I drop him to the ground, leaving him gasping for the air I withheld from his body. I don’t bother checking to make sure he’s alright. I’m already halfway back to the Jeep before Cason catches up. His chick is leaning against the vehicle with a smirk on her face. She enjoyed seeing this part of our world; I can tell by the darkness dancing in her eyes and the want spread across her face as she watched. She stands straight as I get closer, but her eyes trail over my shoulder to the scene behind me.
“Can I get a ride?” Narni calls behind me, and I glance back just as Goose responds. He motions for her to go with them with a jerk of his head toward his truck bed. Narni looks to me with a cocked brow and asks, “We done here?”
I don’t need her anymore, so I nod. She takes off towards Goose’s truck, and when she reaches him, she slides on to the tailgate and he hands her a beer.
“Thanks for the show.” She raises her beer to us. Cason chuckles with a shake of his head and walks back to the driver’s side. I meet his eyes over the hood and the smirk instantly dissolves from his face.
I watch him. He holds my level stare, but there is something there. He’s trying to hide it from me. He’s not ready for me to know yet.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” I say before I hop in. I don’t have the capacity to deal with Cason’s shenanigans right now.
I throw my head back into the headrest in frustration. I grip my hair and close my eyes while I try to breathe. I’m thankful for the dark tint on Cason’s windows. I don’t need these guys to see their leader break.
I’m back at square one. Missing my girl with nowhere to look.
“He’s lying. He knows something,” Cason says as his door shuts. I look out the window to Jordan as he remains on the ground, panting. Crank is now helping him up onto his feet. He’s rubbing his throat with one hand as Goose pats him on the back. They help him into the back of Goose’s truck and then go back to the tailgate with their beers.
“I know,” I say.
Cason turns to me, looking as lost as I feel. “So what now?”
“I don’t know.” For the first time in my life, I feel hopeless, and it’s not somewhere I want to revisit ever again. Hopeless isn’t a good place for me.
Three-hundred forty.
I stopped counting at three-hundred forty. That is how many drips I’d counted falling from the brown stain that adorns the corner of the tiled ceiling before I gave up on passing the time that way. Now I’m just lying here staring at the puddle on the floor, getting lost in the quiet. Letting the ringing in my ears overcome all other sensations. I’m not sure if Marcus left me down here to rot away or not. I’m not sure why I’m here, or what his goal is. I’ve attracted the attention of an insane man and have spent the last year of my life running from it. But I do know one thing: our ending is almost here. I can feel it. One of us isn’t getting out of this alive, and I’m ready for it to be over. I’m ready to stop running.
The lock clicks on the door as it turns, and it’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. After a while, isolation brings on the thoughts you fight to stave off. Even your worst nightmares become sweeter than the darkest parts of the mind. His presence gives me something to focus on just long enough to keep my sanity intact. Or what is left of it, anyway.
I wasn’t sure he would come back after our last conversation, but he appears in the door reminding me of the reason I’m down here in the first place. I turn my head to watch him closely, but I don’t move to acknowledge his presence. After all, he’s only scum to me. Why would I cater to scum?
“Ah, you’re awake. Good.” He holds a white tray laden with dishes in his hands as he comes farther into the room. “I figured you’d be hungry by now. It’s been days since you’ve eaten.”
He reaches my corner and places the tray on the floor next to the cot slowly. He’s staring at me like I’m a wounded animal prepared to bite at any moment. I can tell he’s afraid I’ll lash out again. I would be too; I don’t know what I’m capable of at this point. I mean, what do I have to lose? Him? Good riddance.
I watch him closely but make no move to reach for the tray. Even if I am hungry, he doesn’t deserve the satisfaction of knowing he is right. He shuffles his feet and clears his throat, like he’s uncomfortable in my presence. I tilt my head and continue to watch. In his eyes, I likely appear like a scared kitten, too afraid to move. He has no idea that I’m an owl perched on a nearby tree, waiting for the perfect moment. Waiting for him to slip up just once. That’s all I need—just one moment.
“Fallon, I’d like to take you out of here. I don’t like to see you so . . . confined.” The sincerity he attempts to lace into his words doesn’t seem quite right. It doesn’t fit him. His jaw is ticking away, and he’s too twitchy. The master of manipulation makes his appearance. I’m honored. It’s what made me fall for him in the first place—the mirage of being
