Page 59 of Echo
His growls on the other side of the windowpane helped with the fantasy. Even in my mind I couldn’t escape him, I knew he’d catch me. It was just a matter of time.
It made getting to the edge that much easier. The only thing that ruined it was the fact that it was my hand and not his.
“Who are you thinking about?”
His voice hit something deep at the core of who I was.
He’d already taken residence inside my thoughts. I couldn’t let him know how deep he’d gotten his claws into me or he’d destroy me with them.
It took every ounce of power I had to whimper the wrong name as I came. “Van.”
His roar of indignation took me even higher. Every muscle in my body tensed with waves of pleasure and fear. I shouldn’t havepoked the bear, but part of me wanted to know what he’d do about it.
Was this where his obsession with me ended?
“Come outside. Now.” The calm, tempting voice that was Echo was gone. This was one hundred percent the monster. And he was pissed.
“Fuck you.”
“I’ll make sure another man’s name never crosses those luscious lips again.” Now that my mind wasn’t wrapped up in its own pleasure, the roar he let out sent a chill of fear down my spine. “Do as I say or…”
I didn’t stick around to hear his threat. I ran out of the room, bonking my shin on the doorframe.
The thick darkness made it impossible to see, and I didn’t know the house well enough to navigate without light. I hugged the wall, weary of the stairs I knew were somewhere in front of me.
Heavy footsteps clomped on the roof right above me. He knew every step I made. How could I possibly escape? Did I even want to?
Not really.
Being a better, healthier person was probably overrated. Would I really be happier without the rush of adrenaline that Echo gave me?
Just like that, I was already wavering. It took me most of a decade to get the strength together to leave Aurelio.
A force pushed against my shoulder blades and sent me flying. I landed ass over kettle, with the wooden stairs digging into my back. I put my hands behind my head to give it some half assed protection as I slid the hard way to the bottom floor. I hit the landing with a heavy thump that highlighted the pain ricocheting up my back.
“Okay,” I whimpered. “I went too far. I’m sorry.”
Pushing a man like him probably wasn’t the wisest decision in the world. I was willing to admit that my pride put me in this position.
Hands came around my neck, picking me up to slam me into the wall. Pearl was right, my big mouth was going to get me killed.
A roar filled the air outside and made the house itself shudder with terror. Glass tinkled with the force of the vibration.
Dread filled me as I realized it was human fingers glued to my windpipe.
Echo was still outside.
Chapter 23:
“Youstupid,bitch.”Theperson repeatedly banged my head against the wall. The voice was a little familiar, but I couldn’t identify how with my brain bouncing off the inside of my skull. Each slam sent a wave of nausea and agony through me. I dug my nails into flesh and bone as the edges of my vision turned black, but it didn’t slow them down in the least.
My lungs burned and screamed for air as my heart banged against my chest to make the last of the oxygen in my bloodstream work. It wouldn’t save me.
So this was it. For all my sins and shortcomings, I was going to die by the hand of someone that wasn’t even on my list of potential deaths.
I wondered who it was. One of my ex-husband’s enemies? One of my dad’s? A friend of Mark’s? A good man that wasn’t good enough for me, because I needed violence and toxicity?
I probably deserved it.
