Southern Heart (Southern 5)

He pulls me back to him to get a better grip on me, bending to whisper in my ear, "Now is that any way to say hello to the father of the man you fucked this morning?" The bile now starts to rise up my throat as he yanks my arm back even more.

His front is pressed into my back as he squeezes my arm so hard, I cry out in pain. "I have to say…" His breath floats over on my cheek. "I’m going to have fun with you." I close my eyes and try to rip my arm out of his hand. I must catch him off guard because my arm falls free from his grasp. I take two steps before his arm goes around my waist, and he picks me up. My feet are no longer touching the floor as I struggle in his arm now, squirming to get away from him. My hands grasp his one arm as I try to push him off me.

My survival skills kick in when I lean my head forward just a touch and then whip it back as hard as I can. The back of my head hits his nose first and then the sound of our heads hitting together fills the room. He groans, his arm fallling from around my waist, and I stumble forward, falling again. My head spins with pain, and I blink, seeing spots in front of me, but push on through. I get up and fall again, this time falling on my wrist so hard I can feel something inside snap.

I close my eyes for one second, but it proves to be too long when I feel his hand in my hair. He grips it in his fist and pulls back so hard, the burning starts, and I yell out again.

With my hair in his fist, he turns me around. When he is in front of me, I turn my head, and I kick out with all my might, missing him. He laughs snidely, pulling me even closer to him. He looks down at me. His eyes now roam over my face. He leans in even closer, and I try to back away from him, but with his tight grip in my hair, I don’t move. "I’m going to take my fuckin’ time with you." His hot, sour breath hits my face, causing my stomach to turn over. "When I’m done with you…" He smiles now, almost as if he won. It fills his whole face. "They won’t even be able to piece you together."

"He’ll find me." I find the words in my throat. "He’ll find me, and then he’ll kill you."

He throws his head back and laughs, lowering his guard one more time, giving me a chance to strike him without him seeing. I move my foot back and come up, kicking him in his balls. This time, I don’t miss him. His hand opens, and he bends down to put his hand over his balls. I turn to sprint to the back door. My hands fumble with the lock, slipping from the blood dripping from the middle of my hand. "Come on, come on, come on," I cry out when I finally hear the click of the lock, then I slide the door open and yell, "Mayson!" I don’t know why I yell. I know he can’t possibly hear me. I’m about to take one step out the door when I hear a loud pop. "What the…?" I say, looking over my shoulder and seeing him standing there with a black gun in his hand aimed right at me.

I feel the heat run through me, and then the burning sets in. My legs give out on me, and I fall on them.

My head falls forward as I look down at the same place where we sit in the morning when we watch the sunrise. For the past three weeks, he’s smiled more. He’s looked up and seen the beauty in it. I gave him that, I think to myself as I feel water pouring down over my hand. I look down, seeing the drops of blood now running down my arm. "Mayson," I say his name again, this time in a whisper right before the darkness comes and takes me.

Chapter 31

Mayson

My feet stick to the floor like glue when I hear the words over again. "Alarm was triggered." I look around the room, seeing all the men on their phone as the room starts to spin around me. I open my mouth once, but it feels so fucking heavy. I blink now once, twice, three times.

"This can’t be happening," I mumble. "This isn’t happening." My chest fills with a pain that I’ve never had before. My hand comes up to put pressure on it, hoping the pain goes away, but it doesn’t. Instead, it just gets stronger and stronger.