Page 120 of Sardonic Burn

No matter how great our time together was, I only now realize how deeply he snuck his way under my skin. I stillfeel him. I see his eyes and that obnoxious smirk on his face whenever I close my eyes.

Somewhere along the ride, I fell, and I fell hard.

I’m supposed to kill him in cold blood, and here I am, praying and hoping he’ll come to my rescue. And I know he will. Because just as much as he’s gotten under my skin, I am forever engraved in his soul.

It’s twisted. It’s so wrong. Yet whenever I think of the time we had together, I feel at ease. It’s the only reason I’m still able to remain composed, calm, and alive in this terrible nightmare.

“Noelle,” Dylan calls my name and my eyes slowly move to his body. “How are you feeling?”

Is this motherfucker being serious right now?

I blink.

He approaches me and crouches down to my level. He’s no longer having an outburst, and that does make me feel relieved, but it’s only for a brief moment. I don’t know when I’ll breathe the wrong way and cause him to lose his shit.

“Never been better.” My hoarse voice is filled with sarcasm. I can’t help it—it slips out before I even realize what I’m saying. However, Dylan doesn’t get angry. He laughs, and I’m pretty sure it won’t end well for me.

“Of course, of course.” He strokes my cheek, his thumb brushing over my split lip. It still hurts like a bitch from the time when he drove his fist into my mouth. I’m surprised I only lost one tooth.

“Your skin isn’t soft anymore,” he states with a deep sigh. “If you could only listen to me, none of this would continue.”

When I remain silent, he clenches his jaw and grips my chin. It hurts, but I don’t show it. He hates that I’m numb to his provocations and that I don’t want to engage in any unnecessary conversations with him.

“Why won’t you just sign the paper, Noelle? All of this would be over.”

“Because you killed so many women, sold them like they’re some sort of objects, then kidnapped me and drowned me repeatedly.”

He takes a deep breath. “But that’s all your fault! I did my best to prevent this from happening. All the women, all the men I’ve captured—none of them cooperated properly. I even gave all of them fucking scripts, but they all cried like little bitches. And you, my Noelle, never cry. It broke my fantasy, so I had to get rid of them. But you should be happy!”

“Happy?” I ask in a hushed whisper, disbelief in my tone.

“Now there’s far less people who look like you. You’re one of a kind, Noelle. I’ve always known it, and you were born to be with me. And what do you do? You go ahead and fuck Hudson De Santis—the man you’re supposed to kill, by the way—and forget all about me. I played your little game. I gave you all the freedom you needed. All I wanted was for you to fucking marry me and carry my last name. You couldn’t even do that much.”

“Dylan.” I swallow, my throat dry. “You went too fucking far. Even without Hudson in the picture, I never would’ve married you, knowing you operated a human trafficking ring!”

“But without that motherfucker you never would’ve found out!” he screams in my face, his nails digging into my cheeks. “I had to get rid of your lookalikes quickly, and that’s the only reason you know!”

“So what was the plan? You were going to just… hide it for the rest of our lives? I would’ve found out one way or the other.”

Dylan is fuming. “I would’ve gotten rid of everyone who knew about that little business, and you would’ve never known, Noelle. It’s that De Santis bastard who I’m blaming. He dirtied your head, my love. I’ll cleanse you entirely. Don’t worry.”

Chills run down my spine at his words. He notices it and grins like a maniac, continuing his rant. “I’m giving you one last chance to sign the papers willingly, Noelle. I’ll have to use other methods if you do not comply.”

I remain silent.

He clicks his tongue against the rooftop of his mouth. “I see. Sit tight. I’ll be back.”

As I watch Dylan leave, I glance around me. My fingers and toes are numb, and I’m pretty sure I’ll get hypothermia at this rate. His men switched a few times, but there are always at least two watching me like hawks.

The chains are tightly secured on my body, and I can’t move. The rest of my body is in a bad shape, too. Not only am I wet from head to toe, but I’ve also been in a sitting position for too long. Even if an opportunity comes, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to escape on my own.

Dylan comes back with a bucket full of water and a taser.

Blood drains from my face because I already know what comes next. He doesn’t even give me an opportunity to brace myself. He pours the water all over me, making sure I’m soaking wet from head to toe.

He snaps his fingers, and one of his men approaches me and tears my shirt, leaving me in a bra. When I glance down, I see purple bruises forming on my stomach and chest area. I think he broke one or two of my ribs when he was kicking me a while ago.

He presses the button on the taser with the most terrifying grin on his face. He gets close to me, waving the device in front of my face. My eyes follow it, but I don’t allow him to feed off my fear.

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