by Mae Doyle
Smarter than Jeremy, which shouldn’t be too hard.
I shrug, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. “You’re right, Jeremy. I’d rather have what was in the unit than Nora, so you can have her.”
Her eyes grow wide and I see fresh tears welling up in them, but Jeremy doesn’t look surprised. He scowls and pulls her with him another step down the hall.
“I figured that you’d see the light on this one, Teague. How about this, once I pop her cherry, I’ll let you know if it was any good and if you missed anything special, okay?” He laughs again, the fucking jackal, and inches closer to the main corridor.
I shrug like it’s no big deal to me, even though rage fills my body. I just have to get him to lower the knife long enough for me to make my move. “Whatever. Good luck getting it in her, I heard that she has a shriveled and dried-up vag.”
Now Nora is crying harder, her huge tears dripping off her chin, but I don’t have the time to worry about that. She’s going to get her feelings hurt, but that’s the only way I can save her. He doesn’t pause. His eyes are on the prize now, and it’s going to take something more to slow him down.
“You know that nobody’s going to believe you that you fucked her.” I throw out the line, hoping that it will rope Jeremy in, and I’m not surprised when he pauses, staring at me.
He thinks for a moment, chewing his lower lip, but not letting go of his knife. “You don’t think so?”
I shake my head, taking a few steps closer to them. He doesn’t back up, he’s so busy thinking about what I said. “Not a chance man. You’re a loser - no offense.” He looks up sharply at me, but then smiles.
“None taken. It’s true.” He pauses, and I can tell that he’s still thinking about his predicament. “So what do you think I should do? I don’t want this one,” he shakes Nora a little, “to lie about me to the entire school.”
Trying to look as calm as possible, I shrug. “I can watch, if you like.”
Chapter 12
Nora
Teague’s words cut though my heart, and at first I can’t believe my ears. But of course he would offer that. He’s wanted nothing more than to see me fall since he met me, and using Jeremy to get to me is a great way to make sure that he’s here for all of the bloody glory.
Jeremy loosens his grip on me a little before he answers, and I consider making a run for it, but there’s no way that I could get away from the two of them.
And to think that I actually wanted Teague to come and help me. Stupid. Stupid Nora.
“You’d do that?” Jeremy sounds surprised, but I doubt that he’s as surprised as I am. “What’s the catch?”
Teague shrugs, his eyes locked on Jeremy, his body angled towards us. “No catch, really. If it’s any good then I’d like a turn in her cunt, that’s all.”
“You’ve been trying to get into her pants since day one.” Jeremy scoffs a little and gives me a shake. “And I’m going to be the first one there.” He sounds thrilled with himself, even though I can’t turn and see his face.
It crosses my mind to correct him, but the way that Teague is staring at me dries up my mouth and makes my tongue thick and heavy. Not like it would really do any good, anyway. If the two of them want me, then I don’t think I can do a damn thing to stop them.
For a moment, none of us move, but then Jeremy lets go of me before planting his hand on my lower back and pushing me into the wall. I gasp, reaching my hands up to stop from running into it, and feel him pressing into my neck with the knife.
“Don’t move, Nora, or I will gut you, you got it?” His voice rings in my ear and I nod.
I can’t believe this is happening.
I can’t believe that Teague is going to let this happen.
I trusted these guys – the both of them, and this is what they’re going to do to me?
My heart pounds in my chest and I feel like I’m going to be sick.
Puking seems to be my default reaction to shit around here, and I have to fight it back.
It won’t do any good to throw up when someone has a knife to my throat.
Jeremy’s fumbling with his belt and pants. I can hear him trying to undo them with one hand while he keeps the knife right at my neck.
God, what did I do to deserve this?
I lean forward, resting my head on the cool wall, and bite my lower lip.
Flashes of my mom come into my head, and I have to fight to push them away.
I can’t think about her right now.
Not when…
Not when this is about to happen.
