Page 18 of Brutal Savage

“Remember the time we went to Joe’s Pizza and found the spider in your drink?” A mournful smile slips out of me. “The way you screamed and jumped out of your chair, almost knocking into the waiter?”

She tries to laugh, her eyes on mine as I stare down at her. “You—you…”

“Don’t try to talk. It’s okay.” I slide my hand down the top of her head, trying not to sob.

There’s so much blood. I don’t know how much more she can lose before she’s gone.

“Hurry up!” I scream out at Jerry.

“Shut up. Going as fast as I can. Unless you want the cops to stop us. Is that your plan? To get me in trouble?” he seethes. “Remember, I can get you in worse trouble.”

How could I forget?

“Asshole.”

“What was that, bitch?”

I hate him. The only reason we’re still engaged is because of the blackmail. I have to find a way to get the proof and destroy it. But he always has his men around. No way I could break into his house and take his laptop. That’s where he keeps it.

Kennedy starts to cough, gagging on her blood.

“Oh my God!” I cry. “Nono! Please, don’t die!”

“She’s not gonna make it. We’ve gotta leave her in the woods.”

“What? No! I won’t let you do that to her.”

Tires screech as he stops the car on the side of an empty road.

“Get her out,” he tells Fred, one of his many henchmen.

Kennedy’s skin grows cold. I won’t let her die alone like garbage.

“Please, Jerry! Don’t do this!” I plead with every ounce of my being. “We can help her. We can?—”

Fred opens the back of the SUV and roughly grabs her, lifting her in his arms.

“No! Don’t touch her!”

Jerry jumps out of the car, rushing for me, holding me down as I fight him while Fred carries Kennedy out into the woods.

“Let me go! I need to be with her. I can’t let her die alone!”

“There’s nothing you can do for her. Now get the fuck back inside so we can get you cleaned up.”

“Get your filthy hands off of me!”

He grunts, and in a snap, he grabs a chunk of my hair. “Now, is that a way to treat your fiancé? Your father wouldn’t be too happy to see you behaving this way. Remember…I own you.”

“Fuck you! He isn’t here. Whatever deal you made with him no longer exists.”

He chuckles, turning me around as his hand painfully grips my jaw, his face nearing mine. “That’s not how it works. He gave you to me as payment. So now you’re mine. That will never change. You’ll never get rid of me.” His mouth stretches into a sinister smile. “When I say jump, you jump. Do we understand each other?”

With rage seeping through my veins, I fling his hand off me, and he lets me go just as Fred returns empty-handed.

A sob wracks me. I can’t leave her here.

Jerry lifts me up and throws me onto the back seat. And her blood? It’s everywhere.

---