by Jenni Wilder
“You little bitch. You just couldn’t stay away from him, could you? He’s mine!” She pulled my face up to hers, and I clutched at her fist in my hair, trying to stop the pain.
“Please stop,” I begged, knowing it was futile.
Her evil smile twisted up at the corners. “Oh, we’ve only just started.”
Hairy muscular hands grabbed me from behind as Mackenzie let go of my hair. Asher’s hand covered my mouth while his other squeezed at my throat, his thumb pressing painfully into my windpipe.
I struggled and whimpered against his hold, but his grip on me only tightened as he pulled me backward down the hall.
The last thing I saw before we turned a corner was Brody’s crumpled, unconscious body. His feet were still sticking out into the hallway, blocking the doors from closing. Hopefully someone would be sent to investigate why the elevator was stuck. There were forty floors of rooms in this hotel. Once Lincoln discovered we were missing, it would take forever to search for us. Maybe Brody’s feet would help narrow the search.
Asher pulled me down a hallway until Mackenzie opened a door and I was yanked inside a utility closet. Panic rose inside me. I feared if I went in that room, I might never come out, and I suddenly didn’t care if Asher crushed my windpipe. I needed to get out of there. I tried to remember back to the one self-defense class I had taken in college. A surge of adrenaline went through me as I pulled down on Asher’s hand that covered my mouth and sunk my teeth into the meaty flesh at the base of his thumb.
Asher cried out from behind me and loosened his grip. I thrust my elbow backward, connecting with the bridge of his nose, and he stumbled away from me. Now was my chance! Clawing at his hand at my neck, I managed to wrench myself out of his grasp and kick the pointed heel of my shoe into his shin. When he reacted to the pain, I vaulted forward and grabbed the doorjamb before the door could close.
Pain unexpectedly shot through me, and I collapsed to the floor as all my muscles clenched. My hands and legs involuntarily contracted inward, and I shook on the floor as electricity zapped through me. The pain was unbearable. I wanted to scream, but my body wouldn’t react to any command I gave it until suddenly the pain evaporated, leaving me lying on the floor gasping for breath.
Mackenzie knelt down next to me. She had a particularly evil grin on her face as she held up the yellow-and-black gun and looked at it lovingly. “Yeah. I got one too. I was hoping you’d try to run. Pretty effective, don’t you think?”
I rolled to my back away from her as Asher closed the door and turned the deadbolt, locking us inside the small room.
Okay, be smarter than this, I told myself. If I was going to get out of this, I had to use my brain.
“Lincoln’s going to know it was you. If you let me go now, I won’t say anything. I’ll break up with him, and you can have him.” Just saying it made my heart hurt, but it was the only thing I could think of that she might believe.
“Not good enough.” She grabbed my hair again and stood up, pulling me with her. She slammed me back against the door, her face inches from mine. “You’re going to pay for ever thinking you deserved him. I’m the one who should be with him. Do you have any idea what I’ve done to get where I am? And you think you can just swoop in and steal him from me?” Her voice had gotten screechy as she yelled at me, her eyes wide with emotion.
I hated her. I never hated anyone before. Even when she sent my naked picture to everyone on campus, deep down I still blamed myself for trusting her. But now? She wanted to make me pay for falling in love with someone she wanted. That was pure insanity.
“You’re insane if you think he wants you. He regrets ever touching you.”
For a brief second I was relieved when she let go of my hair, but the pain was only gone for a split second before the butt of the stun gun made contact with my cheekbone. She brought her hand back and hit me again just below my eye. Pain exploded across my face, and I brought my hands up to shield myself as she started screaming in my face.
“I’m the best thing he’s ever had! You think you can even compare to me?”
Defiance rose up inside me. I wasn’t going to let her win again. I didn’t care how many times she hit me. Lincoln deserved to have me defend our love instead of deny it.
“What bothers you more, Mackenzie? The fact that Lincoln wants me or that he doesn’t want you? You know as well as I do he kicked you to the curb months before he ever met me. I could disappear out of his life, and he would still never go crawling back to you. You disgust him.”