“Fucking pants!” Jeremy’s voice cuts through my thoughts and jolts me back to the present. “I can’t do this one-handed!”
“I’ll hold the knife.” Teague sounds calm and detached, and I glance over at him. He’s still not looking at me, but he has his hand out to take the knife from Jeremy, who pauses before handing it over. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t get away.”
As soon as his hand closes on the knife, I know that I’m not getting out of here.
“Thanks, man. Who knew that all it would take for us to get on the same team would be a piece of virgin pussy?” Jeremy bends over, shoving his pants down around his ankles. I’m afraid to look back, because I know what I’m going to see.
I can’t handle this.
As soon as he reaches out and takes me by the hips, I’m going to do something.
Nevermind that Teague has a knife and will gut me.
At least I’ll die trying.
“You ready, sweet virginal Nora?” Jeremy’s breath is hot on my throat. “Let me help you with your pants.”
He’s about to touch me.
Before I can react, however, he screams, and there’s a loud thud behind me. I whip around, ready to run, but Teague has him pressed on his stomach on the floor, his face smashed into the cold tiles. The tip of the knife is digging into the side of his neck, and I watch as a drop of scarlet blood runs down his throat.
“I will fucking kill you for putting your hands on her!” Teague’s voice is a throaty growl and I feel a throbbing between my legs. He’s protecting me.
Jeremy squirms under him, trying to buck Teague off, but it’s almost impossible for him to do so with his hands around his ankles. “I hate you! I’ll kill you, Teague! You and your mom are dead!” His voice echoes down the hall in the storage building.
Teague’s jaw twitches as he clenches his mouth shut.
Shouldn’t have threatened Mrs. Ward. Even I know that.
My whole body is screaming for me to make a run for it, but before I can take one step, Teague looks up at me. “Nora. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
Relief floods through me when he says my name and I feel my adrenaline crash. My knees are suddenly wobbly and I sink down to my knees, still keeping an eye on the two of them, even though they’re out of arm’s reach.
It feels like the air in the storage building is getting thin. Taking a deep breath, I try to clear my head, but everything still feels fuzzy.
“I’m okay,” I tell him finally, reaching up to touch my neck. It’s almost like I can still feel the tip of the knife digging into my skin, and I shiver. “I thought you…”
“You thought that I was going to stand by and watch him rape you,” Teague finishes simply, his eyes finally locked on mine. They’re swirling with anger, yes, but also something deeper and more primal.
I shiver again as I realize that I’ve never been wanted by someone the way that Teague Ward wants me.
“Oh, cut the shit, you two! I know for a fact that Teague hates you, Nora. He and Bethany have been after you since you came here, so why the fuck would you think that he’s suddenly on your team?” Jeremy scoffs and spits at me. His eyes are wild with anger and a little bloodshot from being thrown on the ground. “I will fuck you, Nora. That’s a promise.”
I don’t get a chance to respond. Teague pulls his hand back, taking the knife from Jeremy’s neck, and slams the hilt of it down on his temple. My mouth drop
s open as Jeremy’s head falls to the floor, his eyes shut, his mouth hanging open.
Did that just fucking happen?
My body is screaming for me to get up and run away from here. I know that I shouldn’t trust Teague. The only time that I did trust him before, he turned on me. He took pictures of us having sex and bet on taking my virginity.
But more than anything, I want this to be real.
I want the way he’s looking at me to not be a scheme, or a scam, or another one of his tricks. He’s run me ragged, and if this is just another way for him to hurt me, then he’s won.
I give up.
Thank goodness I’m already on the floor, because if I weren’t, I’d slide down to sit anyway. My whole body is exhausted.
I don’t know what he’s going to do to me now.
He told me before that he was the hunter.
Well, he’s run his prey into the ground. I’m caught now, and I can’t get away.
Let’s just hope that the hunter has some mercy in him.
