Page 48 of Erik's Salvation
He’d barely managed to pull on briefs and shorts when a scream pierced the air.
* * *
The gun washeavy in Hannah’s hand, the tremble in her fingers so violent it was possible she’d pull the trigger without even meaning to.
“Lower the gun to the floor, kick it over, then turn. If you make any sudden moves, I shoot.”
God, why was there a tremor in her voice? Why couldn’t she be strong and firm and brave?
The man lowered the gun, but he didn’t turn. He just stood there, frozen. What was he doing? Waiting for her to shoot? Calling her bluff?
The quaver in her fingers grew stronger. She shifted her gaze around the small bathroom but stopped when she reached the mirror. Her lips parted, her heart thudding. That wasn’t her staring back.
Well, it was…but not her today. She looked… God, she looked sixteen again.
Her gaze brushed over the pale green T-shirt, the ripped jeans. Why did she—
The man finally turned. She flicked her attention back to him. Her heart stopped and her lungs tightened to the point that no air got in. Because the person in front of her wasn’t the man who’d broken into her home.
“Hello, Hannah. This is a nice surprise.”
That voice…so familiar. And so utterly terrifying.
No. This wasn’t real. He wasn’t really here.
She blinked slowly, keeping her eyes closed for a beat, but when she opened them, the man was still there. And not only that, the room was different. The floor wasn’t tiled. The red oak basin didn’t sit to the left, and the shower wasn’t at the back of the room.
It wasn’t her bathroom at all…it was a bedroom. One she saw all too often when ghosts of her past tried to torment her. The small bed sat against the right wall. The closet, which was now empty, to the left.
“You’ve made my life quite difficult with your…accusations.”
She stumbled back, foot catching on a piece of clothing. She righted herself. “You’re supposed to be in jail.” And the gun in her hand was supposed to be just a precaution. Something she had to feel safe but didn’t need to use.
“Bail.” He took another step forward. “Cost me a pretty penny too. Had to put my fucking house up as collateral. Something else you’ll need to pay for.”
She swallowed the nausea at his proximity. The terror that tried to freeze her mind and body.
“I don’t want any trouble. I just came for my bracelet.” The one that now sat on her wrist. The one she hadn’t been able to leave behind. God, why hadn’t she shoved it into her pocket and climbed back out the window faster?
He laughed. “You ain’t taking that bracelet, girlie. Consider it compensation for my troubles.”
“I am.” Suddenly, the tremble in her voice was gone. Because no one was taking this bracelet from her. It was her one connection to her parents. A connection she couldn’t give up. Wouldn’t.
He stepped closer again.
“Stop moving or I shoot!”
He laughed. “You won’t shoot me. You’re too much of a good girl. It’s why I liked you, you know. Usually, I get these no-good foster kids with a shitload of baggage and attitude. Not you. You were like a diamond in the rough. All pretty and clean and polite.”
“They should’ve never let you be a foster parent.” He’d probably done to countless other girls the same thing he’d done to her.
His stained teeth became visible as he grinned, evidence of years of drug and alcohol abuse. “They shouldn’t have. But they did.”
He undid his belt, and she felt the blood drain from her face.
“Now how about that payment, girlie…”
The second the belt was in his hands, he lunged forward. In that moment, it was as if the world slowed. As if every nightmare she’d ever lived and dreamed rolled into one terrifying reality.
