Best of 2017

Terror claws its way up my throat, but I don’t fight him when he grips my elbow. Willingly, I walk with him across the street. He opens up the passenger door and closes it behind me once I’m seated. My gaze flits across the street and I’m thankful to see Gwen staying on her side of the road with her phone pressed against her ear. Vaughn slides into the driver’s seat and wastes no time peeling out into the busy traffic.

The silence is deafening.

I’m too afraid to look at him or speak to him. When I finally chance a peek, he’s gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles are white. His jaw is hard and his thick neck muscles keep ticking.

This is bad.

This is so bad.

I suck in a frantic breath but will myself to calm down. I need to think and plan. He doesn’t know I have my phone yet, so if my stalker boyfriend is tracking me—which I have no doubt he is—then maybe he’ll find me.

“I’ve looked for you for a long time,” he tells me, his voice every bit as cold as I remember. “Your style has changed since I saw you last.” His gaze roams up my bare legs as he takes in my sleek pencil skirt and bright pink cashmere button-down blouse. “You look like a damn naughty librarian.”

I look down into my lap but don’t speak. I’m too afraid of setting him off. He’s calm right now but I know his monster will rear its ugly head sooner than I’d like.

“You know,” he grits out. “I was so fucking pissed when I found out you bailed on me that night. I mean, I get it. I shouldn’t have lent you to that asshole. But, angel,” he says as his strong hand rests on my thigh. “I killed him for you. You should have seen me as a hero.”

My body begins to tremble and as a physiological response to this monster, my leg begins to go numb where he touches me. At one time, I was able to numb everything. Even my mind.

“You were always quiet, Letty Spaghetti, but never this quiet. What’s got a grip on your throat?” he growls. “I know it sure as hell ain’t me. But it will be soon.”

My phone buzzes against my breast, and I pray he doesn’t hear it. Of course my prayers fall on deaf ears because he most definitely hears. With a rough yank, he grabs the material of my shirt and pulls it until the buttons ping off. Then, he snags my phone from my bra. I’m not at all surprised when he tosses it out of the window.

“Your tits look just as nice as I remember,” he praises as he cups my breast over my bra. “I bet your pussy is every bit as perfect too.”

I close my eyes and try to block out his touches. He squeezes my breast so hard that I yelp, popping my eyes back open.

“Your mom says hi,” he tells me with a harsh laugh as he tugs the front of my bra down. His fingers dive beneath the fabric where he pinches my nipple.

“Leave my mom out of this,” I hiss, tears welling in my eyes.

He snorts. “She speaks! She fucking speaks!”

“Please, Vaughn.”

He yanks at my bra until I’m halfway over the console and nearly into his lap as he continues to drive. “I love it when you beg.”

I try to wriggle away from him, but he twists his wrist and my bra tightens around me, causing my ribs to scream in pain. Just when I don’t think I can take much more of it, the clasp in the back breaks and frees me.

“Sit down and enjoy the ride,” he grumbles before shoving me back over into my seat. My bra hangs loose around my breasts. “Give me your shirt and bra.”

Remembering all too well what it means for me to ignore or fight off Vaughn, I immediately jolt into action. Maybe if someone sees me half naked on the highway, they’ll call the cops. One can hope. With shaking hands, I slowly remove my shirt and broken bra. Once he has these in his grip, he tosses them out the window as well.

“What are those?” he bellows, his fiery gaze on my bare tits.

I drop my eyes down to all the hickeys Gray marked me with. The warm memory surges through me causing my nipples to harden in response. After all the hell we went through last night, we still ended up all but fused together.

Gray might be a creepy-ass stalker but I feel safe with him. He doesn’t hurt me. If anything, he loves me when he shouldn’t. I’d been hurt and horrified but I couldn’t push him away. My mind and heart were at odds but my heart won. I’m obsessed with him too. He fills voids in me that I didn’t know were empty. Gray breathes himself into every pore. He takes up space in every part of my being.

“You still whoring it out?” he demands and hits his fist on the steering wheel.

I don’t want to set him off by telling him my boyfriend gave them to me. But I can’t help but jab at him. “I learned from the best.”

His hand flies across the car so fast, I don’t even see it coming. Hard knuckles crack across my cheekbone, causing millions of stars to explode in front of me. My head lolls to the side as I fight for consciousness after the blow to the face.