Teague
I can’t stop looking at Nora. There’s something about the way she looks, so broken and terrified, that makes it impossible for me to pull my eyes from her, even though I know that I should be dealing with Jeremy.
I should call someone. I should get help.
But I can’t stop staring at her.
Her mascara has run down her cheeks, and she looks exhausted, but I swear, she never looks more beautiful.
“Nora,” I begin, finally unlocking my tongue. I feel like I could just sit and look at her all day long, but I have to make sure that she’s okay. I need to hear it for myself. “Are you alright?”
She turns her gaze to me slowly, her eyes as hollow as her cheeks. A flood of emotion pours through me as I realize that I won. I broke her. It was all that I wanted to do for the longest time, to break her and have her as my trophy, and now that I’ve done it, I can’t seem to accept it.
Where’s the fun in the hunt when the prey won’t run from you?
Hell, where’s the fun in the hunt when you catch feelings for the person you’ve been trying to destroy?
She doesn’t answer me right away, just looks back at Jeremy, and then down at her hands, which are clenched tightly into fists. Her nails dig half moons into her palms, and I can tell that she’s focused hard on keeping her breathing slow.
“Nora?” Jeremy isn’t going anywhere for a long time, and I stand up, reaching for her to pull her up. She hesitates then takes my hand, struggling to her feet. Once she’s standing, she sways, and I step forward, pulling her to me. She leans on me, all of her body weight pushing against mine, and I support her.
It’s not until I feel her tears soaking through my shirt that I speak again. “Nora, I need to know if you’re okay or if I need to get you to the hospital.” She sniffles, hard and loud, and finally looks up at me. Her face is heartbreakingly beautiful, streaked with tears and red from crying. I want to kiss her lips and taste her to remind myself that she’s real.
“I don’t know.” Her voice sounds flat and detached, and I bend at the knees, scooping her up into my arms. She’s lighter than I remember, and I carry her easily down the hall, stepping over Jeremy’s body on the way out.
I’ll get her home. That’s the best thing for me to do right now. Once she’s at home, I can make sure that she’s safe and see if she needs a doctor.
That thought in mind, I open the passenger door to my truck and gently lift her in. She’s passed out before I lean over and buckle her seatbelt.
***
My mom wasn’t home when we got back from the storage unit, thank God, and I haven’t left Nora’s room since I put her to bed. She curled right into a fetal position once I put her down, but hasn’t moved since then, giving me plenty of time to make the calls I needed to in order to take care of Jeremy.
He won’t be a problem any longer, and I can guarantee Nora that he won’t ever hurt her again.
I’m on my phone, skimming through texts from kids at school when she stirs. Tossing my phone onto the end of her bed, I walk over and reach out to take her hand. “Hey, Nora,” I say, not wanting her to wake up and be afraid.
She stirs, slowly opening her eyes and locking them on me. “Teague?” Her voice is heavy with sleep and she looks confused. After a moment, though, her eyes fly open and she shoves back from me, trying to push herself as far away from me as possible on the bed. “Get away! Leave me alone!”
Her words cut through me, and I reach for her. “Nora, wait, you’re home! You’re safe!”
“This isn’t my home! And I’ll never be safe with you around!” Panic is splashed on her face. I can see the whites of her eyes and her lips are pulled back into a slash. “You were just waiting for your turn to rape me!”
“Wait, what?” I stop reaching for her and stand up from the bed. “Nora, I wasn’t going to rape you. I came to find you and save you. I told you that, remember? We talked about this, Nora!”
She must be out of her mind. The afternoon with Jeremy has her all fucked up. Her face is twisted and she has her hands wrapped tightly in the sheets like a cornered animal.
“Sure.” She spits the word at me, fire burning in her eyes as she struggles to sit up. “Like I’m going to believe that that’s why you came after me? Bullshit, Teague. You wanted another turn in my pants.”
