“Gunner, take care of the security cameras,” I tell him, and he nods. “Prickett, you’re with me.”
I open the back door and step inside, knowing there’s nowhere for her to run in here. We already chained the front doors shut from the outside. The sound of them rattling makes me smile. At least she understands the severity of her actions.
She looks at us over her shoulder, her hair slapping her in the face. And she takes off to run, but Prickett grabs her, tossing her on top of a table where she rolls off the side to the floor, taking a couple of chairs with her.
Lying facedown, she lets out a groan as she sluggishly tries to get up on her hands and knees. But Prickett yanks her up, bending her over the side of the table and pulling her arms behind her back with one hand. He reaches into his back pocket with the other to retrieve his handcuffs. She begins to regain some strength and starts screaming while she fights him, but he gets them secure and cinches them tight to make her cry out.
I make my way over to the table and pick up one of the chairs that fell over. Spinning it to where it’s backward, I straddle it, placing myself right in front of where her head hangs off the edge. Prickett continues to stand behind her, his forearm in her back, pushing her down onto the wooden surface.
Lifting the knife, I gently press it to her forehead, and her body goes stiff. I slowly run it down the side of her face, pushing her hair out of the way so I can look her in the eyes. They glare at me.
“Hello, Blake,” I say lovingly.
“Just fucking kill me,” she snaps through gritted teeth.
I tilt my head to the side, running the knife down underneath the tip of her chin, and press on the skin, forcing her to tilt her head up more in order to keep from getting cut. “Why would I do that? I love you.”
She snorts at the lie, the action making the pieces of loose hair swirl around her face.
Removing the knife from under her chin, she drops it a little bit, and I dig into my pocket to retrieve her wedding ring. “I thought you’d want this back.” I hold it up in front of her face.
“The only thing I want is a divorce.” She bares her pretty, white teeth. The table rattles when she starts fighting Prickett’s hold.
I forgot how much I enjoyed this side of Blakely. Things were getting a little too comfortable between us before she left. You know, catching those feelings and all because she looked stunning in a dress. Good thing we’re back on track now. “Till death do us part, Blake. And I’m not ready to kill you yet.”
She starts fighting him harder, but he keeps her pinned down. He removes his forearm from her back and instead lays across her, his hands gripping her hair and yanking her head up. The action forces a scream out of her, and I take the opportunity to grab the two pills out of my pocket and shove them into her mouth before slapping my hand over it, sealing them inside.
Her body thrashes, and I stand from the chair, kicking it out of my way. Crouching before her, I place my other hand around her slender neck, holding it in place but not restricting her air.
My face is inches from hers, and I watch tears start to fill her eyes when she tries to shake her head. “It doesn’t matter if you swallow or if they dissolve, Blake. The result is the same.”
She blinks, the action forcing the tears to spill down her cheeks to my hand, smearing the blood of the dead guy I killed in the alleyway. Her nostrils flare before she swallows them with my hand around her neck. “That’s my good girl,” I praise, and she whimpers.
Removing both of my hands, I nod to Prickett. He lets go of her hair as well and gets up off her, walking away to go help Gunner since we’ll be leaving soon.
Standing to my full height, I roll her onto her back, pinning her cuffed arms underneath her. I brush her hair from her tear-streaked and bloody face. She blinks, her eyes growing heavy already. “I hate you,” she whispers.
“I know,” I tell her, running my fingers down over her neck, then her chest to her exposed belly. She’s lost some weight. It makes me wonder just how much she’s gone without to keep this very situation from happening. “But I also don’t care.”
Whimpering, she looks away from me to stare up at the ceiling, slowly blinking as fresh tears run down the side of her face. “How?” she sniffs before licking her lips.