Addictive

by Jessica Prince

  His jerky movements become faster and less coordinated until he’s hissing his release against my hair. I stay still as a statue as he moves from behind me and stands up off the mattress. “I’ll return tonight, my love. It’s time I show you who you belong to.”

  Thankfully, he turns and leaves the room at that moment because I can’t hold it back any longer. Darting to corner of my room, I empty the small contents of my stomach onto the concrete floor, heaving painfully until there’s absolutely nothing left to come up. Once I catch my breath, I move to go back to the mattress. As I turn, I can feel the cold dampness of his release on the back of my pants. Moving as if I’m on fire, I rip the offending clothing from my body and throw it across the room.

  Determination courses through me once I’ve finished vomiting for the second time in a handful of minutes. I’m getting out of here if it kills me. He will not touch me tonight. I know who I belong to…and it is not Eduardo Almaraz.

  ***

  I’ve made sure to eat everything that’s been given to me since what I can only assume was this morning seeing as Eduardo has yet to return. I need to ensure I have the strength necessary to escape. Anxiety and fear churn through me as I prepare to put my plan into motion. I’ve done nothing but count all day between meals and I’ve estimated there are about four hours between each one. That means the knock on the door should be coming any minute now, if I’ve counted correctly.

  Wearing nothing but my t-shirt, panties and shoes—I refuse ever to put those pants on again. If I could, I’d set them on fire—I wait for the knock. The second it comes, I grab the empty tray and move to stand next to the door. The minute it opens, I suck in a breath and prepare myself for what I’m about to do.

  Eduardo’s man moves through the open door and I can see it, confusion etched into his brow when he sees the mattress empty. Before he has a chance to turn his head in my direction, I swing with every ounce of strength I have in my body.

  The metal tray cracks against his face so hard I feel the bone jarring vibrations all the way up my arms. Blood spurts from his nose, running out through his fingers as he covers his face with both hands and yells in pain. Without hesitation, I raise the tray in the air and bring it down on the back of his head, sending the man to the floor. He moans and curses as he shifts himself to his back. The moment he does, I take position, standing with one foot on either side of him. His eyes grow wide with realization just seconds before I finish what needs to be done. Bringing the tray down again, as hard as humanly possible, I jamb the molded edge into his neck with enough force to crush his windpipe. He immediately starts choking and gurgling, gasping for air. With one final well-placed hit, I guarantee that the man will never get up again.

  Dropping the tray, I stick my head out the door and scan the hall for signs of anyone else. When I see it’s clear, I slowly close the door to my room and engage the lock before darting down the hall. I quietly open every door I come across in the hope of finding Carmen behind one of them. It takes three tries, but when I open that third door, I find Carmen’s slumped form leaning against the wall. Rushing into the room, I push the door to, making sure to leave it open a crack so we aren’t locked in.

  “Carmen,” I whisper in a frantic voice as I run to her. “Carmen, honey, we have to go.” I scan the room for anything that will cover her nude body and find what looks like the clothes she must have been wearing when they took her. I grab them and start trying to slip them on as she lets out a groan. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to hurt you, but we have to get out of here now.” I get her pants up, not bothering to fumble with the zipper and button, and pull her shirt over her head. By the time I’ve pulled it down to reveal her bruised and swollen face, she’s come to enough to lift her arms through the sleeves.

  “Okay, let’s go.” Swinging her arm over my shoulder, I hoist her from the mattress and we head for the door. She hisses in pain with each step, but she keeps moving no matter what. The hallway is clear so we bolt out, moving as fast as we can, considering the shape Carmen is in. When we get to the end of the hall I look around to make sure no one is there. Spotting a big, metal double door I can only pray is an exit, I shift Carmen’s weight and prepare to make a run for it.

  We’re two steps out of the hallway when everything instantly goes to hell. Gunshots start going off in all directions and Carmen and I throw ourselves to the ground to get out of the line of fine. The doors I was heading for burst open and people start rushing in like cockroaches. With my arm around Carmen’s waist, I drag us back to the cover of the hallway, praying for an alternate exit. More gunshots and shouting can be heard behind us. Utter chaos is ensuing all around us, but we can’t stop.

