Page 8 of Redemption
Rational, logical thinking.
Jax would be proud.
I just need to get a good look at this guy, then my brain will catch up with reality. There is no damn way he’s—
But onlyhecalled me by that name…
Not. Fucking. Possible.
This guy isn’t Darius. Couldn’t possibly be my ex come back from the dead. No... This asshole is an imposter. A charlatan. A counterfeit creep whose wandering hand is now trailing down my side to my—
My fight renews as commonsense takes hold. I kick up, my legs swinging chaotically in an attempt to loosen his grip on me, but he’s so much bigger, so much stronger than I am; his grip just tightens in response, constricting my back further against his chest.
His lips brush my ear with a clear but subdued command, as if he’s saying it through a set of clenched teeth. “Mi Alma...calm the fuck down.”
“No.” At my refusal, he quickly puts one of his palms back across my mouth, muffling my opposition as I shake my head at the lie pressing against my back. “It can’t be you.... You’redead….”
“No, Alessandra, I’m right the fuck here. Now listen and stop fighting me, dammit.”
I don’t listen, though, still struggling against his hold until he whispers two more words only one other person on the planet would know about. Who’d know their significance and the effect they’d have on me. “Boldt Castle.”
My hands tremble at the shared memory, causing my gun to fall from my shaky grasp and land in the tall bush next to us. Only Darius would know of our trip there. Of how we thought it would’ve been the perfect escape if we ever needed one.
If the world ever went to shit. Like it has now.
It’s him...
Or, maybe, he didn’t really say it and I’m just hallucinating again.
Ahh, see? Now, that makes much more sense. It’s so simple! My brain is playing tricks on me. My subconscious wishing my ex was here instead of whoever the fuck is actuallyholding me hostage. Darius can’t really be here. This guy’s not him. He can’t be him. There’s no way.
But what if...?
Enough.
Enough with the hallucinations.
Enough with the games.
Enough with the bullshit.
I stop thinking and just respond, using all the pent-up frustration gathering within me along with all the training and painstaking work the guys put me through. In a swift move, I shift to the right, leaving his groin wide open for me to drop my elbow and slam it right into his balls. He might have dodged all of my other attempts earlier, but he definitely didn’t expect that. As he’s reeling from the blow, his grip loosens just enough to allow me the freedom to step my leg back behind his, repositioning myself at his side. Reaching up and over his back and shoulder with my hand, I wrap my forearm around his face and yank his head back while kicking my leg against the back of his knee. Gravity and opposing forces help my much smaller frame as this shmuck falls flat on his back, right into the mud at my feet with a heaving grunt.
I am woman! Here me roa—!
“Oomph!”
Ooowwwww.... What the actual fuck?!
One second, I’m riding high, congratulating myself on taking this douche baguette down, and in the next I’m stunned, watching the ground fly up to meet me as I fall flat on my face. It was my intention to turn and run, not even wanting to check and see what his face looked like anymore, but this knob gobbler managed to grab my ankle and yank me down withhim, his arms and legs immediately wrapping around my body like a fucking snake, constricting my back against his chest as if I’d never left. His palm returns as well, flattening back over my mouth and halting the scream I try to release.
“Mi Alma, please, I’m begging you. Listen to me. We need to be quiet.” He stalls suddenly and turns us, pushing my front into the damp, early morning earth as he surrounds me with his body and... somethingelse. Something large and tattered. It covers both of us like a blanket, causing everything to get dark just as the voices return.
“Fuck! She was just here. I saw her. Clear as daylight.”
“She couldn’t have gotten far, then. Check over by those trees, I’ll check over here.”
A few seconds later, they split up, the sound of heavy footsteps getting farther away from where we’re huddled together on the ground. I inch my shoulders up and out, trying to get away from this guy too, but I can’t move. His weight on top of me is unrelenting, and my strength is starting to fizzle out. I take a breath—or at least as much of one that I can with his weight crushing me beneath him—and use the time, instead, to regroup and evaluate. Unfortunately, I find it difficult to even do that when all I can focus on ishim.The muscles surrounding me. The odd familiarity of his body conforming to mine. The words spoken that only he should know. I take another breath.
