“I can’t wait to get inside you. You have no idea what you’re going to do for the—”
“Shut up, you fucking idiot!” Kendrick bellows, and a harsh slap has the guy letting go of my ass, and I bolt to the safety of the kitchen. Ten feet isn’t enough.
I need ten lifetimes to get as far away as I want.
Opening the fridge door, I appreciated all the different foods we got at the market yesterday. Fruits, cheeses, vegetables, and meats. The cold air from inside the fridge sends a chill running through my body. Something is telling me I am running out of time.
And I need to dig down deep for the need to survive. I have to wake up. I need to start caring about myself again. Kendrick has spent years brainwashing me, making me this compliant little bitch. I was meant to be more.
I grab a few pieces of fruit from the fridge and take the biggest knife from the block that I can find and start to chop. I glare at the men, slicing the cucumbers, apples, and oranges with more force than necessary, wishing it was their cocks I was ruining. I lay the knife down and think of my options.
If I run… I might be able to disappear into the woods or the security guards would shoot me, and I’d die. What would the difference be? Dying in attempt to survive instead of dying at the hands of the monsters waiting around the table to prove they are my worst nightmare?
I thrust my shoulders back and grab the assortment of fruits and veggies off the counter and bring it over to the table. I plaster a smile on my face as I set it in the middle. “I thought you would like a snack before I start to cook.”
“I’d like a snack alright,” the blond says, wrapping his hand around my wrist and tugging me around the brunette until I am sitting on his lap, and his hands cup my breasts.
“Please, let me go. Kendrick, please, tell them to let me go. You didn’t give permission for them to touch your pet.” My eyes water, and no matter how hard I try to get away from him, he tightens his hold on me.
“If you are my pet, you are their pet. We are one in the same, my sweet.” Kendrick watches eagerly as the blond touches me.
“Can I make her come, Kendrick? Has she been a good girl?” the blond murmurs against my ear, but the question is directed toward Kendrick, as if he is the boss.
“If you can. She’s stubborn.”
“Please, don’t,” I cry, wishing I had the knife in my hand. I can’t let him touch me. It has been too long since I was properly touched, and whether I want it or not, I have a feeling I’ll go off like a bottle rocket. “Please, let me go.”
“She’s being disobedient, Kendrick. I thought you said she was a good pet?” the blond sneers and bites my ear so hard, I cry out in pain.
“You have my permission to do what you need to make her submit to you,” Kendrick says the worst thing imaginable.
The blond brings his hand down on my face and then slams my forehead against the table. I see stars and blood trickles from somewhere on my forehead. My entire body feels numb and the fight I had moments ago is gone. It’s four against one.
My chances are slim to none.
He hands dart between my legs and find my clit, as if he has done this a hundred times. Tears slide down my face as the first electric buzz makes my thighs shake.
“I knew you’d like it,” he whispers. “Just relax. I can make you feel good.”
“I don’t want you to make me feel good,” I say, bending my head down. In one last effort, I swing back and smash my skull into his face. His hands drop from around my waist and from between my legs, and I bolt toward the kitchen, grab the knife, and I don’t look back.
I keep running down the hall, passing the blank canvases of the wall, and where the back door narrows, like a light at the end of a tunnel, I push myself faster, pumping my legs until they shake.
“Gabriella!” Kendrick roars and I hear a crash behind me and a stampede of footsteps. “Get your ass back here before I decide to punish you.”
I’ll never turn back. Whatever the hell they have planned for me, I’m not going to be a part of their sick little group. My hand lands on the knob, twists, and the wind blows over my bare body. I twist the robe around me in a hurry, careful not to cut myself with the knife I have in my hand.
The balcony overlooks the ocean. I isn’t that high up, but it’s the only way I can get away from them. I climb over the rail and stare at the sea below me. The fall could kill me, or I could stay, and get raped, which is what it sounds like their plan consists of in some way, shape, and form.
“Get down from there, Gabriella. You have no idea what you’re doing! What you’re risking!” he shouts over the gust of wind.
“I know I’m getting free of you.” I turn my head to give Kendrick one last parting glass. “I fucking hate you.” With a grunt, I toss the knife through the air, and Kendrick jumps out of the way, slamming against the rail that lines the balcony. The butcher knife pierces into the blond’s chest, the one who touched me, and nothing feels more satisfying than watching blood drip off the blade and spurt from his mouth. “Karma can be a bitch,” I say my last words to Kendrick and then he lunges for me, but not in time.
Without any fear, I step off the balcony and fall through the air. I should be afraid, but all I feel is liberation. Why didn’t I do this sooner? The air whips around me, my eyes water from the quick speed of the breeze, and my robe cone undone. I spread my arms out, flying to my death, and close my eyes.
I hit the water so hard, it
feels like concrete. I can’t breathe. I open my mouth to get air, but water fills my lungs instead. I let my body sink into the unknown depths of blue and blink my eyes while the current took me away.