  I fear my heart will beat out of my chest, but I have no choice but to keep pushing. We have to get out. That’s our only chance of surviving. Carmen knows that as well, that’s why she’s struggling as hard as she can to stay with me. I know she must be in agony, but she keeps moving.

  Taking a left when we reach the end of the hall, I notice another set of double doors and almost cry out in relief. The bedlam going on behind us appears to be getting closer, the noises almost deafening. We reach the doors and push with all our might, both of us letting out a hopeful breath when we discover them unlocked. Stumbling through the doors Carmen lets out a whimper when we see that we’re in a stairwell. We can’t go back the direction we came or we risk being shot. There’s no other choice; we have to go up.

  “Can you do this?” I ask, concerned her body won’t allow her to ascend the multiple flights of stairs.

  She looks over at me and attempts a smile that falls flat. “Don’t have much of a choice, do I? Let’s go.”

  We somehow make it up the three flights without stumbling or falling and shove through the unmarked door at the top.

  Please let there be a way out. Please let there be a way out. There has to be a fire escape or something. This can’t have all been for nothing. I refuse to believe that.

  We get through the only door at the top of the stairwell and I grab Carmen tighter, beginning to run as fast as possible while carrying her weight. My only plan is to check each dark window for a way down, when a chilling voice from behind us causes me to freeze in my tracks.

  “Going somewhere, my love?”

  Carmen and I spin around to find four guns pointed in our faces, Eduardo, and three of his men standing there, poised to shoot. The moonlight shining through the busted out windows provides enough light to make out everything in the room clearly. Carmen’s shoulders begin to shake as she silently cries, and I can’t hold back my own tears. We were so close. So fucking close!

  I take a step back, dragging my friend with me, prepared to make a run for it, but it’s pointless. His men rush us, one of them pulling Carmen from my arms, the other wrapping his meaty arm around my throat. Both Carmen and I have guns pressed to our temples, and the anger begins to bubble up inside of me as I stare into the eyes of the one man I hate more than anything in this world. “You’ll have to shoot me,” I snarl. “I’d rather die than be stuck with you for another goddamned second!”

  Eduardo stalks forward and swings his hand through the air, backhanding me across the face, one of his rings catching the skin on my cheek and ripping it open. “You will not be shot, my Marlena. But rest assured, because of your insolence, your friend here will die.”

  “No!” I shout as Carmen cries harder. Eduardo moves to Carmen and presses his gun to her forehead as I scream at the top of my lungs, but something happens before he has the chance to pull the trigger. The door leading to the stairwell bursts open as three men rush into the room.

  “Marley!”

  At the sound of Gabriel’s voice, my knees weaken. Eduardo’s man holding on to me is the only thing keeping me standing. Eduardo’s men whirl around, taking Carmen and me with them so we’re all facing off with Gabriel, Aldo, and Carlo, each man holding a gun.

  “Let them go,” Gabriel demands, his voice darker than I’ve ever hear
d before. The deadliness of it sends a chill down my back.

  “Marlena belongs. To. ME!” Eduardo shouts, his face turning red with rage as he jerks me out of his man’s arms and pins my back to his chest, his own gun pointed at my temple. Turning my gaze to Gabriel, I lock eyes with his beautiful gray ones trying to communicate with him. I was so afraid I’d never get the chance to see that beautiful stormy color again. He’s staring into mine just as hard, giving me an indiscernible head shake, and I know he understands what I’m about to do, the look of terror in his eyes telling me he’s against it. But there’s no other choice. “You will never have her!” Spittle flies from Eduardo’s mouth and lands on my cheek. “Do you understand me? NEVER!”

  Holding my hand up for only Gabriel and his men to see, I raise up one finger, getting another, more noticeable headshake from Gabriel. With my second finger up, Aldo turns slightly, lining his gun up with the man holding Carmen. I raise my third finger in the air, close my eyes, and suck in a breath, praying this works.

