitch!

It took all I had not to puke at the thought of what she’d done to me.

Who the fuck was she? While I fiddled with the knots, I searched the deepest corners of my mind. I even went over the years I’d spent in Texas that I’d tried so desperately to forget. I’d yet to place her.

Nothing about her was familiar, but Texas is a big place with a lot of people.

How did she know so much about me?

I tried to think clearly, to slow the panicked thoughts ricocheting through my brain. She knew about Avett. That much she’d made clear. Which meant she’d been at the party that night, right? I spun images of the party in my head, trying to remember who was there in attendance that night. This woman wasn’t ringing any bells. She did have a trace of a familiar twang, but again, it was Texas we were talking about.

Face after face from the past paraded across my mind. This woman was shorter than Kim Cook. She wasn’t stocky enough to be Jennifer Mayo. She was taller than Jane Bennett.

Nothing was familiar about her.

My stomach churned with fear. What the fuck did she plan to do with me? Her comment about selling parts of me on the internet wasn’t fucking funny at all. None of this was funny.

I moaned with glee as one of the knots on my wrists finally came loose. I was still restrained but I could move a little now. And if I kept going, I might be able to slide my wrist out.

Breathing through my nose, I tried to calm myself.

That was the only way I was going to get out of this. I had to keep calm.

Steady and sure, I kept working. The knot loosened more and more until my wrist turned, sliding painfully through the small opening I’d managed. Slipping out of the knots completely, I pulled my arm forward. My shoulder throbbed painfully from being in such an uncomfortable position for so long.

When I heard the sound of her soft footsteps coming down the stairs again, I shoved my hands behind me so she couldn’t see them. My head raced as I tried to figure out how to get past her now that my hands were free.

The calm had left her eyes now. Wild and angry, she waved the scissors around in the air.

“I guess Theo doesn’t care about you as much as you thought he did. He didn’t even answer my text! What the fuck kind of man ignores someone like that? He never changed, did he?”

My thoughts spun. What did that mean? I knew without a doubt if Theo knew I was in danger, he would try to find me.

How did she know him? Was she telling the truth?

She came towards me with the scissors, evil gleaming in her dark eyes.

“I did some research. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner. I was just cutting your hair to bring you down a few notches, but did you know that I can also get at least five thousand dollars for just one lock of your hair? Did you know that someone already sold three of them? Said they were your hairdresser on a film, or video shoot, or something, and swiped some of your hair when they gave you a trim. Wild, isn’t it?” She paced around, waving the scissors in the air and laughing to herself, her voice growing wild and frantic. “How does that make you feel, Everleigh? To know that your body is worth money like that? It’s always been, though, hasn’t it?”

She stopped. The scissors were frozen in the air between us. My eyes focused on them. If I could wrestle them out of her hand, I might be able to get away.

“I mean, your mom was making money off of that body of yours way before you made a dime yourself, wasn’t she?”

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