Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 119476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 597(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 597(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
“I believe you mean our baby.” He nudges me gently with his boot before cocking his leg back and delivering a brutal kick to my ribs.
A guttural scream tears past my trembling lips, my eyes involuntarily pinching closed as seemingly endless pain steals the air from my lungs.
“Look at me,” Rand demands, dragging his knuckles over my cheek, in a move so mockingly tender it sends shivers down my spine.
I peel my eyes open to find him kneeling before me, his lips curled in a malicious grin as he reaches toward my belly.
I try to stop him, but the only sound that comes out is a rasping, high-pitched wheeze as I struggle to inhale past the agonizing pain in my chest.
Please, please, please.
Tremors rack my body as I flail and kick, desperate to keep his hands away from my stomach but he presses forward completely undeterred.
“Stop fucking moving,” he snaps, grabbing me by the hair with one hand, slamming my head into the floor, while cradling my belly with the other.
The juxtaposition between the two points of contact—his punishing grip on my hair and the gentle way he palms my bump—is sickening.
White spots dance in front of my eyes as I try to shrink in on myself and protect my stomach from his wrath.
But there’s nowhere to go. There’s no reprieve or safety to be found. I can’t even escape into the shelter of my mind because all I can think of is protecting my son. I'm stuck. Stuck here in hell, with my own personal monster.
Let us go. Please just let us go.
A soft fluttering in my stomach breaks through the all-encompassing agony, and while I can’t be sure, I tell myself it’s my jellybean. That he’s okay—that we’re both going to be okay.
“Should’ve put a chip in you, like a damn dog. Wouldn’t’ve had to wait so long to get you back,” he mutters to himself. “But I’ve got you now, and I plan to have some fun before I... dispose of you.” His thin lips curl into a grotesque mockery of a smile as he leans down further into my face.
He slides his hand over my protruding belly, up between the valley of my breasts, all the way to my throat, where he curls his fingers tight. His grip is like a vise, restricting my airflow until my vision goes hazy.
“Don't worry, though.” He suddenly releases me, and I greedily suck down as much air as my burning lungs will allow. “I'll raise this one right.”
“You won't touch my baby!” I rasp the words at him, my growing resolve steadily overriding my fear. “I'll die before I let you hurt him!”
“A boy!” He whistles, a look of twisted joy filling his usually dead eyes. “I'll raise him right, indeed.”
“Fuck you, you monster!” I buck against his hold, barely even noticing my use of the f-word.
“You're right, you know,” he says, his voice devoid of any feeling at all. “You will die. I thought maybe you were the one. That I’d get to keep you, but clearly you’re not worth the trouble. But first, you're going to apologize to me for running away.”
“You're actually insane,” I whisper brokenly, as I try to figure a way out of this.
But it’s hopeless. I’m bound and completely at his mercy.
“I’ve been thinking of how to punish you.” He leans forward and licks the side of my face, his rank breath warming my cheek. “Dreaming of it. And I think I know just the thing.”
“Get off of me!” I shout, lurching violently in his hold. The rough wooden floor pulls and tears at my skin, but I barely notice it. Especially when he grips my jaw again, his other hand going to his belt.
“Thought I beat that smart mouth out of you,” he mumbles under his breath. “Stubborn little bitch. Should’ve did you like your mom.”
My entire body stills as the implication of his words sinks in.
“Wh-what about my… my m-mama?” I hate how weak my voice is... how weak I am in his presence. I foolishly thought I was finally free of this monster and let my guard down. Now I’m back in his clutches, and I’m starting to worry I won’t make it out alive this time.
He pops the buckle of his belt and then the button on his jeans. “Doesn’t matter, though. I’ll still get to watch you die. To watch the life bleed out of your pretty little eyes. Even if it wasn’t the long game, I still win in the end.”
He’s completely lost it. Oh, God.
“Thought you were the one, but you’re nothing. Bitches like you are a dime a dozen.” He reaches down, palming himself through his jeans. The knowledge that he’s aroused right now is nauseating. “No matter, though. I’ll find someone else. Maybe that bitch you were with today.”