Page 47 of Malice

Bonnie stared up at him for a moment, knowing she didn’t want to tell him she’d been thinking about Corey. But what could she say that wouldn’t piss him off more?

“I was thinking about what I could have done differently. What I should have done to make things work between us.”

“At least that’s an acceptable thing to wonder. Let me tell you…” He resumed pacing as he started giving her a list of things she should have done. Ways she could have pleased him so he wouldn’t have had to get rough with her. That’s how he put it, get rough with her.

It took everything Bonnie had to keep from rolling her eyes as she absorbed that gem of wisdom. The more Phillip talked, the more she disliked him. And the more she wondered what she’d ever seen in him. How had he managed to completely hoodwink her? In the beginning, she had thought he was sweet, caring and looking to spend time with someone who had so much in common with him.

Now though, she knew better. He had been looking for someone to own. Someone to dominate. Someone who would bow and scrape and do everything she could to make him feel superior. Had Bonnie known that from the beginning, they never would have had even a first date. But wasn’t that so often how things went? You date someone to get to know them, to see if they are someone you think you could live with. It hadn’t taken more than a few weeks for her to realize that no, she could not live with him.

Bonnie had stopped listening to the crap spewing out of Phillip’s mouth, but she hadn’t taken her eyes off him. She watched his every move as he took the six steps from one side of the small, unfinished room with a dirt floor where he’d brought her, then back across it.

Six steps, she watched him walk, wondering how long his stride was…. Depending on which end of average he landed on, the room was anywhere from twelve to fifteen feet wide. She didn’t know how long as she didn’t know if she was in the middle of the room or near a wall. Not that it mattered all that much. It was something she could think about other than listening to him go on and on about the ways he was going to make her pay for whatever imagined slight he had dreamed up.

A rough slap across her face brought Bonnie’s mind back to the man standing in front of her. Her eyes watered and her face stung where Phillip’s hand made contact. Her mind raced to see if she could figure out what had triggered the blow, but she couldn’t think of anything.

Maybe he’d realized her mind had wandered again?

“Stop thinking of that horrible biker,” Phillip’s voice was filled with rage.

Bonnie frowned, hoping he saw the confusion on her face. “I wasn’t thinking about anyone but you.” It wasn’t a lie. She had been thinking about him. Besides, she didn’t have to wonder about Corey. She had no doubt he’d find her. It was just a matter of when. Thinking of Corey, she couldn’t help but wonder how did Phillip know he rode a bike? She would lay odds that Corey hadn’t been to town on his bike since he’d moved her out to the ranch with him.

How long had Phillip been watching her? Had he followed Corey too or just her? Did he have people watching the other women on the ranch too? She tried to remember if any of the others lived off the ranch, but couldn’t remember if anyone had said. And was he the only one or did he have friends helping him?

Now she had something new to worry about.

Another blow across her face, this time from the other side made her face burn and flung her hair across her face, blocking her vision for a moment.

Bonnie bent her head forward while stretching the fingers of one bound hand up to touch the burning corner of her mouth. As she pulled away, she saw blood on her finger, but thankfully, not much. Next, she tilted her head back, shaking it to get her hair to fall away from her face so she could glare at Phillip without the errant strands ruining the effect.

He didn’t seem to see the anger in her eyes, as he bent low and snarled in her face.

“I told you to stop thinking about that filthy biker.”

“I told you to leave me alone,” Bonnie said back, no longer thinking her answers through before they fell from her mouth.

The back of his hand met her face again, striking her in almost the exact same place as the last blow had. This time she didn’t bother to touch the corner of her mouth or shake her hair from her face. She slowly turned back to face him, rage and determination etched into her expression. She didn’t care what he did to her, but every time he hit her, he made her madder. Every blow was one she swore she’d return. She didn’t know when or how, but she’d find a way to make sure he paid for what he did to her.

“This is not the reaction I’m looking for,” Phillip yelled from inches away. His eyes scanned the small room, as if there was something he was looking for, then with a shake of his head he dropped to sit on his heels in front of her and reached out toward her.

Bonnie wanted to pull away, to scoot the chair backwards to keep him from touching her, but she couldn’t. His hands were gentle as he picked up her right hand from where it rested, still tied to her left by the odd zip tie like things that had been put on her in the car.

“You have such pretty hands.” His voice had turned gentle, wonder filled. “It seems almost a shame to do what I’m going to have to do. But you have to learn. You have to learn that anything that takes your attention from me is bad for you. It has to be crushed. Getting sucked into your art for hours when you should be taking care of me is one of those things.” He said the word art as if he didn’t see what she did as art, he saw it more like a kid playing with finger paints and giving their parents a painting that is more blob than whatever it’s supposed to be.

Bonnie’s stomach churned. What was he planning? What was he going to do?

Before she had time to figure it out, much less try to pull away or fight back, Phillip took her right hand in both of his, and with one swift twist he did something to her little finger.

A scream of pain was ripped from her throat and tears filled her eyes and spilled down her face. She would have tried to stop it if she’d had a warning because now that she’d screamed, Phillip grinned. That evil, maniacal grin that had told her something was wrong inside his head, was back.

Bonnie clenched her jaw and sucked air between her teeth as she tried to keep from crying out again. She didn’t want to see how happy hurting her made him. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of making her cry even more. She couldn’t stop the tears flowing unchecked down her cheeks, but she wouldn’t sob or beg him to stop either.

Phillp petted her throbbing hand gently. “If you had just been a good girl, I wouldn’t have had to hurt you like that.”

After a moment he stood and stepped back, watching her with a satisfied look on his face. Bonnie refused to look down at her throbbing hand. Looking at it wouldn’t help matters. Until she saw the damage, she could pretend it wasn’t that bad. She could stay in denial and deal with what was right in front of her and more pressing. Phillip. She didn’t want to give him a reason to hurt her again.

That was how he saw it, she knew. He’d said as much. She had no illusions she could stop him, but she was determined not to give him an excuse.

“Wouldn’t it have been easier just to do as I asked?” Phillip asked, his tone reasonable again.

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