Vince. My stomach plummets. Terror snakes through my veins.
He shuts the door behind him. With a slow strut, he comes toward me. He passes through the moonlight square, illuminating his face. His eyes work my body, making his intentions clear. I want to scream, but dread freezes my most primitive reaction.
“You thought I could let you go after what your boyfriend did to me in that parking lot?” He runs the tips of his fingers from my shoulder down to my breast. “It’s payback time.”
No. My head moves from side to side, unable to articulate the word. Fear, exhaustion, and anxiety get the best of me.
He shoves me onto the bed. I scurry backwards as fast as I can. He grabs my neck, pushes me down, and climbs on top of me. I whimper. It’s not much, but it gives me hope.
React, fight, something.
“You be quiet and I’ll take it easy on you. If you fight, I’ll enjoy that, but you won’t.”
Holding my wrists together over my head with one hand, he reaches down and unzips his pants.
Oh God, please no.
He pins me to the bed with his hips. I kick and buck to get out from under him.
“Fight it is.” He licks my neck and bites my earlobe, hard. “This’ll be fun.” His breath smells like liquor. I turn my face to avoid it.
“Stop.” It’s weak, but as the word comes out so does the will to survive. “Get off—”
His hand silences me. My arms ache. My struggle is pointless.
He presses himself between my legs. Twisting and tugging, I try to rip my arms from his grip. Pain rips through my elbow. The only thing keeping him from his goal is my shorts. His weight crushes my body. He anchors me tighter to the bed. His mouth crashes against mine, drowning my screams. I fight and thrash, forcing myself deeper into the bed. My mind screams for him to burst through the door. Jonah, I need you. What do I do?
Break his arm, baby. Arm bar. Remember. Fight.
I squeeze my eyes shut as Jonah’s voice stills my racing thoughts. Tears trail down my temple. It may be panic or some innate survival response, but my lesson on the arm bar comes back in brilliant clarity. I can do this.
That’s my girl.
Waiting for the opportunity is going to be the hardest part. I need to stop fighting so he can free his hands. I breathe deep and stop squirming.
“Change your mind? Not going to fight me anymore?”
I shake my head no.
“Yeah, I knew you were a whore.”
He slides his hand over my breast to the button of my shorts. With one hand, he pushes them down my thighs. Unable to get them past my knees, he lets go of my wrists and sits up.
Opportunity.
I say a prayer for strength and move quickly. I grab his right wrist with both hands. His eyes dart to mine. I throw my leg over his arm, straddling his shoulder. He jumps in surprise. Bracing my weight on my shoulder blades, I cross my legs at my calves. His arm runs the length of my body, from knees to chest.
He struggles and grabs at me with his free hand. “You little bit—”
One powerful thrust of my hips turns his words into a scream. I pull his arm tight and flex my hips deeper into the hold. I feel and hear a sickening snap at his elbow. Vince howls in pain.
I did it.
With a tight hold, I refuse to let go. I keep my hips thrust forward and he continues to yelp. Power surges through me. He’s crying out for me to release him. I’m locked down with an unrelenting grip. He kicks and hollers on the bed.
Light pours into the room, blinding me. I push my hips harder, making Vince shriek. Something wraps around my neck . . . hands. They clamp down, choking me. I gasp and writhe. My vision adjusts to the light. I stare into the blue-green eyes of Dominick. His face is red with anger, jaw clenched tight.
And he’s not letting go.
Thirty-two
Jonah
My truck eats up highway as we blaze down the interstate. Hands vise-gripped to the wheel. Eyes scanning. Exit signs fly by in a blur of green and white. Blake is silent beside me. His head dips to the hand-drawn map then forward and back again.
I play out my strategy. No more polite conversation and deal-making. I know Dominick won’t give up Raven easily. Not after what he went through to get her. He had this planned all along, including hiring Candy to do his dirty work. I should have known.
Inwardly, I berate myself for buying into his bullshit. How could I have been so stupid? Well, that shit ain’t happening again. There are only two ways this confrontation will go. Dominick beaten into a bloody pulp, left begging for his pathetic life, or Dominick dead. And I’ll have to accomplish this while keeping Raven safe, or more importantly, alive. Fuck.
“Turn left here.” Blake’s direction calls me from my thoughts.
A quick turn and we’re on an unpaved road. I hit the four-wheel drive and lay heavy on the gas. Dirt and rocks spit from my back tires as we weave through the narrow mountain roads. My eyes focus on the path ahead.