Cruel Obsession (The Obsession Duet 1)

“Put this on.” He throws a bag in front of my feet, and I quickly realize it’s the clothes I wore the day they brought me in. I change out of my inmate uniform and into my old worn jeans and T-shirt.

Then it hits me. I’m about to walk out of here. Free. But I have nowhere to go. I hate to admit it, even to myself, but here I know what was coming every morning. Every day was the same, an endless cycle of structure and routines. On the outside, there is nothing but chaos.

I’ll be lost.

Twenty minutes later, I’m outside, standing in a parking lot with nothing but two twenty-dollar bills in my hand. What the fuck am I supposed to do now?

I start walking down the sidewalk, not knowing what else to do. I can’t just stand there. I make it about half a mile down the road when a blacked-out SUV pulls up to me. The window is being rolled down, and some guy appears on the other side.

“I don’t need a ride,” I bark out before he can say a word.

“You must be Zane,” the guy I’ve never seen before says.

“How the fuck do you know my name?” I stop walking, and the car stops moving at the same time.

“I’m Christian, and I’m the one who got you released early.”

“And why would you do that?” I ask suspiciously.

“Why don’t you get in and we can talk about it.”

“I’m not getting into that car with you to suck your cock. Go ask what happened to the last guy who tried that shit. Oh, wait, you can’t, ’cause I fucking killed his ass.”

The guy named Christian throws back his head and starts laughing out loud. He laughs for ten minutes straight before he can compose himself enough to talk again.

“I like you already, Zane. Don’t worry, I’m not into that either. I want you to work for me… taking care of people. Just like you took care of that guy you were talking about.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“Anything you want. Money, power, women, drugs. Name it, and it’s yours.”

Maybe I should have just kept walking that day. Maybe I could have kept her safe in a different way. I guess I’ll never find out. The past is the past, and there is nothing I can do to change any of that now. My eyes fall shut, and this time, I can’t pry them back open. I fade in and out of consciousness, knowing deep down, that this is it. I’m going to die.

Pictures of everything I’ve ever loved in my life flash before my eyes, every single one an image of Dove.

23

Forcing air into my lungs, I focus on each step I take. The last thing I want to do is trip and fall or injure myself. I’m not sure who is after us, but I don’t want to find out. The fear in Zane’s eyes was enough for me to stop asking questions and just listen.

I should be jumping for joy right now, planning my escape, but I can’t even consider that knowing that Zane is back there going through god knows what. Yes, I know I should feel different, but I can’t. I just can’t. My stomach churns when I think about something bad happening to him. Shit, I think I’m going to be sick. Gripping onto the metal railing, I stop on the stairs and gulp precious oxygen into my lungs.

It feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest. Like no matter how much air I breathe in, I’m never really catching my breath. A door opens a flight above me, and I force my feet to move, carrying me down the stairs. I don’t make it but a few feet before I hear someone descending the steps. No. Not someone, there are two sets of footsteps. Two people.

“You can run, but you can’t hide…” That voice is like nails on a chalkboard, and fear trickles down my spine at the sound. Immediately, I start running down the steps. I need to get out of this stairwell. It’s like a trap. If I stay here, I’m as good as caught. Dead.

When I get to the bottom floor, I grab the door handle and twist it open. Cold air whips through my hair as I make it outside. The door falls shut behind me and I get ready to start running down the street when I stop dead in my tracks. Two men standing a mere ten feet away, smiles that promise horrible things on their faces.

What do I do? Where do I go?

Like a trapped mouse, I look for a way out, but there isn’t one. I can’t go back into the stairwell. I can’t go forward either.

“Give it up, baby, just come with us, and maybe we’ll take it easy on you… maybe we won’t kill you right away. We can always have a little fun, give you a little pleasure…”