Mackenzie screamed wildly and slammed my head back against the door, causing tiny stars to appear in my eyes. “You’re the disgusting one, you freak show! Everyone on that roof just saw your hideous body. You can’t hide it anymore. Everyone knows how revolting you are.”
As she spewed her insanity, I slowly moved one hand up to where she had shot me with the stun gun. Two tiny metal probes attached to the Taser by wires stuck into my hip through my dress. I yanked them out, trying desperately not to react to the pain as they ripped out of my skin.
I smiled at Mackenzie despite my loathing for her. “I’d rather be disgusting on the outside than on the inside like you. Everything about you is fake. You’re overprocessed and artificial. If you weren’t so evil, I’d pity you. The truth is you don’t deserve Lincoln. He’s a wonderful man, and he wants me. Not you.”
Seething, she took a step away from me and held up the Taser. I watched as her finger moved to push down on the trigger. A second before the electricity flowed from the gun, I threw the probes at her.
She screamed in terror and flailed her arms as two tiny pieces of metal with the ability to cause agonizing pain flew through the air at her and Asher.
My heart pounded as Mackenzie flung herself backward in an attempt to not be electrocuted. She stumbled over Asher’s feet and landed hard on her butt. When her sidekick bent over to help her, she screamed at him to hand over his Taser, but I was long gone. I whirled around, unbolted the door, and fled into the hallway as she argued with Asher.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Adrenaline surged through me again as I quickly analyzed my options. There was an emergency stairwell to the right, but the elevator was to the left, and I wanted to get back to Brody.
Running as fast as I could, I snaked down the hallway in the direction we had come from. I heard a commotion behind me, and I knew the evil bitch was coming for me. But she had seriously underestimated me this time. I wasn’t going to let her wreck me again. I was going to fight back.
Expecting to see Brody still lying on the floor of the elevator, I momentarily froze when I reached the bank of silver doors. They were all closed, and Brody was nowhere to be found.
Had he—had he left me? If he had recovered from being tasered, why hadn’t he come for me? He must have gone for help.
Approaching heavy footsteps from down the hall reminded me I needed to keep moving. There was only one option. Mackenzie and Asher were between the stairway and me, and I didn’t know what was at the opposite end of the hallway, but I didn’t have a choice.
Kicking off my heels and hiking up my dress, I hightailed it away from the elevators, darting down the hallway, away from my abductors.
Plastic covered the walls on this side of the hotel, and the carpet had been ripped up. I passed a small alcove with a few vending machines and an ice dispenser. No help there. Four doors, two on each side of the hallway, were the next thing I passed. I banged on all four of them, calling for help, but none of them opened. I didn’t think they would, but I had to try.
An open arched entryway was the next thing on the right side of the hallway, and I skittered to a stop. It was a small lounge area with couches, chairs, a microwave, and some board games on a shelf. But the most important thing was the metal door with an exit sign over it at the far end next to a wall of windows. I looked back down the hallway. Mackenzie and Asher were closing in fast. I had wasted too much time banging on doors.
The sme
ll of fresh paint permeated my senses as I weaved between an ugly blue couch and a yellow loveseat. I ran as fast as I could through the lounge toward the exit door, my dress swishing around my ankles.
A loud bang sounded from behind me, and the terrible immobilizing pain was back, causing me to crumple to the floor five feet away from the exit. Once again, I was powerless to do anything except twitch uncontrollably as pain and electricity flowed through my body.
The agonizing torture suddenly stopped, and I opened my eyes to find Mackenzie and Asher standing over me. I gasped for air as the tremors faded from my body. Tears built in my eyes, and I desperately fought against them. I didn’t want her to see my panic.
Asher’s boot collided with my side as he kicked me, causing me to cry out and roll away from him. He grunted as he savagely kicked me again and again, and I curled up in a tight ball, trying to shield my ribs and face from his attack. The pain was horrible, but there was nothing I could do except pray he would stop.
