Page 84 of Heathens

The grip on my chin is so tender that it brings tears back to my eyes. He tips my head upward and presses his lips to my forehead. I wrench my body in retaliation, nearly ripping my arm out of the socket as I fight to get free. The pain is instantaneous and overwhelming, shooting all down my arm as muscles and tendons almost tear away from the shoulder joint. My spine arches and a pained sob spills out of me.

“Shh… shh,” he soothes. “Calm down. You’re hurting yourself.”

I open my eyes, slowly at first. He’s right there, smiling back at me, his expression almost love-struck. Quiet sobs continue to pulse through me like a current. I want to be brave. I want to spit in his face and tell him to let me the fuck go.

“There you are.” He leans in and kisses me. I swallow the fury that’s stuck in my throat. “My beautiful little dove.”

Slowly, my breathing calms, and hysteria gives way to rationality. He’s calm right now, but I’ve seen his temper. If I keep freaking out, if I make him too upset, he might just kill me. Slowly, he sits up, straddling me. Rough denim scrapes against my skin, making me wince as the warm smile on his face does little to comfort me.

Everything’s changed.

“See? It’s okay. You’re with me. You’re safe.”

“What thefuck– you said one night. You were supposed to take me back to Nox, and instead you fuckingdrugme?”

To my surprise, he winces, his eyes sympathetic. I hate him for that.

“Well, it turns out I sort of lied. But it was for your own protection, Sofie.” He pauses. “And you have something I want.”

“I don’t have anything! Let me go!”

Dominic shakes his head, shushing me as he leans forward and strokes my face.

“Hey, hey… yes, you do. You have that big, beautiful brain of yours that can make me rich — You’ll get a cut, of course. I’ll give you everything you could ask for.”

How many times has he said that to me now?

“I just want you to let me go.”

His expression darkens immediately at my words, and he lets out a sigh.

“I can’t do that.”

“Please, Dominic, just–”

“I.Can’t.Do. That.“ He repeats each word so they sink in. “But it’s for your own protection. You’re too valuable, Sofie. Your skill set, your relationship with the blood bank… Rene knows about all of it. He wants to hurt you to get to me! To stop me. That’s why I had to do all this.”

“That’s not true.”

He’s lying. Rene only knows I’m fucking him.

“It is. He told me. Called me up out of the blue.”

My breathing is getting more and more rapid as panic takes me again.It’s hard to reason with a madman.

“People are going to wonder where I am. We have a system. They know where I went.”

“Of course. You’re with me,” he whispers. “Safe.”

What happened to him? He was so charming last night, so sweet with that edge of brutality that made it even more exciting and raw. Now he’s fucking unhinged, staring at me like I’m a puppy he just took home from the pet store. He leans in, and I recoil as much as I can until the back of my head slams up against the headboard. I wince, but try not to show the pain in my face.

“Ruby is expecting me at work.”

“Don’t worry about that. It’ll befine.You won’t be stuck here forever. I just need you to make my–”

“I’m not fucking makinganything!“ I scream, trying to thrash under his weight like somehow I’m going to magically break my restraints and throw him off of me. “Get off! Let me go!”

Dominic sighs, gripping my throat with one hand and nearly cutting off my air.

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