Page 121 of Beneath the Surface

“Nah.” He cackles, smacking his knee. “I forgot. You got your ‘mind right.’”

My head grows dizzy, and I breathe deep through my nose, hoping to stem the nausea.

He sighs, scratching his head with the butt of his gun, and setting the container down on the ground next to him. He leans in, his putrid breath sticking to my skin, making the insides of my stomach curl. “You think you’re too good for me now? Is that it?”

My middle clamps down so hard that bile races up my esophagus. “No, I—”

Before I can finish the sentence, his gun whips out, cracking me across the face, blood flooding my mouth as I fly off the couch and onto the floor. I swallow the copper taste, my nails digging into the wood, the sharp ache in my jaw sparking a fire that rages through my chest.

I stay hunched on the ground, climbing to my knees and spitting the extra blood from my mouth. “Darryl—”

He looms over me, his thick boot pressing in the middle of my back until my body collapses on the floor, the pressure of the ground causing a throb to spread through my chest. My heart is staggered in its beating, my mind whirling, praying like hell I’ll make it out of this.

That somehow, this won’t be the end for me.

He reaches down, his fingernails jagged as they slice into the skin of my arm, flipping me over until I’m flat on my back, blood pooling in the back of my throat from the position. He snarls and spits, his thick saliva dropping on my cheek and slowly dribbling down off my chin. I dry heave, turning my head to the side.

“You caused me a lot of fuckin’ problems when you left. And foryearsI had your family comin’ here, sniffin’ around and askin’ me questions like they had any right to you. Like I didn’t strip you of everything you were and replace it with my brand.” His face is so close to mine, his lips skim against my cheek with each word. “Your shithead brother came to my work andthreatenedme. Made me tell him where you were. Fucking runnin’ away to Arizona like some ungrateful bitch.”

My eyes widen, shock pouring through me at the fact that he knows where I was. That heknows where the fuck I was.

“You knew?” I manage to rasp out.

He smirks. “Amy.”

My heart stalls in my chest.No. Amyhelpedme. How could I have been so damn stupid? I never should have trusted her.Did she tell him I was pregnant too?

The thought sends terror pumping through my veins.

He laughs. “Don’t worry, you weren’t worth the trip. But then I see you walk into my gas station, lookin’ the way you do. And well…” He smiles, his teeth chipped and stained. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”

His hand comes down and grasps my jaw, making it crack under the pressure. “You made me look like a fool, leavin’ me after everything I did for you. Didn’t I do enough for you, baby?” He straddles my hips, his knees on either side of my body. He leans in and licks up the side of my face, his fingers tightening on my jaw. I hold my breath to keep from throwing up.

“Didn’t I give you the world?”

I try to nod, but my head is held firm by his grip.

He stands up, pulling my face with him until the top half of my back is suspended from the floor. “Don’t you fuckin’ lie to me.”

He slams me back down, my head bouncing off the ground, my vision blurring. My stomach somersaults and twists, rising into my throat from the blinding pain.

“You think you’re so much goddamnbetterthan me?” His boot flies into my ribs, the force behind his kick knocking the wind from my lungs, a stabbing ache radiating up my side.

With all the force I can muster, I jump up, shoving him off me, a burst of adrenaline fueling my movements.

Clunky and unfocused, I run, my head spinning from the sudden shift in posture.If I could just get to the pepper spray.

But I never make it. A loud crack sounds through the air and I fall back to the ground. The air is silent as I wait for the pain, shock flowing through me as I cup my shoulder, wet liquid seeping through my fingers. I gasp in air, a burn starting in my upper arm and spreading slowly outward, until all I feel is fire ravaging my insides.

I try to hang on. Try to live through the knowledge that I’ve just been shot. That my stupid mistakes have led me here. But I can feel the blackness crawling up my spine and begging to take over, promising me a warm safe place to hide until it’s over. The way I’ve always known to protect myself.

So I close my eyes and surrender, my last thought of my baby boy, praying he remembers how much I love him.

I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always.

56

Mason

---