“You stupid bitch,” Mackenzie said as Asher dropped to his knees next to me. “Don’t you know I always win?” She laughed wickedly as he grabbed my wrist and pulled my arm away from my face.
“Please stop,” I begged him in a whisper. I tried to find any sign of hope in his eyes, but all I saw was cold callousness as he pulled his elbow back.
I cried out in pain as his fist collided with my cheek sending a burst of light throughout my field of vision. Everything hurt, and a wave of hopelessness overwhelmed me. This time I couldn’t stop the tears. Mackenzie was going to win again. She would never have Lincoln, but she would win nonetheless. She wasn’t going to let me walk out of this.
Asher brutally hit me again, striking me in my mouth and then the eye, which immediately began to swell shut. Mackenzie’s cruel laughter echoed in my ears.
I decided my only hope was to act as if he had beaten me into unconsciousness. I lay still, trying not to react as he hit me again. The taste of blood filled my mouth, and I wondered if he was going to stop before he beat me to death as Mackenzie watched.
Lincoln. I’m sorry, I thought silently. I wanted him to know I had tried to be strong and brave. I had tried to fight them.
I was so lost in my mental distress call to Lincoln that I didn’t realize Mackenzie’s laughter had stopped abruptly.
“Get the fuck off her,” a familiar voice said in a menacing tone.
The weight of Asher’s body on mine was suddenly gone, and I cracked my eyes open. Brody stood behind Mackenzie with one arm around her, his hand wrapped around her neck, holding her against him. His other arm was extended out with his gun pointed at Asher.
Oh. Thank God.
Relief seeped through me. Brody hadn’t abandoned me.
“Jillian?”
My head scraped against the carpet as I nodded. I rolled over so I could crawl away from Asher. Slowly I made it to the couch as Brody held them in a standoff.
Bracing my side where I had been kicked, I pulled myself up to a standing position, using the arm of the couch for support. My hip, ribs, shoulder, and face all throbbed with pain every time I moved, but I was pretty sure Asher hadn’t broken any bones.
“Good girl, Jillian. Now get downstairs. Find a security guard and wait for the police.”
I didn’t want to leave him alone with the two of them, but Brody must have seen my hesitation.
“Go, Jillian! Get out of here!” he commanded.
I stumbled a few steps toward the arched entryway before Mackenzie’s frustrated scream caused me to look back.
She struggled against Brody’s hold. “Asher! Do something!”
The big dumb brute turned and zeroed in on Brody. Taking a step forward, he reached behind his back.
“Get your hands up!” Brody commanded and pressed the gun against Mackenzie’s temple. “Don’t fucking move, asshole. Not one more step.”
My heart pounded as I watched the standoff among the three of them.
Asher let out a hard laugh. “Or what? You’re going to shoot my girl? Believe me. The world would be better off without that crazy bitch in it. But she’s halfway decent in the sack, so I’m afraid I can’t allow that.”
Brody pointed his gun back at Asher. “Don’t fucking move,” he warned, but suddenly he cried out in pain. Mackenzie had copied my move and had sunk her teeth into Brody’s hand causing him to flinch away from her. At the same time, Asher pulled his Taser out of his waistband and pointed it at Brody.
The sound of the gun and the Taser caused me to scream as Brody and Asher fired their weapons simultaneously.
“No!” I yelled as Brody, Asher, and Mackenzie all fell to the floor. Asher screamed as the bullet from Brody’s gun hit him in the upper thigh, passing through his leg before exiting out the window behind him. The glass held its integrity for a split second before cracks began to snake out from the bullet hole, and I flinched as the windowpane shattered with a loud burst. Millions of tiny pieces of glass rained on Asher and down to the pavement four flights below us.
Wind whipped into the room through the broken window, and I turned to see Mackenzie attempting to reach Brody’s gun. Somehow, despite being shot, Asher had managed to hit Brody with his Taser. Brody now lay twitching on the floor, incapable of stopping Mackenzie from getting his gun.
Knowing how much pain Brody was in, I wanted to stop Asher from electrocuting him, but I had to stop Mackenzie first. If she got ahold of that gun, I was sure both Brody and I were dead.
