Page 15 of Voracious

“Fucking tell me!”

My bones rattle all over my body, and I stare at him, counting to three in my head.

It’s dark out, but I quickly unclip my belt and grab the handle, fully intending to jump out and run through the fields to get away from him. But he grabs me by the hair and pulls me back before the door can open.

“Let’s try this again.”

He forcefully grabs my hand and doesn’t let it go as he drives. It’s painful – he’s crushing my middle and forefinger together, tightening his hold.

“Seat belt.”

My shaky free hand clips it in, my jaw sore from how hard I’m gritting my teeth.

“I’ll ask the easiest question. Because you’re pissing me off. Why did you keep blocking me?”

I shake my head, my heart rate picking up its pace. “You’re delusion—”

My words cut off as he twists my fingers, and my teeth dig into my lip to hold back a scream. That’s what he wants. He wants me to feel pain and to be loud about it. It gets him off when I make a sound of distress.

“Why?” he asks again.

“Fuck. You.”

He lets go of my fingers, and the side of my head smacks into the window. Burning hot pain shoots through my skull, ringing in my ears.

I screw my eyes shut as he smashes my head into the window again. “S-Stop.”

“I already know why. I’m giving you the chance to confess before I bleed it out of you. Start from the hotel in Edinburgh, the private jet, then everything that happened in America.”

My eyes ping open, and my lungs seize. Of course he knows. He’s a cyber-freak who would’ve been tracing my steps from the moment I left the house. I’m shocked he didn’t fly to America and rip me in half then burn Kade alive.

I stay silent, my skull throbbing, a lump already swelling at the side of my head.

We’re driving deep into the back roads now when he swerves into a passing place and throws open his door. I gasp and unclip my belt again, trying to climb away when he opens the passenger door and yanks at my feet. He’s a lot taller and stronger than me – I don’t stand a chance. My body flies right out of the car, and I land hard on my back.

Winded, I cough, my vision already blurring; I can barely see the moon given how crowded the trees are above me. It’s nearly pitch-black here, silent except Chris pacing in front of me, tugging at his hair and whispering to himself that I need to be punished, then telling himself not to hurt me – that he needs to get in the car and drive away.

I try to turn onto my front, to attempt to crawl to the car when he snatches my hair and slams me into the gravel. He straddles my hips, his eyes wild like he’s possessed, face red with rage.

He’s going to kill me, and no one will ever know.

Part of me hopes he does. The only reason I need to survive is to make sure Kade gets help. And if that’s the only reason, maybe I’m already dead.

“Chris,” I choke as he grips my throat. “Pl-Please.”

“You blocked me while you were with him.Him. Of all fucking people, you go back to Kade Mitchell?”

My face whips to the side as he slaps me, my cheek stinging.

“He is beneath me. He’ll never be able to be what you need him to be. I can. I fuckingcan.”

“You…” I can’t breathe – there’s too much pressure on my neck and face, and my eyes feel like they’re bulging. I smack his arms, desperate for air. He releases me enough that I can suck in oxygen, coughing as I try to speak. “You were threatening m-me. I… had to block you.”

“So you went to him? If you were a good girl, then I wouldn’t need to threaten you. I told you to behave and to keep in contact – you didn’t. Did you sleep with him to piss me off? Let him fuck you behind a goddamn nightclub like the stupid fucking whore you are?”

“You need to stop this,” I sob, trying to push him off me, kicking my legs desperately and failing. “Please.”

He lets go of my throat and presses his hands to the ground beside my face. “Why didn’t you tell me someone was trying to hurt you? I could have protected you if you fucking told me!” He’s yelling in my face, spit falling from his mouth and onto my cheek. He grabs my chin to make me look at him. “They shot at you, and you told me nothing!”

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