Page 62 of Beautiful Prey

They tased him, and he barely made a sound. But he could only take so many of the jabs before he was forced to one knee. Then, they tried to wrestle him down onto his stomach.

Blow by blow, he slowly submitted. But his eyes never left mine. Only until the chain finally went slack in his hand and he went limp on the ground, going unconscious from the constant electricity filling his veins did his gaze leave mine.

So this was our goodbye.

No, not like this.Not like this.

Someone grabbed me and pulled me away. It took me a second to realize it was Ethan, pulling me past the gate into the garden.

“Don’t touch me.” I took a few steps of my own into the garden, then stopped and bent over with my hands on my knees.

“Eve…hey, I’m sorry, okay?” he said beside me. “You weren’t in your right mind. You were only making things worse for yourself and for him acting like you were…friends. He was bound to find out sooner or later. Maybe I got a little carried away back there, but you should have just let it go.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. I straightened and wiped them away before looking back at him. “You did that out of spite. You honestly think I’m going to believe you meant well? You’re fucking fooling yourself.”

“Hey now,” Ethan said, frowning. “Just calm down, okay? Why don’t I walk you back to your car.”

“Fuck you.” I turned from him, but he followed me.

“You’re being unprofessional. This whole time you’ve been out of line,” he said. “You're not supposed to have a relationship with a patient. Not like that and you know it. You used him, trying to gain back what you lost. But it was no use, Eve. You're lucky I won’t make a report about this.”

“Go to hell.”

He tugged my arm and twisted, making me gasp. Making me halt and turn on him. “You're really testing me, sweetheart,” he said through clenched teeth.

I wrenched my arm from him again, rubbing it. I looked at him like he was crazy. Then I started to laugh. “Wow, I get it now.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“You hate that I want nothing to do with your sorry ass. That I would rather spend my time with the killer of my family than with you. And you know what?” I stepped closer, getting in his face. “It’s true. I would rather be with Emery. I would have him a thousand times over than ever touch you. Even now when he wants to murder me because of you. I would still take him. You know why? Because you’re pathetic. Always were ever since high school, and always will be. That’s why no one wants you.”

He glared. Then he smiled. A mean, nasty smile.

For a moment, I thought he might actually hit me. Then someone called to him from across the garden.

“We need you,” said the lone guard whose name I couldn’t recall. He looked between us, waiting.

Ethan’s smile widened into a grin. “See you around, Eve, huh?” he said, backing away from me.

I stood alone in the garden for a moment, then slowly turned away, returning to my car.

I pulled out of the lot, driving past the gates and over the bridge back on to mainland. Then I let myself go. I wept.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“This is really distressing for us all, you know that, Eve?”

I looked up at Dr. Langley who stared me down through his bifocals. He looked pale, circles under his eyes. I was willing to bet he hadn’t gotten much sleep, having to oversee Emery’s care. The clock in his room ticked away in the silence between us. His pen tapped on the desk as he made a few more notes in his report.

“Distressing?” Dr. Hannah laughed quietly, standing on the other side of the room, arms crossed. “This is a criminal act in my opinion, and we should call the police.”

John shifted behind me by the door. I had returned for the final time, showing up for the meeting we were originally supposed to have about Emery’s future, now turned into an explanation of what had happened that morning and then into a confession. The energy in the facility was incredibly tense when I arrived. It was quieter, the guards looking on edge. I knew it had to do with Emery. I imagined he needed extra security now after what happened. Someone having to watch him after his episode.

According to Dr. Hannah who had gone to check on him. He sat in his room in silence. Even as she tried to talk to him, tried to get some response from him, nothing worked.

“This is a serious violation,” Dr. Langley said. “What were your motives, Eve? Were you looking to…harm him in some way?”

“Of course she was,” Dr. Hannah said before I could respond. “What other reason could she have? All it could have taken was a laced pill. Make him take it and wait for the results. Maybe she was lacing it already. He was getting sick, after all.”

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