Bitter Vows (Crimson Falls 1)

“You’ll never find out,” I grit, my jaw ticking with feral rage as I pull open my back door and head out into the garden.

“Oh? Perhaps I should lure her outdoors with a pretty flower. And when I do, I’ll open her with my blade, just like a blossom being cut from the stem. Do you think she’ll bleed red or blue? I can wait to taste.”

“Over my dead body.” The words are out of my mouth before I have time to focus on the fact that he’s so close by that I can practically smell the violence he emanates. My feet move swiftly across the thick lawn.

What I loved about this property is it connects to the Bardot Manor. Our gardens overlook each other, and I can be on their land in about ten minutes. There is a thick outcropping of trees before reaching it, but I’ll get to him, and I’ll kill him once and for all.

“Perhaps I’ll find out sooner,” he tells me. “As you know, curiosity kills the kitten.” A scream pierces the speaker before the line dies. Asshole. I can’t hear anything from where I am, but I quickly make my way down the garden toward the forest that backs up against my property.

I’ll find her. I’ll find him. And when I do, I’m putting a fucking bullet in his head.

9

Scarlett

My throat burns from the scream as I race away from the scary-looking, inked man who stepped out of the shadows. I’m not sure who he is, but I can only guess it’s the gardener, the one I was told to stay away from.

“Come on, pretty girl, come out and play,” he coos from behind me, his deep voice sending sparks of fear through me, and I push forward, trying to get away from him. “I can smell that sweet fear of yours.” His deep voice drips with malice, causing my heart to skitter wildly against my chest.

My long, flowing red hair tangles behind me as thickets and branches snag in my wavy locks. The cool ground beneath my feet causes me to shiver as I race toward the enormous, looming mansion on the other side of the forest.

Footsteps are closing in behind me. I can hear his heavy footfalls, which only have my lungs squeezing, and breathing becomes difficult. I attempt to swallow, but a thick ball of dread threatens to choke me and give me over to the beast behind me.

A howl in the distance forces a squeal of surprise to tumble from my lips. My mother always told me not to go into the woods when I was a kid, but I need to get away from the stranger behind me right now. Another screeching howl comes from somewhere in the darkness, and my heart leaps into my throat.

My lungs burn, and my legs ache.

In, out. In, out.

Breathe, Scarlett.

My heart bangs violently as my lungs slowly start giving out. My breaths are harsh, shallow, and quick. But I push forward, forcing my legs to move quicker, even though I’m ready to pass out. I hit a patch of trees, and then they slowly open as if welcoming me into another world. A house illuminates the darkened world before me with golden light streaming from a few windows.

I’m so close.

The neighbors will help me.

I’m sure they will.

I’m not sure if Estelle or Gray heard me screaming, but someone will figure out I’m gone soon enough. A crack of a branch behind me has another squeal pealing from my lips as I race through the darkness. My skin scrapes and scratches as fearful tears slowly drip from my lashes, making the path blur before me.

I can smell something akin to candle wax, which is strange. And as much as I want to stop, to take a breath because my stomach aches and my chest is tight with exertion, I don’t. My feet hit the edge of the forest, and suddenly, I’m ripped backward, my feet flying into the air as strong, thick arms wrap around my waist and haul me back into the gloom of the trees.

“No!” My scream is silenced by a heavy hand covering my mouth, and the more I fight, the tighter the arms hold on to me. My muffled shouts dissipate into the dense trees behind me as I’m dragged through the murkiness.

“If you keep fighting, little red, you’ll make my cock hard. I like it when little girls squirm,” a deep voice barrels through me, sending ice through my veins, and I still all movement. The man carries me as if I’m weightless, and soon I see a clearing up ahead.

It’s not the same voice from earlier, and I wonder who’s caught me. The nickname little red is what Mr. Shaw called me the night we met at my parent’s house, but I know it can’t be him. He’s not anywhere near Crimson Falls.