Heat flows through me and I feel my face getting hot, but I refuse to let her think this about me. “No, Nora,” I say, trying to sound as gentle as possible, “I came to save you. You. Not the stuff in the storage unit, not because I wanted to get into your pants…just because it was you.”
Her face softens but she doesn’t say anything at first. I wait, trying hard to stay as calm as possible, even though I want to climb onto the bed with her, take her by the shoulders, and shake some sense into her.
And then kiss her.
Fuck, I want to kiss Nora. I want to feel her body under mine as I press her into the bed and slide my hands all over her. She’s perfect for me, and I don’t want to ever stop being near her.
The realization hits me like a ton of bricks, and I have to try hard to keep focused on her. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and it must show in my face, because her expression softens.
“You weren’t working with Jeremy?” Her eyes look a little clearer than they did when she first woke up. Maybe she’s coming back to me.
I shake my head and chuckle. “Nora, did you not listen to a word that I said about him? He’s bad news, remember? No, when I heard from Bethany that he chased you into the parking lot…well, I left right then to come find you.”
“But how did you know where we’d be?”
I shrug and reach out for her hand. Surprisingly, she lets me take it, and I link our fingers together. It feels right to be holding her hand. “I assumed. Well, I went to the Safe and Secure first but figured out pretty quickly that he must be taking you to find the stuff. When the door was open and the light was on, I knew that I didn’t have a lot of time to track you down and save you.”
“Save me.” Her voice is quiet, and I know that she’s talking to herself, but I can’t help but interrupt.
“I knew I had to save you, Nora.” I run my thumb across the back of her hand, trying to show her exactly how scared I was. No matter how old I get, I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to put into words how terrified I was to think that Jeremy was going to hurt her.
“But then how did you know what storage unit we’d be at?” She tries to pull her hand away, but I hold it tighter.
“It’s the only one that we drive by on a regular basis, so it was a lucky guess. As soon as I saw his car in the parking lot I knew that you guys were there, but it took me longer than I’d hoped to find you two in the back.”
She’s thinking, and as she does, she chews on her lower lip. Finally, she sighs, tilting her head up to look at me. “I was terrified and I kept hoping that you would show up and save me, but then you did show up, and I thought�
��”
“You thought that I was going to let Jeremy rape you.” I finish, and she nods. We’ve been over this, but it’s almost like she’s forgotten. I know that fear can do crazy things to a person’s mind, and I’m seeing it in person with Nora. “That wasn’t going to happen, Nora, I promise. I just had to figure out how to get his guard down enough so that I could get in there and save you.”
“You really came for me?” The surprise in her voice makes my heart ache.
“I did. I had to.” It’s the truth, and I hope that she can see that. She glances up sharply at me and then smiles. It’s the first time I’ve seen her smile in a while, and my heart starts pounding in my chest. Without thinking about the repercussions, I lean forward and kiss her, pressing myself against her. She responds, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me in.
Our tongues tangle together and she moans into my mouth as I wrap my hand in her hair. She’s delicious, and kissing her is right. I know this, and I hope that she does, too. Even though I know that this is what I should be doing, I don’t know what the fuck this means for the two of us, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop kissing her right now. I couldn’t, even if I tried. She and I are magnetic, and even though I’ve tried to deny it for a long time, it obviously hasn’t worked.
“I’m sorry, Nora.” I pull back and hold her tight, pressing her into my chest and whispering the words into the top of her head. Every place that our bodies are touching feels like it might explode. “I couldn’t handle the thought that something was going to happen to you.”
She sighs and rests her head on my chest, where I’m sure she can feel my heart pounding. “I wanted you to come for me, Teague.”
I pause. She already knows how I feel, but there’s so much more that needs to be said between the two of us. “I’m here now, Nora, okay? I promise you. I’m here now. I’m with you, and I swear to you that I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe in the future, okay?”
“Teague,” she whispers, pulling back a bit so that she can speak, “are you sure about this? You know that I’m a social pariah, right?”
