Page 32 of Beautiful Revenge

I don’t move a muscle as Finn approaches me. His fingers skim my throat. I can’t help but wince.

“That fucker could have killed you.”

“He was trying,” I whisper. My voice hurts from the constriction. It makes me sound weak which only makes me more angry. “Why did you stop him?”

“I can’t have you die on me yet, princess. I still need you to hurt Dante.”

“Is that all?”

He drops his hands back to his side. “There’s nothing else. I saved you for that reason alone. You’re not mine, princess. I’m not some possessive crazed man intent on making you mine.”

“But you did sound a little crazy. A little possessed too. If you only wanted to protect me because you want to use me, then your reaction was a little overkill. You could have just shoved Zach away. You didn’t need to punch him the way you did.”

“I thought you’d be happy.”

“Oh, I am happy. I loved seeing him get hurt after he hurt me. It was justice served. But still. Your reaction was a lot.”

Finn sniffs and turns away from me. “It was nothing. I just need you alive. That’s all.”

I stare at his back, noticing the rising tension there. So far, Finn has been Mr. Collected. Even when he killed those men at the boxing gym, he never acted like he did when he was punching Zach. There was an energy to him. It wasn’t just anger. It was anger mixed with something else.

I don’t think he’s telling me the full truth right now.

“Ok,” I say, still struggling to talk. “I’m your prisoner. I know that. I mean nothing to you. But.. thank you, I guess. For stopping Zach. I wasn’t sure if you would.”

“Don’t get used to it, princess. You don’t mean anything to me.”

“Well, it is your fault that I’m in this position in the first place. And you didn’t stop Jed from sticking his gross penis in my face.”

That makes him laugh and he finally looks at me again. “I knew you could handle it. I wanted to see what you would do.”

“He could have raped me, Finn. Something you promised wouldn’t happen.”

“I wouldn’t have let it happen. If you hadn’t done what you had done, I would have stopped Jed. Trust me.”

“Trust you?” I scoff. “That’s rich. You’re my kidnapper, Finn. I don’t trust you at all.”

“Then we’re on an even playing field because I don’t trust you either, princess.”

“We’re not the same and you know it. Do not bring those disgusting men around here ever again.”

His stance becomes predatory. I gulp as he approaches me.Do not show fear. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, princess.”

“I could have been raped and killed. Just remember that. You promised me neither of those things would happen.”

“I said I wouldn’t do that. I never promised that no one else would.”

“If you want to hurt Dante, then having me die is not going to achieve your goals. So keep me safe in the future. Don’t treat me like this.”

“Uh, last I checked, princess, I kidnapped you. Don’t reason with me like I’m a good man.”

“I know you’re not.” The image of Finn punching Zach will be seared into my brain. He was so animalistic and frightening.

Yet, I had never felt more safe with Finn than in that moment.

“Glad we cleared that up. Now, I need to go deal with those assholes. I need to make sure they don’t tell anyone about this.”

“What are you going to do?”

---