Page 77 of Unravel You

“You can’t keep me here. I’ll never stop trying to leave.”

“You’re staying put until I say otherwise.” His beer breath brushed my cheek. I was glad I hadn’t had any food all day. “How long do you think he’ll search for you? How long before he decides you’re not worth the effort?”

“I’m so tired of your silly mind games, Alex.” Bridget sauntered to the living room and sat on the sofa. “Why don’t you get it over and done with already? Or are you, you know, not able to?”

They were getting on each other’s nerves now. Great. And here I was, the only entertainment they had in this house.

“I mean you might as well. I bet Derek is already thinking you and Valentina spent all this time in bed together, reminiscing. Oh, I hope he thinks you forced yourself on her. Yeah, that would be better. To think of his precious Valentina suffering like that. I hope he’s mad with suspicion. Not knowing what’s real and what isn’t.” She glared at her wedding band, not exactly talking to us anymore.

Of course, she sent Derek the picture she took of us back in the warehouse. She wanted money, but she also wanted to hurt Derek. He couldn’t love her when they were married, so she went and slept with their sleazy accountant. Now that Derek was happy with me, she wanted to taint this too.

“Of course, I can. Better than him. I want her to beg me like she did with him in the gardens.”

“You disgust me.” I met his gaze.

He’d been hiding in the woods when Derek and I had sex after our big fight when we first got to Atlanta. Alex stayed and watched the whole thing. Hot blood rushed through me. I had no words for him anymore. I’d spent so much time regretting and feeling ashamed for everything that happened between us. I blamed myself when in truth, Alex did what he did, not because I deserved it, but because he was all screwed up.

Run.

I kneed him in the crotch. He sucked in air, as if I’d punched him in the gut, and doubled over in pain. I wouldn’t have another chance at escaping them. I swung the door open, the one he’d forgotten to lock before. To my right, in the distance, blinking lights urged me to head that way. In all the time I spent in the basement planning my getaway, I hadn’t considered the route I’d take once I made it outside. What did I expect? For Derek to be here waiting for me? He was miles away and had no idea where I was.

Cicadas chirped in yet another hot summer night in the South. Picking up my long dress, I pushed my legs to run faster. Alex would come after me as soon as he recovered from the pain in his groin. Based on how dark and desolate the streets were, I had to guess we were outside of downtown Savannah. The problem was that I had no idea which way would take me back to the city center.

I ran up to the corner where a dead tree stump blocked half the sidewalk. I bolted toward the lights ahead. They had to be a mile away, but I pressed on. Going the opposite direction of the house was definitely the way to go. To my right, there were buildings and an apartment complex, but they all seemed empty or abandoned. On the left, I had a city square with lush greenery and tall live oaks draped in spanish moss.

With a quick breath, I ran up the wooden stoop to the front porch of a small Victorian home, the first one in a long row of many. I banged on the door hard, then hit it twice with urgency. When there was no response, I climbed down and crossed the street. I couldn’t waste time going from door to door hoping someone would answer. Under the protection of the trees and their shadows, I continued toward what I hoped would be a phone or a way to call for help.

My legs and lungs screamed in protest. When I stopped to catch my breath, I got a glimpse of a dark figure coming at me. Alex. I kept the trees between Alex and me. I needed a better plan than running, but I couldn’t risk leaving the safety of the park.

This wasn’t the first time Alex chased me down a deserted street. The first time I broke up with him, he refused to let me go. After he slapped me, I took off. I ran as fast as I could, but he caught up to me anyway. That day he showed me who he really was. Many times, I’d wondered if I’d been able to run faster had I known about him.

Every breath I took burned in my chest. I inhaled quietly and slowed down my gait. Behind me, the ground crushed under quick footsteps.

“No begging. I get it. The chase is just as sweet.” Alex’s voice boomed a few feet away.

The next thing I felt was his body ramming against mine. I broke his fall. My head hit the grass so hard I tasted metal in the back of my mouth. The impact sent two phones skimming across a patch of dry soil. His gaze darted between me and his devices. When he moved to grab them, I kicked him in the face and rolled on my stomach to get to the phones. Why did he have two phones? Because Bridget told him he couldn’t use his?

Just my luck, the mobile I got to was turned off. I pressed the side button as I clutched the screen to my stomach. Alex grabbed me by the hair and got me back on my feet. He yanked the phone from my hand and stuffed it back in his shirt pocket.

“This is how it always was with you. I try to be nice to you, and you just have to find a way to ruin things.” He softened his hold on me and turned me to face him. “Tomorrow I’ll be rich. We can move to any country in the world. Italy.”

“Now I know you’re truly insane if you think I’d want to go anywhere with you. Go to hell.” I squeezed the fist of dirt in my hand and threw it in his face before I took off running again.

He sniggered behind me, not making an effort to come after me right away. “I’ll give you another head start. Do us a favor and run the opposite direction, toward the house. It doesn’t matter where you go. You’re going back with us.”

The lights up ahead were gone, or maybe I’d gotten turned around and gone the wrong way. Either way, I had no idea where to go. I squeezed my eyes shut and stopped behind a thick tree trunk. My gaze darted across the ground, looking for something I could use as a weapon. At this point, I wanted to hurt him bad. Flitting images of me hitting Alex over the head with a big stick flashed in my head.

He walked a wide circle around me, his dark figure weaving in and out of the trees. The chase was what he wanted. I stayed put to give myself some time to think. To come up with a better plan than running toward the light. I’d been so close to dialing 911. Maybe I could get near him and try for the phone again. The idea of touching him on purpose made me shudder.

The minutes dragged on as he made yet another round through the greenery, feet shuffling as he went along. Was he humming a song? After a while, he went quiet. The air was so still I thought maybe he’d decided to give up on this insane game.

“There you are.” His face appeared next to me. “I guess you’re tired of running. Maybe we can try again tomorrow. See how far you get then.”

“Go to hell.” I threw a punch, but he caught my wrist.

“Stop hitting me.” He snaked his free arm around my waist and knocked all the oxygen out of me.

Up ahead, a set of headlights rounded the corner on the street. I kicked him and screamed for help as hard as I could. Alex covered my mouth with his hand. I bucked against him, throwing my legs up high, but he had a dead grip around my body.

---