Page 32 of Envy

“At least I won’t catch anything.”

He smiles, and I think my heart skipped a beat or slowed down. “Funny, that is the part you’re most worried about—me fucking someone else.”

“No more than you. I distinctly remember you pointing out my pussy. I also want to note that you made sure you shaved it.”

“Correction, I bathed you. Thoroughly.”

“I was unconscious. You’re lucky I didn’t claw your eyes out.”

He leans close, his breath skimming my ear. “We both know you would have let me.”

I push him away, and he laughs. The motherfucker laughs.

My blood boils, threatening to explode inside my veins. “Am I a joke to you?”

He stops laughing. His sexy mouth hardens, and his darker side makes an appearance. I wonder how many people have seen this side of him. It’s terrifying. His eyes grow hard, like an animal in the dark, ready to pounce.

I step back, cursing myself for letting my mouth get the best of me. An uneasy feeling replaces the flutters in my stomach.

“You being here is not a joke, Rose. You should be nice to me. After all, I’m keeping the monster that keeps you awake at night inside his cage. I’m also generous enough to give you better accommodations.”

He means John, but I don’t buy it. My internal alarm is going off. There is something he isn’t telling me, and I have a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. I’ve been taken from one trapped door to another. My fate is sealed.

Garret is a psychopath. He is popular but hides his true nature from others. He is cold. The way he dismissed Cassie after he’d been intimate with her, not caring if he hurt her feelings, speaks volumes. His impulsivity in bringing me here that first night shows he lies and is manipulative. Flashy cars and the over-the-top designer items he buys, are just a way to inflate his ego.

It’s why he’s at Kenyan.

“Your mind is turning,” he says with a smile, but his eyes are distant. “I can practically hear the wheels turning in that pretty head of yours.”

“You’re going to kill me.”

He angles his head to the side. “Is that what you think?”

Dread pools in the back of my eyes, forming tears that threaten to fall. There is a huge ball lodged in my throat, robbing me of speech. I nod.

He claps. “Congratulations. Now you know the reason you’re here.” He moves to leave. “Don’t forget to wash up. I’ll order you something to eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” I blurt, thankful I found my voice.

He pulls open the door wider, allowing Ace to saunter in, his nails clacking on the marble floors. “I don’t think you have a choice.” He snaps his fingers. Ace lays on the floor at the foot of the bed. “Promises, remember?”

“Fuck you.” I’m past caring. If he was sent to kill me, fine. It’s what I’ve been wishing for anyway. At least he has the balls to do it. I’m sure he wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

I still can’t believe I agreed stay here with him. Maybe it’s self-preservation knowing that John wouldn’t show up. There is something freeing knowing that I’m safe from him while I’m here. John is afraid of Garret. I don’t know why but maybe I do if Melody’s actions that day with Melissa is a hint of the depravity Garret is capable of. Images from the day Melody stabbed Melissa to death flash like a horror movie thinking of all the ways I’ll be his victim.

I’m crying for not being strong enough. I don’t care if he sees. Psychopaths don’t feel. I could cry and sob my heart out, and he wouldn’t flinch—just like he isn’t now.

“I think we’ve established how I feel about your cunt.”

How could I forget?

I smile. He must think I’m unstable—crying and smiling at the same time—but I won’t go down without a fight. Even with my limited ability to read people, I’ve managed to figure out the basics about those who are mentally disturbed. I wanted to understand what I was dealing with when it came to John and the others; Garret is the classic type of psycho.

“What’s so funny?” he asks.

He’s trying to hide his confusion, but he’s failing. I’m supposed to be crying and trembling, not smiling and laughing when he’s about to leave the room. “This whole time, I’ve been around the one person who would kill me and end all my problems.”

“What the fuck are you saying?”

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