Page 374 of Evil Hearts

Andy’s phone started to vibrate again.

My gut warned against telling the truth, especially when it would only eat away at the time I had to spare until Lisa realized no one would be picking up. How many calls would it take before she was convinced that something had happened and she came running in to find me?

I couldn’t stop my lips from parting. “No.”

His hazel eyes widened. An entire hurricane of emotions ripped through him. There was the initial shock and disbelief, something he’d already been slammed with when I didn’t jump in joy from the gruesome sight. It soon shifted into frustration. He lashed out a hand, catching me by the throat rather than my jaw. “I don’t think you understand what I’ve done for you, Maryssa. Isavedyou from that wretched man. Did you know he came here today with condoms in his pocket? He was going to fuck you! It was going to be celebratory sex once you signed the lease.”

I jolted from the intense pressure. My basic instinct drove me to throw up my hands with the desperation of tearing his away. I curled my fingers, desperate to use the pain inflicted by my nails to loosen his hold.

His eyebrows furrowed even more. “You’re a virgin. Giving away that part of yourself is something that’s supposed to be sacred. I can’t allow you to waste that beautiful moment by giving it away to someone likehim.” He shook his head with the edges of his lips curling into a smile.

The warmth never reached his eyes.

“That’s something that would be reserved for someone whodeservesa part in that special moment,” he continued softly. “It should be more than a one-night stand.”

My lungs were beginning to burn from the lack of proper airflow. His grip was tight enough that I was struggling to suck in a full breath. The restriction was leaving my eyes coated with a thick layer of mist. My heart thudded in my chest. It drove me to slide my back along the doorframe with my weight shifting over toward the open doorway.

Ryan was quick to jerk me forward and slam me back against the doorframe where I was supposed to remain.

Stars broke out across my vision, leaving me stunned. Not only did it shock the hell out of my senses, but it also loosened my hold on my smartass tongue. I grimaced from his grip. “What..gives you…the right…to decide…that…for me?” I managed through clenched teeth.

His fingers tightened, cutting off my airflow completely. “No one understands you like I do! Who else has taken the time to learn all your quirks? Your likes or dislikes? Did that man even stop to consider that you were saving yourself for marriage?I did. I’ll get down on one knee right now for you, Maryssa. I’ll even make you a ring from his organs to slide it on your finger. Then I’ll fuck you beside his cold body.”

Adrenaline was pushing its way into my veins, driving back the dark haze that was creeping in on my vision. I pushed my fingertips underneath his palm, working them in enough toloosen his hold. A deeper breath pushed its way into my lungs. I curled my upper lip at him. “You…will never…have me!”

Those wild eyes widened for a moment. It didn’t take long for that rage to completely consume the shock that had slammed into him. He released a loud roar as he snapped me forward before sending me straight back into the doorframe, far harder than he had before. It was enough to send pain radiating down my spine.

I whimpered when he lashed up his free hand, tearing mine away so that he could tightened his hold again. Andy’s blood coated the back of my hand from the brief contact.

His other hand started straying up my leg with the impending promise of venturing where it wasn’t allowed.

Ryan took up so much of my vision that I didn’t think anything else in the room would process except for Andy’s phone, which was still vibrating away beside his limp body. Yet I found movement over his shoulder that snagged my gaze away from him.

It was almost like a burst of smoke had flooded the room, except it was confined to such a small portion of it. It rose from the ground with small black trails of it idly dancing in the air. Only a few seconds had passed by the time it seemed to stand at least seven feet, which left it towering over us.

The presence of it brought with it emotions that didn’t make a lick of sense. Not only did I feel a small piece of myself feeling called by this strange sight, but I felt peace break out inside my soul. Almost like that small speck inside me knew it was here to help.

That just made it official — my oxygen deprived brain was making shit up just to survive this. Still…why did it feel so familiar? Like Irecognizedit?

The fact that something else had caught my attention was enough to leave Ryan shaking me like a rag doll. He releasedan infuriated snarl. One more push against the doorframe had me stunned enough to where he could take a quick peek over his shoulder. The rest of his body stiffened from the sight of the smoke, although he didn’t get the chance to process what it meant.

I seized the chance to draw a leg up in between us before I rammed my snow boot right into his dick. The distance between us was so small that I couldn’t do as much damage as I wanted, but the initial shock of getting a blow delivered to somewhere so vital was enough to loosen his hold on me. I immediately threw the rest of my body weight against him, sending him tumbling back onto the floor.

Once his hand was ripped free from my neck, I twisted around and threw myself toward the open doorway. The shock of having someone try to squeeze the lift out of me forced my unwilling body to snap back to reality. My legs felt heavy beneath me, refusing to fold so that I could lunge up onto my feet.

I was forced to crawl out of that room with my fingers hauling me the next foot towards the steps. Pieces of the aged wood dug into my skin and left each tip stinging. The pain couldn’t slow me down, not when I could hear him howling in a feral rage. It echoed off the walls around me, leaving me to scurry toward the steps with everything I had.

My vision grew blurry from the layer of tears coating my eyes. Every time I dragged my knee along the wood and wore down the cotton material, it would paint a fresh layer. With the lower level engulfed with darkness, I was forced to depend on my sense of touch to feel out that top step.

The edge of his combat boot dragged along the wood seconds before the beams groaned under his shifting weight. His rage poured out of the room, coming down on me with so much weight that it threatened to squeeze all the air from my lungs. “Why won’t you understand that no one else can worship youlike I can? You aremine,Maryssa! No one else can have you. No one else isworthyof you!”

His body slammed into me from behind behind. There was no need for him to lunge at me, not when I was gunning straight for the stairway. That didn’t leave his fury dissipating long enough for that common sense to click back into gear. He pushed on despite the impending danger, using all of his weight to knock me over onto my side.

The impact left me paralyzed with my senses going completely haywire. I could do nothing but watch the dark room spiral around me as we rolled over toward the railing. There was enough force packed into the impact that the wood snapped once we struck it. The little poles gave away and let us sail straight through them.

My entire world became so light that none of it felt real. I could still feel his hands digging into the back of my shoulders with his knee brushing along my ass. It didn’t seem to matter, not when the rest of me felt completely free. Cutting through the air didn’t feel so bad — until we collided with the floor below.

Ryan landed on me, pushing me even harder into the wooden beams that groaned under our combined weight. My body might’ve acted like a cushion for a good chunk of him, but there was still the painful fact that he stood over a foot taller than me. There was nothing to stop his head from smacking into the floor. It was enough to leave him dazed enough to immediately roll off of me.

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