Page 80 of The Huntress and Her Hound

A couple of laughing women in tight gold dresses step on and press the ground floor button. I back up into the corner, wishing I could melt into the wall.

‘He’s going to get you.’

‘You belong to him.’

‘You’ve always belonged to him, little girl.’

“Shut up,” I mumble under my breath, on the verge of tears. One of the girls looks back at me, raising a brow. I immediately drop my head. Just like I always did. In one look, he’s stripped me of my ability to be human all over again.

The chime of the elevator startles me, and I jump so hard, I cry out in pain as my elbow hits the rail. The women snicker to themselves as they step out, exchanging glances. I scan the crowded downstairs bar and decide not to stop.

My chest still hurts. It hurts so bad.

If I run, will I have a heart attack? I pick up into a jog, dodging bodies to get to the exit.

“Little girl.”

I don’t know if it’s behind me coming from his mouth, or if it’s just in my head. I punch through the doors. I knock over a girl in stilettos and she curses at me. A car blares its horn as I cross traffic.

He’s coming.

He’s coming.

He’s coming.

I let out a sharp cry as I rip open the door of the apartment building, dashing for the open elevator. I catch it as a man in a suit steps into the lobby. I punch the button for the penthouse.

‘You’ll always be my little girl.’

‘If anyone knows what happens between us, they’ll think you’re a whore.’

‘No man likes a woman in your condition.’

‘I’ll always be your first, little girl.’

“Stop,” I shout, covering my ears and bending at the waist. “Please.” I feel frozen in the moment as the penthouse level opens up in front of me.

And I don’t know why I’m here.

What will Jude even do? He doesn’t like me now.

I stand up straight, hung in the moment.

‘He’ll think you’re a whore.’

‘No one likes damaged goods.’

But Jude silences the voices, and I’m so desperate for quiet. I cross the threshold, and the elevator closes. Swallowing hard, I walk to Jude’s apartment door, and I press the doorbell. My teeth begin to chatter. My chest is still searing with abnormal pain.

Please let me in. Please.

I hear the lock slide, and I close my eyes as the hinges creak. I brace for cruelty. I ready myself to fall to my knees and worship this man if I have to. Just don’t make me go back out there.

“What happened?”

My eyes flutter open to Jude’s voice, and the truth comes out. “I saw him.”

Jude doesn’t ask for clarity. He pulls me inside, shuts the door, and holds me. Strong arms wrap around me as I tremble, unwillingly falling apart. The most heart-wrenching, unhuman cry breaks loose from my throat, and a decade of trauma comes pouring out.

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