Pushing past the pain that radiated out of my side, I took a few running steps and dove for Mackenzie. She was partially upright, bent over, reaching for the gun. I grabbed her around her waist as I fell to the ground away from the gun, taking her with me.
I cried out in pain as I landed on my back. Mackenzie landed on top of me, and it felt like all her weight was pressing on the tender areas from Asher’s beating.
She recovered quicker than I could and in a matter of seconds was on her feet again, making another attempt for the gun. I gasped for breath through the pain as I forced myself onto my feet. She might have been faster than I was getting up, but I could run faster since she was still wearing her heels. I put my head down and plowed into her side with my shoulder.
Both of us flipped over the back of the lime-green couch, and I grabbed my side, trying to prevent more injury as I landed on the floor. Mackenzie landed a few feet away.
The gun was now closer to me than her.
Ignoring my pain, I forced my muscles to move quickly as I crawled to the weapon. I stood up straight, pointed the gun at Mackenzie, and smiled at her with triumph.
She slowly rose to her feet and glared at me. “You’re so stupid,” she said with a voice full of hate.
I ignored her words and glanced back at Asher. A large pool of blood had formed under him, and it looked like he was barely conscious. I wondered if the bullet had hit an artery.
My head swung back to Mackenzie who had taken advantage of me being distracted and was now a step closer to me.
“Stop the Taser,” I demanded, speaking to Asher even though I wasn’t taking my eyes off Mackenzie again.
Brody remained twitching on the floor as Asher ignored my order. Mackenzie crossed her arms over her chest and smirked at me.
“Look at you. What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Do you even know how to use a gun?”
She had called my bluff. I had no idea how to use a gun, but to be honest, as mad as I was, I could figure it out.
She laughed again. “God! It’s so fucking typical. You need to learn your place, and it definitely isn’t in Lincoln’s bed or behind that gun.”
Rage built inside me as she spoke. The gun in my hand felt so heavy, so powerful. I could easily pull the trigger and make all our problems disappear. She had caused so much pain. How many lives had she ruined? Three of her friends were in prison. Asher was bleeding to death on the floor. Lincoln’s father’s career could be in ruins. And the only thing she cared about was herself. I wo
uld be doing everyone a favor if I just pulled the trigger. Just a little squeeze. So tempting… So very tempting…
My heart felt like it was being torn in half. All this hate. I wasn’t used to feeling this way. It went against every fiber of my being to have this much negativity and animosity toward someone, but I wanted her to suffer. Shooting her would be too easy. She deserved to rot in a jail cell for the rest of her life. I wouldn’t let this hatred I had for her change who I was. The woman Lincoln loved would never shoot someone just to make life easier.
While keeping the gun pointed at Mackenzie, I quickly looked over my shoulder and assessed Asher. He was even paler now, the pool of blood even bigger.
I looked back at Mackenzie. “He’s going to die if he doesn’t get help soon. Can’t you see how much blood he’s lost?”
She scoffed. “You think I care about him? He was just a pawn in my game. He was handy to have around. He knew how to get that shit Kallie put in your drink, and he turned out to be extremely creative when it came to revenge. So I kept him happy while he did my bidding, but clearly he’s no use to me now.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She was a sociopath. She had to be. “How can you be so callous? Don’t you care about anyone other than yourself?”
She scoffed and put one hand on her hip. “Why should I? You fucking care about everybody, even worthless Daisy, and where has that gotten you? You’re the same pathetic freak show from freshman year.”
“Just tell me why. What did I ever do to you to make you be so cruel to me?”
“It’s like I’ve been saying. You need to learn your fucking place. You have never deserved to be with Lincoln, and you never deserved to be my roommate. You were never good enough to share my living space. I’m fucking royalty. I should never have been forced to live with a disgusting pig like you.”
She was insane, but her words no longer hurt me. I didn’t care what she thought of me. I knew it wasn’t true. I had Lincoln and my friends and family. They were the only people whose opinions mattered. It had taken me a long time to realize that, and now that I had, I wanted to defend myself.