  Moving fast, I cock my head forward then slam it back into Eduardo’s face like I was taught in every one of my self-defense classes. Stars dance across my vision as Eduardo yells out, but I ignore the throbbing in the back of my skull and feel when Eduard’s hold loosens. I shove my right elbow back into his solar plexus, causing him to stumble backwards, giving me the perfect opportunity to hit the ground and cover my head. Time seems to slow the moment the first gun is fired. What only takes seconds, feels like it’s lasting a lifetime. Gunshots echo from every direction of the large room, and in my peripheral vision, I see Carmen hit the ground next to me. Using my arms and feet to scoot myself across the floor, I grab hold of her arm and roll her.

  “Are you hit?” I yell over the shots.

  Her wide blue eyes look back at me, completely stunned as she vehemently shakes her head. She looks back at the man that had, only seconds ago, been holding her and I follow her gaze. One clean bullet hole through his forehead. Aldo knew exactly what I was going to do, and he was prepared for it. He made sure to cover his girl first.

  As quick as it started, the shooting comes to an abrupt stop, and before I can take a breath, I’m being pulled from the ground.

  “No!” I screech, kicking and screaming, trying to get away.

  “My bella,” Gabriel’s voice rumbles in my ear. Spinning around, I see him, standing before me without a scratch. A sob bursts free from me as I jump into his arms, wrapping mine around his neck as tight as possible. Burying my face in his neck, I suck in a deep breath, relishing the scent of Gabriel, my Gabriel, as I cry uncontrollably. His warm palm skates up and down my back as he whispers soothing sounds in my ear. When my wracking sobs finally taper off, he pulls my face from his neck and cups my cheeks in his hands, leaning down so we’re eye to eye.

  “If you ever do anything like that again, I’ll tan your ass so red you won’t be able to sit for a fucking month! I’ll cuff you to my bed and keep you there forever!”

  All I’m able to hear over the blood rushing through my ears is ‘keep you forever’. Another wave of tears crashes over me and I bury my face in his chest until I’m able to control myself.

  A deep, masculine groan from behind me causes me to jump and spin around. Lying on his back in the middle of three dead men is Eduardo. I’m set to run until I notice him gripping his bloody shoulder, his gun nowhere near him. Carlo is standing over him with his gun pointed at his head.

  “Marley,” Carmen’s ragged voice pulls my attention away from Eduardo, and I turn to see her wrapped in Aldo’s arms. Untangling myself from Gabriel’s hold at the same time she pulls from Aldo, I rush to her and wrap her in my arms, each of us holding tight as we cry.

  “Are you okay?” I ask brokenly.

  “I’ll live,” she answers, her voice cracking as well.

  “I’m so sorry, Carmen. I’m so, so, so sorry. This is all my fault. I’ll never forgive myself.”

  “Shh,” she whispers in my ear. “Not your fault, babe. You weren’t the sick, twisted fuck who took me.”

  I squeeze her tighter on a sob. “He wouldn’t have taken you if it hadn’t been for me. You suffered because you were my friend.”

  Carmen pulls back and looks me in my eyes. “And I’ll always be your friend. I love you,” she tells me softly

  “I love you, too,” I reply just as softly.

  Movement to my side has Carmen and me stepping away from each other. When I look over, I see Eduardo roll to his knees and push up to look directly at me.

  Gabriel comes to my side, sliding his arm around my waist as I stare at my devil. Wrapped in Gabriel’s secure arms, all my fears fall away. As long as he’s by my side, I feel safe. I’m not scared of Eduardo any longer. I simply hate him.

  “Police will be here soon,” Gabriel tells me. I look over at him and see him studying the man who stole his family from him. This is it; this is his moment for the revenge he’s craved for years.

  Eduardo begins to laugh. “She’ll never be yours,” he cackles maniacally. “She’ll always be mine. I’ll never let her go. Even prison won’t keep me from her.”

  Hearing his words, I know he’s right. Unless Eduardo Almaraz no longer walks this earth, Gabriel and I will never be truly safe. This is it. This is the moment Gabriel has been tirelessly searching for years to reach. This is his chance for revenge.

  Placing my hands on his cheeks, I look into those brilliant gray eyes I’ve grown to love with all of my heart. “This is it, baby. Get your revenge, it’s what you deserve.”