“I see you’ve turned into a little bitch while you were hiding too,” he snarls. “Time to knock you down a few pegs.”

Something sharp jabs into my leg jolting me awake. I stare down in horror at the syringe sticking out of my thigh.

“What did you just do?” I choke out.

He shrugs but his body relaxes. “I’ve gotten a lot better at keeping my girls compliant, that’s for damn sure. Sleep, Letty. You’ll see Mommy soon.”

Darkness clouds around me as a million thoughts swim in my head. He said girls. As in more than me. I always knew deep down it wasn’t going to just be me.

And then I think of my mother.

I’m going to get to see her.

I COME to as I’m carried into my old childhood home. Even though I’m groggy and confused, the familiar smells of home permeate my senses and warm my heart. My God, I’ve missed this house and my mother. Tears roll out on their own accord. I drag my heavy lids up so I can stare at Vaughn. He’s no longer wearing the ball cap and longish blond hair hangs in his eyes. At one time, I thought he was so handsome.

Now, I’m scared shitless of him.

“W-Where’s my mom?” I croak out.

He smiles at me. I hate his wolfish grins. They’re meant to intimidate me and they always work. “She’s sleeping in her room. You’ll see her later when she wakes up. For now, we have some catching up to do.”

A sob is lodged in my throat. Each of my limbs feels as though they’re weightless. Whatever he gave me makes it so that I can’t feel much. In a way, that’s a blessing. When he hurts me, I won’t feel it.

When we reach my old bedroom, I start to cry harder. Momma left everything just as it was when I ran off with Vaughn. My heart shatters into a million pieces. I should have never gone anywhere with him. I walked right into a nightmare.

He lies me down on the bed and then looms over me. I attempt to move my arms and legs, but they feel like they’re not attached to my body. So when he unzips the side of my skirt and starts yanking it down, I can’t do anything but stare at him. He pulls it away, along with my panties. My shoes have long since disappeared. I’m naked and at his mercy. Just like all those years ago.

Gray, I’m trying so hard to be brave…

Another tear sneaks out when he palms my thigh. His fingers walk up my flesh slowly until he reaches my sex. He slaps it hard and thankfully I don’t feel it. “This isn’t yours to just give away, Letty Spaghetti.”

“I d-didn’t g-give it away,” I whisper.

“So you traded it for something?” he questions, a blond brow raised in question.

“I’m n-n-not for sale or for b-barter.”

He laughs. The dark, sinister sound of it creeps

its way through me and settles in my bones. “It belongs to me. I can do whatever the fuck I want with it. If I want to trade it or your goddamned ass for some meth, I’ll fucking do it. Understand me?”

When he peels off his shirt, I close my eyes so I don’t have to see my name tattooed on his chest. I don’t want to see any part of him. My thoughts drift to Gray. I’d been so crushed finding him under my bed. Everything we’d created together in such a short time felt like it was a fraud. I had every intention of shoving him out of my life for good.

But he consumed me.

Plowed right through my heart like he always seems to do.

Made love to me on the floor of my bedroom and had me forgiving him so easily.

Looking back, I was too harsh on him. Gray is nothing like Vaughn. Crazy, yes. Overwhelming, definitely. Obsessed, you bet.

But evil?

Never.

Strong fingers bite into my jaw and I jerk my eyes open. Vaughn is naked and his cock is hard with a rubber wrapped around it bobbing between us. Thank God I won’t feel this.

“You’re going to come back home to me, Letty,” he tells me as he releases my jaw to grab hold of his cock.

I glare at him. “No.”

Fury flares in his eyes. “You remember the first time you told me no?”

And just like that, I’m launched into a past that is worse than the present.

“I’M NOT READY,” I tell my new boyfriend. Momma always lectures me on how guys only want sex. That you’re supposed to not give it to them because they’ll just leave you once they get what they want. I like Vaughn. I don’t want him to leave me.

“Please,” he begs, his teeth nibbling at my lower lip. He finger fucks me inside my panties under my dress. It feels good—too good.

“I like what we’re doing,” I moan. “Just this.”

He trails kisses down to my throat. When he bites down on my flesh, I cry out. “I want more. Pull my cock out.”

His words warm me. I reach over and desperately tug at his jeans. Once his impressive cock is freed, I stroke it like I’ve done many times.