Page 11 of Crawl
“I can turn you into the police. Give them this video. Get the surveillance footage of you putting that steak knife into your pocket right before you hit my body double with the lamp. Oh, and how about stealing my hard drives? That will be fun to explain.” He drums his feet against the floor. “Coming to my estate in the dead of night for a second-degree premeditated attempt at murder—I’m sure the jury will love to hear your defense on that one.”
My fingernails dig so hard into my palm that the pain buzzes to my skull, but the adrenaline numbs everything. I don’t feel it.
“What do you want?” I ask.
His chin juts forward. “Be my assistant and fuck doll.”
My jaw drops, my stomach twisting into knots. “Your fuck doll?”
“I have it on good authority that you like it rough. So do I.”
“Who told you that?” I gasp. “Jenna?!”
“Let’s keep it simple: I get to play with you however I want, whenever I want, and I’ll keep this footage safe. Disobey me? And you can find your safety behind prison bars.”
I huff out a long, hard breath. He’s insane. Did he do this to Jenna too?
No. She’s never been in a situation like this. I asked her repeatedly and she promised that he never touched her sexually. Instead, she made small mistakes—jamming the printer, ordering the wrong type of protein shake, being ten minutes late to a meeting on a construction site—and he hit her. She kept it a secret until I noticed her bruises.
I’m not going to let Jenna live in fear because of some jerk like Cash.
Which means that I have to be smarter than him. Always two steps ahead. But right then, I can’t help but let it out.
“You are a sick bastard,” I mutter.
“Oh, sweet cure, you flatter me,” he snickers.
“Is this what you did to Jenna?” I straighten my shoulders, readying myself to take him head-on. “You slapped her for mixing up files, and spanked her for being late to a meeting? Then you bruise her arm because the printer jams, like it’s her fault that your printer is crap? And now you’re blackmailing me!” I point at the cameras. “Thisis on camera too. You’re as guilty as me, and you know it.”
He glances at his watch dismissively. “Blackmailing someone who is trying to murder me. I’m sure the judge will make sure that I’mjustlypunished. Oh, and by the way?” He widens his smirk, his sharp teeth in full view. “I sold one of my properties to the judge at a discount. He owes me.”
My fingers twitch like I can’t control myself any longer. I ball my hands into fists. The knife is still in my back pocket.
“You hurt Jenna,” I hiss. “You ruined her life. She will never be able to trust men again because of you. She will never be alone with a man without thinking of the fastest way to get out—”
“Jenna was never my concern,” he says. He steps closer, his body blocking the view of the camera. “But you, Remedy.Youare my concern. You think killing me will somehow eradicate your demons, but I’m not the devil you’re after, and we both know it.”
My lips open, gawking at him.
Does he know about my stepdad?
But how is henotthe person I’m after? If he didn’t hurt Jenna, then heknowswho did. And he’s protecting them.
“Who am I after, then?” I snap.
His lips press into a thin line. “How can I say?”
I shake my head. “You are an egotistical, power-hungry, son of a—”
“I’m giving you a choice,” he says. “You can leave. Come back to work tomorrow. Pretend like everything is fine. And do exactly as I say. Or,” he pauses, running his tongue across his bottom lip like a snake, “you can go to jail. A simple, but necessary consequence for what you’ve done. Perhaps the judge will give you ten years. Or do you think you deserve twenty? A life sentence?” He taps his lips. “How lenient will the judge be for a pretty woman like you?”
I clench my teeth harder, staring at his thick bottom lip. If I bite hard enough, my teeth will slice through it.
He’s trapped me this time, but this is far from over. I’m not done.
Screw it.
I run forward, aiming the knife from my back pocket at his face, but he grabs my wrist, twisting it around my back until my shoulders strain so badly that the pain shoots through my entire upper body. I whimper, tears forming in my eyes, and he pulls my arm harder until my fingers finally loosen, dropping the knife on the floor.
