Page 21 of Bleeding Blackheart

She kisses the top of my head and squeezes my shoulders. “Suit yourself, sweetie pie. But I’d hate for my best friend to be an old virginal maid.”

I swat her hand away as the doorbell rings. She jumps up and down in her pink platform sandals. “They’re here!”

Rolling my eyes, I stand up and let her drag me out of her penthouse apartment bedroom to the front door.

I stand to the side while she lets the guys in. Derek, Bradley, John, and Jake. A few girls I don’t know well come in shortly after them, and I get caught up talking to Jake after I’ve had a few glasses of wine myself. He’s got light blonde hair like my father, but he looks nothing like him. His green eyes are friendly and inviting, and he tells me how he’s in school to be a nurse.

Charlotte’s flirting desperately with Bradley, but I don’t feel like stopping her from doing her thing. Wanting to take the edge off a bit, I have a fourth glass of wine, and before I know it, I’m on my back on the couch with Jake over me.

We start making out, and I let him lead. He puts his hands on my waist and slides them up my body slowly, but he’s calm and relaxed, so I don’t feel like stopping him. He’s a good kisser. Really good. He asks me to go to one of Charlotte’s guest rooms with him right when I hear a knock on the door.

It can’t be.

I don’t know why I would think it’s him. There’s no way he’d find me here. He hasn’t seen Charlotte in over ten years, and I never told him she moved to Colorado.

And I left when he was sleeping. There’s no way he could find me.

But I’ve seen flashes of his face daily since I ran. I take a breath, pushing Jake off me while I try to calm down.

He kisses my cheek. “You okay?”

I give his shoulder a light squeeze while my head swims. “I’m good. Just give me a minute okay?”

He smiles and stands up. “Sure thing.”

Charlotte breaks away to get the door while Jake goes to the bar to get us more drinks.

I wonder who’s here. Charlotte and I ordered food before everyone arrived. And we’re not expecting anyone else.

She opens the door, and that’s when I hear a loud gunshot.

My eyes follow the noise, and I scream at the top of my lungs while I stare at my best friend on her back with blood pooling around her innocent face with a gaping wound in her head that shows off her destroyed brain. When I look up at the criminal, my stomach lurches, and I hurl all over myself.

It’s my father. My father found me. After six months away, he finally found me. I get one look into Mason Barnes’ frigid icy eyes before he shuts the door to the apartment behind him. Everyone screams and tries to run, and Jake throws a knife at him, but it doesn’t matter. He’s the second one my father takes out.

I hardly get a chance to blink while bullets fire all around the room until the screams turn into silence. Then it’s just him and me.

I stand up, shaking while tears stream down my face, and when I feel warm liquid running down my leg, I realize I’m peeing myself. He comes up to me slowly with his guns in his hands. “You’re mine, Montana Elizabeth Barnes. You belong to me. And you’ll never leave me again.”

He puts his guns in his pockets and rears his head back, and then the world goes black when he slams his skull into mine.

10

Montana

Iwake up at three-thirty a.m. with my head pounding. I had the nightmare again. The one where my father takes me. It replays in my brain the exact way it happened that night, and each time I’m revisited by it, I’m forced to go through the torture all over again.

I wanted to wake up. I tried to. There’s a part of the dream missing, and it’s when I wake up from getting knocked out. It ends with me kicking and screaming while he drags me on the ground.

Then I heard my name being called outside the dream. I don’t know where from, but I couldn’t get up.

I look around quickly when I remember I’m no longer locked in his cage. And then I feel a head on my shoulder and see it’s Blackheart sleeping on me. I almost try to push him away but stop myself. I need to be quiet. This is my chance to get away.

My wrist aches, and I remember we’re still cuffed. I need a key. Where would he have a spare key? I glance over to my bedside table where he left all the medical supplies. It may be a long shot, but there might be one in the drawer.

I slide my body away from his slowly, as slowly as I can, and ease my empty hand over to the table.

Just a little closer.

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