Page 57 of Hawke

At first, I wondered why he’d lumped me into the same category as prostitutes and strippers, then I realized he knew I’d been having sex while at the hotel, likely thinking I was a whore as well. About to give him a piece of my mind, an odd thought struck me.

I glanced over his shoulder and tried to see if I could see his police cruiser. It was nowhere in view. In fact, there were no cars in sight. Someone had been following me, and it’d been him. I took a step or two back, not even realizing where I was leading myself until my back hit the brick wall.

“Well, do you?” he asked again as he advanced even closer, this time his voice showing irritation.

“I do, and I’m sorry. I should’ve thought about that.” I hoped to slip out of my current predicament by slowly sliding away from him. “I w-won’t do it again.”

Austin’s eyes had changed drastically. He was scaring me, and I didn’t know why but I intended to tell Ayden about it, possibly as soon as I got to my condo. Trying not show how terrified I was, I flashed him a smile I hoped would disguise it. My eyes darted every which way for some other sign of escape or help. I kept coming up with nothing. It was well after two a.m., so I knew there wouldn’t be many people just roaming the streets.

Why in the hell did I decide to walk?

I had no option but to distract him enough so that I could make a run for it. My feet were like blocks of ice, frozen from my having stood barefoot on the cold ground as long as I had. Tonight had been one momentous mistake after another. I should’ve gone home instead of going to Syn, or at least have gone right home afterward. I just had to confront Hawke, fall into his trap, and now, I couldn’t think straight.

But I couldn’t blame him for this because even after everything else that had gone down, no one told me to walk instead of waiting a few minutes for a damn cab. There was an overnight café right around the corner from the hotel. If I had been that worried about Hawke catching me as I waited, I could’ve always gone down to it. A cup of hot cocoa sounded nice right about now. I wished I had two—one to drink and another to pour on Austin’s crotch.

“Respectable women don’t enter hotels, then leave a few hours later, Charlotte,” he chided, his voice becoming even creepier. “Whores do that. Is that what you are?”

I shook my head before responding. “N-no. I had a fight with my friend.” That was an understatement when it came to what had actually gone down between me and Hawke. It was in that moment I thought about how to use this to my advantage. Austin was nowhere near the size of the Sadist. “He’s going to come looking for me. He always does.”

Well, that lie slipped out easy enough. Hawke wouldn’t come looking for me. He’d gotten what he wanted with our final goodbye. Memories from earlier returned, but I wouldn’t allow Austin to see me cry. It’d give away my dishonesty.

“Then he’s not going to like what he finds.” Austin sneered.

“What are you going to do to me?” I asked. Did he plan to rape me? Murder me? My blood ran cold at the idea of the latter. The killer Ayden and Chase had been looking for had been right under their noses the entire time. The killer knew how to avoid being caught by the police because he was one, and not just any officer, either. He’d been assigned to the very case where the suspect was him. Who’d know better how to throw off an investigation more than one of the ones investigating it?

Austin pulled something out of his pocket in a flash, but it’d been so quick I couldn’t see what he had. In the small sliver of moonlight, it didn’t appear to be a gun or knife so maybe I was wrong. He then smirked at me before speaking in a menacing tone.

“I’m going to free you from a life of sin.”

A life of what?

I knew what that meant, but it was rich coming from someone who murdered helpless women for fun. I needed to get out of here and since I no longer had heels to slow me down, I suddenly tried to bolt away from him. That plan backfired because I had not even gotten more than a couple steps when he grabbed my hair, yanking me backward.

“Please, don’t do this,” I tried to plead, only to have him pull my hair harder.

I tried squirming, but it was of no use. His arm wrapped around my neck as he led me further into the alley.

No, not tonight, asshole.

Raising one leg, I brought my foot down hard. It likely hurt me worse than him because I was barefoot. His maniacal laugh confirmed that. I wouldn’t go down without a fight, though. “Hel—”

“Shut up, you dirty, little whore,” he warned as he covered my mouth to stifle my scream. I tried to bite him, but he’d anticipated it, so he was able to counter it.

I had only my arms to defend myself with, but they did little good, especially when he slammed my face hard against the brick. The pain was excruciating. My vision blurred and white spots that resembled specks of static on a television screen danced in front of me. Everything was spinning. I tried to hold on, but knew I was fading fast. I was about to give a last ditch attempt to free myself, but he pulled my head back, then slammed it right into the wall again. Night faded to darkness, and everything went dark.

I wasn’t sure how long I was out but when my eyes fluttered open, I realized I was smack dab in the center of hell. His gloved hand encircled my neck, leaving something behind in its wake. Whatever it was, he’d wrapped it around my neck and I knew exactly what he intended to do. Survival instincts kicked in, and I quickly brought my hands to it, trying to slide my fingers between my throat and the plastic.

“Die, you despicable whore,” he cursed as he started to tug. I gasped, choking as I tried to suck some air into my lungs. I had no idea how long I could hold my breath, but I wasn’t going down without a fight.

My head throbbed as something warm and thick trickled down my face from a gash on my forehead. The coppery scent brought me back to that night at The Box with Hawke when I’d been scared like I was now. He’d cut off one of my senses, forcing me to use my others. Tonight, I could see, but I couldn’t speak.

Another sharp tug had my head spinning once again. The plastic was so tightly wound around my neck and the addition of my fingers did little to ease the pressure on my windpipe. I tried to cough, but when my mouth opened, nothing came out. Or did it? The last thing I heard was him calling me a ‘whore’ again before he struck me across the cheek.

I staggered but managed to stay on my feet. The second strike proved to be too much because I fell as soon as the pain exploded. He was right behind me and this time, I couldn’t even fight him as he yanked my hands out from beneath the plastic before giving it a final tug. My head fell limply back to the ground as I conceded defeat.

37 – HAWKE

Ihad been pacing back and forth in my suite for nearly the last half hour. Restless, I hadn’t been able to even sit since Charlotte had left. My little sub. She’d been so angry and hurt when she’d left my room. I hated myself for treating her the way I always did. Tonight had been the worse, though. I’d never forget the sight of her face as we made eye contact for the final time. She’d known it was over and walked away.

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