  His fingers slide over my cheek, brushing a strand of hair from my face. “I don’t need revenge anymore, my bella. I have you.”

  Standing on my tiptoes, I kiss him, pouring every ounce of love and passion I have for him into it, memorizing the feel of his lips against mine.

  “You belong to me, Marlena. You will always belong to me,” Eduardo hisses from his place on the floor. “I will haunt you for the rest of your life.”

  Determination courses through me as I make my decision. This ends, tonight.

  I’m done running. I’m done hiding, too afraid to live the life I know I deserve.

  Reaching for Gabriel’s hand, I slowly take the gun from him, looking up at him with the question in my eyes. He nods slowly and places another kiss on my lips.

  Turning on my heels, I make my way to Eduardo and crouch down so I’m eye to eye with my devil.

  “No you won’t,” I tell him. “When I walk out of this room I’m leaving every memory of you behind me.” His eyes widen in shock as I stand to my full height and lift the gun in my hand. “My heart and my body belong to Gabriel Bertozzi; every single part of me belongs to him. And it always will.”

  I take one final second to register the anguish in Eduardo’s eyes.

  Then I pull the trigger and end it.

  3 months later

  “Honey, I’m home.”

  Hearing her beautiful voice ring through our apartment every day is something I’ll never grow tired of hearing.

  “In the kitchen,” I call back.

  I listen intently as the sound of her footsteps grows closer and closer to me. Christ, just the thought of her has my cock standing at attention. The door to the kitchen swings open and my light walks through, gracing me with the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.

  “What are you doing?” she asks curiously, as she takes everything in.

  “I’m making dinner, what’s it look like?” I laugh.

  “It looks like you fired Jane. So help me God, Gabriel, if you got rid of her, I’m going to kick the shit out of you.”

  Her brows are furrowed, her mouth a tight line of frustration. She’s so fucking cute I just can’t help but laugh. Putting down the knife and walking away from the cutting board, I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her soft lips. I’ll never grow tired of this either.

  “I didn’t fire Jane.” She breathes a sigh of relief and visibly relaxes in my arms. “Are you kidding me? I’m pre
tty sure the apartment would crumble around us without her.”

  Marley smiles against my lips and nods in agreement. “It absolutely would. You’ve already told me I can’t cook for shit, and I’m too busy with school to clean. Jane’s a staple in our life.”

  Letting her go, I step back to the vegetables and begin cutting once more. “So what’s the special occasion,” she asks as she sits on the barstool across the island from me.

  “What? A man can’t cook for his woman every once in a while?”

  Her head falls back in laughter, the sound music to my ears. Yet another thing I’ll never grow tired of. “A regular man, sure. But you? I don’t think so.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means you’re Gabriel Bertozzi,” she says in a deep, mocking voice. “The man who always gets what he wants. Not the man who slaves away in the kitchen cooking for his girlfriend.”

  I grunt at her slightly insulting, yet all too accurate portrayal of me, and ask, “How was your day?” desperate for a change of subject. If she keeps digging, she’s bound to ruin the surprise.

  She lets out a dejected sigh, drawing my eyes back up to hers. “It was okay.”

  “Only okay,” I ask curiously.

  Propping her elbows on the counter top, she rests her face in her hand. “School was good. Now that I’m able to go full time, I’m excited to hurry up and finish.” That’s just one of the many things that changed once Eduardo was gone from our lives. Marley never went back to Fletcher’s. It took many arguments, seeing as my girl is as difficult as they come, but I finally got her to relent and let me take care of her once I fucked the fight out of her, several times. I have no doubt she’ll make an exceptional social worker one day.

  “Then what brought it down to just ‘okay’?”

  “I went to see Carmen again.” I hear the tears in her voice and see her struggle to hold them back, and it absolutely guts me. Seeing her friend, normally so full of passion for life, struggle just to make it through the day is tearing at her. She wants to be able to fix it, and not having an instant cure is driving her out of her mind. She tells me she knows what happened with Almaraz wasn’t her fault, but a part of me thinks she’s still holding on to pieces of her guilt.