Page 5 of Monster: King of Nevada

“Good night, sir.” Lucas sounds puzzled, but I don’t have it in me to explain.

“Caleb will be here early. Make sure breakfast is made.” I slam my door shut before hearing his response.

A hot shower and my bed are the only things on my mind tonight. I’ll deal with everything else in the morning.

Including the woman invading my pool tonight.

3

ELLA

Startled, my body jerks awake.

For a year now, I’ve suffered from that free-falling feeling that instantaneously awakens you. Every morning. Because ofhim.

I thought being away from L.A. would have ended it. It hasn’t, and I can’t say I’m not disappointed. I hate what he did to me, to my peace of mind. My body. The fear I constantly live with.

As my pounding heart begins to slow, I stare up at the ceiling, admiring the beveled design in the paint. I didn’t notice it last night because it seems to only be present in the daylight, which shines through curtains I swore I closed before crashing. Maybe I only thought about it.

The little flowers appear to grow as my eyes move across the surface, leading to a blossoming garden. It seems impossible; maybe it’s all in my head. Somehow, it’s soothing, though, and my body gradually relaxes again.

Stretching, I toss the blanket off my body and get up, heading for the bathroom I didn’t really get to investigate last night. Ispent hours swimming until my body was so exhausted I felt like I would drop.

I grab a pair of shorts and a tank top before flicking on the light and marveling at the opulence. There is white marble everywhere, with streaks of gold and silver throughout, for a design that makes my mouth water.

“Fit for a king,” I mutter.

Mr. Lorde is something else to have this as a guest bathroom. Makes me wonder what his private one is like.

Double-bowl sinks sit on a counter that spans the entire wall, with mirrors offering an expansive view of the room. The walk-in shower has more spouts than I’ve ever seen, jutting from every angle.

I place my clothes on the vanity, which needs exploring once I can afford high-end makeup and hair tools. And as I turn on the water, I toss my sleep shirt in the hamper and step inside the shower. Playing with the sprays and spouts, I discover the waterfall from above and giggle as I dance and splash around.

Acting about four years old, I play in the water, not remembering the last time I had so much fun without fear of someone plowing their fist into my face.

Sobering at the thought, a barrage of emotion hits me all at once–anger, sadness, fear, relief. I feel everything because, for the first time since meeting Blake Ramsey, I don’t have to worry about the beatings he was always so eager to dish out. The punishments he felt I deserved for the littlest infractions. Like not having dinner ready right when he got home or telling him about plans I would make with friends or family. Sleeping in after he would spend the night…

I can’t even think it, let alone say it.

Tears pour down my face, washed away by the shower spray as I drop to my knees and sob. Given the uncertainty of my future, I don’t know how I’ll ever be free of him. Blake is apowerhouse, and he won’t let me go. Eventually, he’ll find me, and I’ll have nothing to protect myself with.

I scream into the shower as I break and shatter into a thousand tiny shards of pain and terror, never imagining that someone might see me at my lowest.

“You’re free for now, Ella.” I whisper the words, attempting to convince myself that I am free. That he can’t touch me, and maybe, by some miracle, I’ll find a way to escape for good. I’ll get out from beneath his cruel tyranny before he finds me again.

I have to.

Because the alternative…forced back into his arms…it’s not an option. Not anymore. Rue and Soren set me up to vanish without a trace, and while Blake knows about the book club because, according to him, what could possibly be less harmless than a group of women reading romance. He has no idea who some of those ladies are.

Las Vegas is my new beginning. My chance to change my future, and I refuse to squander it by acting the role of a happy little housekeeper, or whatever it is Mr. Lorde will want me to do.

Scrubbing my face with the cloth on one of the bars in the shower, I get to my feet, shampooing and conditioning my hair before washing my body and hoping the bruises I can feel are hidden enough that no one will be the wiser. I can’t do much about the ones on my face, so I brace myself for those questions once I make myself known in a bit.

I don’t know when Mr. Lorde is returning, but I’m determined to make a good first impression with him, so I need to speak to Lucas about what’s expected of me and beg him not to mention the texts he nosed his way into last night.

Stepping out of the shower and into the steamy room, I wrap my hair in a towel before drying myself off with another. I slip into my shorts, pulling my tank top over my head, and go backto find my brush and a scrunchy so I can dry my hair and toss it into a bun.

I clean up the bathroom and hang my towels to dry. Making the bed quickly, I double-check that the room is the same as how I arrived. Not due to some delusional sense that I’ll be punished but because I want to be sure I won’t get myself kicked out by being a mess.

---