“You also killed my mother, but you don’t care about that!” she yells back.
“That’s because Bella was the instigator of my rape for over five years. She deserves far worse than I ever did to her. It’s bad enough that the only woman who can get my dick hard is her fuckin’ spawn. But let me tell you something, little girl, she might have been your mother, but that fuckin’ bitch was the worst kind of evil to exist on this earth, far fuckin’ worse than I’ll ever be, that’s for fuckin’ sure.”
I can’t even look at her. I grab my keys and storm out of the house.
“Where are you going?” she yells after me.
“To get some fuckin’ air.”
Chapter Nine
ANISSA
After Finn left, I headed upstairs and put on the t-shirt he gave me, not liking how exposed I was walking around his house completely naked.
As I sit in his living room gazing out to nowhere, the echo of the door slamming replays in my head on a loop. But what’s been haunting me for the last four hours is the haunted look in Finn’s eyes.
I gaze out the back windows of the cabin and stare at the picturesque image of forests and fields that surround the place for miles. Even if I wanted to run, there’s nowhere to run to.
His words have haunted me from the moment he said them. His accusation about my mother is vile and completely contradictory to the woman I knew. That she’d hurt a child is unfathomable to me. But the conviction in his voice, that look in his eyes, he wasn’t making it up. Something had happened to Finn, something horrible, and my mother had a hand in it.
I press the palms of my hands to my eyes, trying to wipe out everything that’s happened the last few days. I wished I’d met Finn under some other circumstances, so my feelings about him wouldn’t be so damn complicated and muddled.
I head up the stairs, but before I make it to the second-floor landing, the door opens, and my feet move back down them to confront the man that has left my brain in a scrambled mess. “You can’t just say shit like that and then leave like nothing happened.”
“Well, well, what do we have here?”
My eyes lock on the face of a man with a vicious scar and snake tattoos covering his bald head. He has a toothpick in his mouth, and he leans back against the island in Finn’s kitchen, his arms crossed. “I came to collect from Finn, but taking from you might be even better.”
“Get the fuck out!” I scream, trying to block out the fear that’s consumed me at having a stranger invade the house.
I assumed that this place was off the grid, Finn’s refuge, a sanctuary from the outside world. I never in a million years expected some random guy to just walk in the front door like he belongs here.
“Sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere, and if Finnigan doesn’t show up soon, I’m gonna be chopping off your hand for insurance.”
My body shakes with fear. I have no idea who this man is, but knowing Finn and his brother, I’m assuming that whoever this guy is, he’s no good. And if he’s looking to collect from Finn, he’s dangerous.
I run down the stairs and try to move past him to get to the front door. It doesn’t matter if there’s nothing around for miles or no one that can save me. At this point, I’d rather be lost in the forest than trapped by this psycho. God knows what he’ll do to me. The irony isn’t lost on me that I’d give anything to be in Finn’s arms right now. Deep down in my gut, I know that man would die for me, and the last thing he’d ever do is hurt me.
I try to pull away from the man, but his arms encircle me, holding me firm to his chest. I feel dirty, like someone has doused me in filth. His touch is clammy, like that of a lizard or snake, some sort of reptilian. The way he touches me is nothing like Finn’s touch. There’s no playfulness to it, no security. This man will kill me without blinking an eye, and he won’t lose sleep over it. My foot kicks from behind, sacking him in the balls, making him drop his hold on me, and I run. I fling open the front door and collide with solid muscle. Finn.
“Where the hell you think you’re going, Slugger?”
“Finn, there’s someone here.”
“Okay?”
“I don’t think he’s friendly. He looks scary, Finn, really scary.”
My words don’t seem to stir Finn up. He’s calm as he listens to me, not at all concerned about the intruder.
“He grabbed me and said that he was gonna cut off my hand, or some shit like that.”