Page 25 of Perilous

I start to envision if I had been touching myself. If my fingertips were a little damp. If they had the smell of need coated on them with invisible intent. Then what? What would this gigantic, mean guy do?

“Your fingers are clean but eyes aren’t,” he whispers. “I think it’s time we’ve had a conversation, Annika. Then we can talk about your masturbation needs. Deal?”

My toes curl. I swallow hard.

“Okay,” I whisper.

What’s it called when someone kidnaps you and they’re just so insanely evil and sexy that you find yourself accepting the kidnapping and are secretly turned on by it?

* * *

“I know who you are,”he says as he sits on the corner of the bed.

His black T-shirt has pulled up enough to expose the empty belt loops on his black jeans and just a sliver of tan skin.

I’m hugging my knees, sitting at the top of the bed.

“I didn’t even have to snoop through your phone, Annika. You’re a bit of a popular girl, aren’t you?”

“Me? Popular?” I scoff. “You have the wrong girl then. I’ve never been popular. Ever. Maybe you meant to kidnap my best friend, Molly.”

“Best friend, huh? Want to know how many times your phone has gone off since I took it from you?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Just proves how unpopular I am. To be honest, Molly will figure it out soon. And she’s a total spaz. If I could send her a text…”

To my complete surprise, he reaches into his pocket, takes out my phone, and tosses it toward me. I’m expecting this to be some kind of evil game. Like the phone is dead or it’s a different phone. That kind of thing.

Nope.It’s my phone. And it’s mostly charged.

My brain screams at me to hurry. To send a text for help.

“I know,” he says. “Who to text, right? What to say? You don’t even know where you are. Well, doll, you’re on campus. You’re in an old building. One of the back buildings. These basement rooms were used during the wars for safety. No windows and all that. After that, they were used for intense studying. Again, no windows. No distractions. Want me to tell you the exact location?”

“Why?” I blurt out. “Change of heart?”

“There you go with that mouth again. Such a fucking attitude. Who hurt you in life?”

“You did. Asshole. I don’t even know your name. So to me, you’re justAsshole.”

He turns and slides his right hand up the bed toward me. I catch myself swallowing hard, wondering what the wandering hand of his is going to want from me.

And I wonder why I feel so willing to give him whatever it is he demands.

“Perilous,” he growls. “That’s my name. Peri for short. Everything you’ve heard is true. Thebroods. TheLegion.ThePerg. Everything is true, Annika. You’ve enjoyed your cushiony stay here atSAfor years now, haven’t you? A rich, old college to stumble through an education while your daddy’s connections already have a job lined up for you. You never traveled to the other side of the campus. Were warned not to. Tempted to see. Maybe attended a party or two right in the middle. Never knowing for sure what was real or not. Well, doll, it’s all true and it’s all real.”

My heart sinks as it races. Just hearing him say it all… Hearing his name.

Perilous.

Peri.

I close my eyes and feel them well with tears. It makes sense now why he’s doing this to me. Giving me my phone. Telling me his name.

He fucking with me.

He’s going to kill me right now, isn’t he?

* * *

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