Page 85 of Twisted Obsession

The speeding swish of cars and the occasional horn sounding pierced the quiet darkness of the stretch of interstate we were driving along.

“Regina,” JG called, in a low, calm tone. It was the kind of low and calm that let you know that something bad was about to be confirmed. A chill found its way up my spine during his pause.

“Yes,” I answered, not ready to hear his words.

“Climb into the back seat. Get behind me and strap yourself in. Stay low.”

“What’s wrong?” I questioned as I climbed over the console and forced my body between the two front seats, falling into the back seat more than I climbed into it.

“We’ve got company. They’ve been following us since we left the building.”

I’d assumed JG was talking to me. When he continued, I understood he’d been speaking to someone on his phone. The speaker’s voice came across clear over the roar of the car engine and the wind whirling outside the closed windows.

“Take the scenic route. We are going to try to get rid of your tails,” Marcus’ voice sounded.

Since he was talking to Marcus, it meant that JG had back up. However, it also meant that we had more trouble than we anticipated. Now I was sure that the fire at Ansel’s apartment was an intentional rouse to draw me away from the building.

My vibrating phone drew my attention. It was Ansel again. “Yes,” I answered. My voice shook with fear.

“It’s going to be okay. I need you to believe that I will not let anything happen to you.”

“Okay,” I choked out, not sure what he was preparing me for. Did he know something that I didn’t?

“Regina—”

My body lurched before Ansel could say his next word. My phone flew from my hands into the darkness and landed on the floor of the car. It took me a few lingering seconds to latch on to the fact that we’d been hit. The car swerved. A sharp jerk flung our bodies from side to side. The wheels screamed and fought the highway to remain steady and on the road as JG steered with rough yanks.

The first few thumps registered, but it wasn’t until flecks of fire sparked off the glass next to my head that I understood we were being shot at.

“This car is bulletproof. You’re safe in here, Regina. Ansel made sure of that. You’re pretty much riding in the car version of a tank.”

Struck dumb by his words, I couldn’t render a reply. Leave it up to Ansel to have a tank on standby.

“Regina, hold on!” JG yelled as the trembling tires rumbled under the car before losing their grip on the highway.

My body lurched from left to right. The squeal of tires sounded as JG maneuvered the steering wheel to keep us steady. The force that we’d been hit with, coupled with our speed, meant the car couldn’t be controlled. My body went airborne for a few seconds, my inside shifting, before the deafening crinkle of metal colliding into metal filled my ears.

The seatbelt came alive as it snatched at my body. Glass and pieces of debris peppered my skin as I used my arms to protect my face. A quick, sharp jerk caused me to lose my breath for a moment. When the car lifted from the ground a second time, my eyes remained open in fright long enough to see the view turn sideways. My body was slung back and forth and side to side, making the seatbelt dig in with a painful grip.

The car may have been bulletproofed, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t unbreakable. Pieces of glass grazed my skin. Either all the windows had been busted out, or the car’s automatic windows had malfunctioned, leaving us susceptible to flying bullets.

A sharp jerk whipped my neck to the left as I struggled against the momentum that flung me about. When something hard struck my head and blurred my vision, I was too weak to blink away the overpowering sensation of blacking out.

Dirt, debris, and strong gusts of wind from the momentum of our rollover added itself to the crunchy sound of twisted metal that had screamed its deadly tune. The loud crunch blasted my ears as the car landed on its side and remained that way.

My eyes tried to flutter open as I fought lightheadedness and attempted to lift my head. That was when I realized I was suspended sideways, fastened in place by the seatbelt. The car had flipped at least twice and had come to rest on its side, driver’s side down. Through my hazy view, a small portion of white peeked. The airbag had deployed in front of JG.

“JG,” I called, my voice crawling over the pain controlling my body. My effort to reach for his shoulder was useless. I was stuck, and JG was nonresponsive in our sideways tomb. I was more frightened for his well-being than I was for my own because his face appeared to be buried in the white cloud of the airbag, and he wasn’t moving.

The sound of multiple voices registered as I struggled to free myself from the seatbelt. The noise of cars zooming along the interstate entered my consciousness along with crying insects that called into the night. No one speeding along would hear me if I screamed. Did they even know that we’d been in an accident?

The car rocked, and it wasn’t until I glanced up at the obscured view of a stranger that I understood why. The men that had been chasing us had caught us. The bright light that was shined down on me only showed me the dark profile of a face.

The man made several attempts to reach into the car from the top side window. My hands clawed in his direction in an attempt to keep him away from me. My sideways positioning had my symmetry and depth perception thrown off. Winston had been flung about the car and was what I believed had been the hard object that struck me upside the head during the rollover.

The seatbelt aided my captor; its tight and persistent hold made me a sitting duck. I fought to unsnap the unyielding seatbelt, as well as the persistent man each time he reached into the car. The top half of his body was leaned in through the window above.

I’d been so distracted by the man at the back-side top of the car, I hadn’t been paying attention to the one that had sneaked in through the front passenger side window. My view had been obstructed due to a portion of the car being smashed, but the man had managed to slither his way in.

A filthy rag was shoved at my face, my neck twisting with quick jerks to avoid the strong chemicals it had been soaked in. When the rag made contact with my face, the man’s tightened grip cupped my nose and mouth. My eyes grew heavy, my lids fluttering, fighting to stay open. My arms became filled with lead, no longer able to fight off my attacker.

The world around me started to fade and shrink. The tight embrace of hope had loosened, and my body was being yanked from her caring caress. My eyes fluttered, and my vision narrowed into a pinprick of light until there was nothing left but black silence.

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