Page 110 of Beneficial Misfortune

The front doors come into view as he pulls me down the hall behind him. I hear his words, but I can’t bring myself to reply, not when I know after we make it out those doors, I’m at his mercy for real. Here, in public, he has a sort of reputation to uphold, but once we're in the car, or back in Maine…

I’m not sure what waits for me in Maine, but I know I don’t want to find out. Even if he promised me the world, all the money, attention, and love, I wouldn’t want it, not with him, not anymore. But something tells me that’s not even close to what waits for me, especially not judging by his grip on my hand and the way he’s dragging me behind him.

It’s not until he pushes open the door and I feel the warm air that panic really starts to feel like it’s choking me.

Is Addison okay?

Did Vince find her?

Will he think I left her by choice?

Will she?

I remember the promise I made to her that I’d be there if she needed me. Last week, she’d had us make friendship braceletsfor each other, and every day since then, she had checked my wrist to make sure I still wore mine. I hadn’t taken it off except to shower because it really was so cute, and she was so proud of it. Leaving her behind makes the bracelet feel as though it weighs a million pounds, and I feel a lump working its way up my throat at the idea of her thinking I abandoned her.

The lot is packed, but somehow, I know which vehicle Carter is dragging me to, even before we get close to it. The SUV is black with dark tinted windows in the front seats and damn near black ones in the back.

If he puts me back there, nobody will see me.

Fuck, I don’t want to go. To leave Addison and the guys to go back to Carter sounds like a nightmare. Honestly, leaving them at all sounds like a nightmare, regardless of who I’d be going with. I might not have known them long, and our relationship might still be new, but I’m happy. Happier than I’ve ever been in my whole life.

They make me happy,all of them.

I can’t do it.

I can’t go quietly.

By now, Vince should be with Addison. There’s no way he would be away this long, which means she’s safe. Even if not, there’s no way Trevor would know I didn’t go quietly at this point. No, the last he saw, I was doing exactly what Carter said.

The second I decide, I stop walking, letting my heels dig into the blacktop of the parking lot, and I thank my lucky stars I chose real shoes instead of sandals.

Unfortunately for me, Carter isn’t a small man. Maybe if you want to compare him to Nathan or Vince, but next to me, well, I don’t really stand a chance. Despite me digging my heels into the pavement, Carter hardly slows down, instead tugging on my arm and dragging me behind him.

“Stop it, Katherine, you're going to make a scene,” he hisses, hardly glancing back at me as he continues to pull me behind him like a child throwing a tantrum.

Which is a wonderful idea.

“Let me go!” I yell as loud as I can, and that seems to get his attention.

He stops dead, whirling around to face me, his jaw ticking, and I get the feeling he wants to do a lot more than drag me behind him right now. I try to pry my fingers from his hold, but it’s no use, so again, I resort to yelling, and this time, he quickly looks around before slapping a hand to my mouth when he finds we're mostly alone out here.

Crap.

He hoists me up, one arm around my waist, the other pressed to my mouth as I kick and fight, but it’s no use. With nothing else to do, I do the only thing I can think of and bite down on as much of his hand as I can get in my mouth, as hard as I can.

Not only does it make him drop his hand away from my mouth, but he also drops his hold on me and damn near shoves me away from him. I can’t get my feet under me fast enough, and I stumble forward onto the ground, the pavement cutting into my palms. That’s fine, though; I’ll take a few scrapes and bruises over being stuck with him.

Carter curses behind me, and I take my chance, hoping he’s distracted enough by his hand that he won’t notice me as I attempt to crawl away.

I should have known better.

His foot slams into my hip, shoving me to the side, and I fall over, off balance. I don’t want to be at his mercy any more than I have to be, though, so I quickly scramble back up onto my ass, trying to crawl away from him. I don’t get far as he stomps toward me, his face pinched in anger. Before I have a chance toprepare for what he’s about to do, his hand connects with my cheek, hard enough to send me sprawling on the ground.

“You stupid bitch! Have you lost your mind? You belong to me!” He stabs a finger to his chest as he leans over me, but I don’t look up at him as I wipe my hand across my face to see it come away bloody. “I made you everything you are! If not for me, those assholes wouldn’t even want you, you ungrateful whore!!”

His hand closes around my arm, yanking me to my feet, and this time, he doesn’t seem to care about making a scene as he drags me to the all-blacked-out car. Tears well in my eyes, and I can’t bring myself to care when they spill down my face as I try and fail to fight him off.

Without releasing me, he pulls the door to the backseat open, and even though I’d been giving it my all before, I find a way to fight harder, knowing if he puts me in there, I’m done for.

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