Page 22 of Driving My Obsession

I jog back to the locker room and grip the tape around my wrists with my teeth, pulling it away from my hands until they’re bare. Once my hands are free, I flex my fingers and allow the blood to rush toward the sore spots. A pleasurable ache greets me with each movement. I towel the sweat off my skin and dress in casual clothes so I can work the crowd until my next fight. Grabbing my phone from my locker, I spot a notification. Someone sent me a text while I was in the ring.

My eyebrows pull together as I read the message.

I need to get out of town for a few days, and I need to leave as soon as possible. I know this is a huge ask, but is there any way you could drive me to Wisconsin? I can pay for gas and food, and you can stay in the extra room at my family’s cabin.

A smile curls the edges of my mouth. Last night produced results I never could have expected. She’s decided to run from her stalker, not realizing she’s running right into his waiting arms. And we’ll be traveling to a cabin? Hopefully that means it’s a secluded spot, which would be the ideal location for what I need to do. If everything falls into place, the final act of this tragic play will come sooner than I wanted, but all good things must eventually come to an end. I can’t let this golden opportunity pass me by.

I fire back a text and tell her I’m on my way. After slipping into my leather jacket, I grab my bag and throw it over my shoulder. The door whips open as I reach for the handle, and Darby stands on the other side, his eyes widening when he spots the bag.

“What the fuck, scar? You’ve got another fight tonight. You can’t leave.”

I shrug my shoulders. “Emergency. Gotta go.” I try to push past him, but he sidesteps into my path, his eyes narrowing into dark slits.

“What do you mean? The only thing yougottado is fight.”

My frame towers over him as I step closer. “I’m leaving. Call the fight or slide Boris into my slot. I’ll be back in a few days. Maybe a week.”

“Aweek? What about your—”

“Figure it out.” My fists clench into tight balls at my sides. I don’t have time for this shit. I have a date with my red-haired destiny.

“I could ruin you, scar. Keep you from ever fighting again!”

I glare down at him and smirk. “But where’s the money in that?”

His shoulders deflate and he steps aside. Checkmate. The crowd pays good money to see me fight, and he knows it. That’s why his panties are in such a twist. If he strikes me from the schedule for a few nights, he’ll lose money until I make my grand return, but firing me means losing his cash cow for good. He’d offer me higher pay before he’d fire me, but I wouldn’t accept it. It wouldn’t be fair to my fellow fighters.

I push past him, then stop and shout a parting shot over my shoulder. “Call the Kursicki brothers. Maybe if you offer them fair pay for the fights, they’ll agree to fill my spot while I’m gone.”

Those two would fight for free, but I can’t miss an opportunity to take a dig at how underpaid we are.

Satisfied I’ve made my point, I head toward my Jeep and get into the driver’s seat. I feel for my knife between the seats and find the hefty handle. I’m glad I waited for the right moment to take her life, but I worry some semblance of buried morals has kept me from doing what needs to be done. I’ll just have to throw more dirt on the pile and bury them deeper. Nothing can stop me from making someone pay for what happened to me, and that someone has to be Oaklyn.

The drive toward her trailer passes by in a blur of trees and street signs. I’m wrapped in a state of euphoria. Anticipation crawls along my spine at the thought of seeing her face, and I allow myself this guilty pleasure because it’s almost over now. I can’t deny that I find her beautiful, and I won’t try to chase away those thoughts any longer. This is as close as I’ll allow myself to get, however. If I venture much nearer to admiration, it’ll be harder to take her life. I’l be too tempted to keep her around so I can repeatedly take her cunt.

I pull in front of her home, and she rushes from the doorway, looking in every direction as if someone might spring from the trees and drag her to hell. I have no need to drag her. She’s stepping into hell on her own.

A tight tank top hugs her curves, and her red ponytail swings over her bare shoulders as she jogs toward the Jeep. I want to wrap that thick tendril of hair around my hand and pull, but am I slitting her throat or fucking her from behind as I reveal her pale neck? My mind struggles with the indecision, but then I smile. It can be both.

She tosses her bag into the backseat and flops onto the passenger seat in a breathless heap. A light sweat glosses her skin, making her shoulders and forehead shine beneath the dome light. Her chest heaves up and down, and she tilts her head as she pulls her ankle into her lap with a sharp wince. The light moves to the marks I left on her neck. She tried to cover them with makeup, but they peer from beneath the translucent smudges. Or maybe I only notice them because I made them. Either way, it hardens me.

“Close the door,” I say, wanting the darkness to hide my shame.

She does as she’s told, and the light clicks off. “Thanks for helping me,” she says. “My stalker broke into my house last night, and I need to get away for a few days while I figure out what to do.”

I wish she’d tell me more. I want to hear how my actions have destroyed her—those little details would be a symphony to my ears—but she doesn’t offer anything else. That’s okay. We have a long drive ahead of us, and I’m sure I can get her to open up along the way.

“I need to know where we’re going,” I say.

“Oh, right.” She rattles off the address, and I punch it into my phone. “It’s my family’s cabin, but no one should be there. It’s a pretty long trek, so we can take turns driving if you want.”

I shake my head and pull onto the road. No one drives this Jeep but me. “What do you hope to accomplish while you’re away? Your stalker will still be here when you get back.”

She shrugs and looks out the window. “Maybe I won’t come back.”

“Where would you go?”

“I don’t know.” She picks at the side of her nail and nibbles at her bottom lip. “I don’t exactly have a lot of great options. That’s why I’m working at the club. To give myself more options.”

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