“Once you do sign, you must have these on you at all times.” She slides three things across the table as a further prompt. A mobile phone, an X card, and a small box. “It’s mandatory until the contract between you and my client is terminated.”
Finally, moving over to the table, I pick up the box, and when I open the lid, a silver ring taunts me from a velvet cushion. A silver X ring, though smaller. Delicate. Obviously, for a woman. “Did he give a ring like this to every woman who signed?”
“Of course.”
Anger bubbles inside of me as I incline my head toward the phone. “Can I call him?”
She eyes me cautiously before shaking her head. “No. If he wishes to contact you, he will. But you can’t call him.”
“Who’s the tacky one now?” I mumble under my breath.
“Pardon?”
“How do I send him a message?”
“Through me,” she answers proudly, as if controlling Milton’s contacts makes her superior. “If there is ever an emergency, you call me. My number is already programmed in.”
“Ok, well, I have an emergency now, actually, or not, I don’t know.” Stepping closer, Lisa instinctively leans back. Not that she’s able to move very far, and taking that to my advantage, I capture the lapels of her jacket. She gasps with surprise, her brown eyes wide and startled. “What I do know is that it would be wise to tell Mr. Hood to go fuck himself. You’re clearly misinformed about the nature of this so-called relationship between us. I’m not like his other bitches. If he wants to shut me up, tell him to come to do it himself. Unless he can’t handle it. You got that?”
She nods frantically, her cheeks as red as her lips. “Y-Yes.”
Letting go of her, I pick up the stack of papers and shove them into her chest. “Now, get out.”
“But—”
“Get out!”
Shoving the documents messily back inside the briefcase, she leaves. The moment the door closes, a wave of dizziness has me falling to the ground.
Shit.
Pulling myself upright, I sit for a long time with tears spilling down my cheeks. The ache in my chest is so damn depressing. I don’t know why my life is so fucked up. Pushing my fingers through my hair, I squeeze the roots and let out a violent scream, loud enough that one of the girls next door laughs at me.
“Shut up!” I yell at her, kicking my foot against the wall. She just continues laughing. Laughing. Laughing. Hugging my knees to my chest, I rock back and forth. It goes dark outside quickly, and the mobile Lisa gave me has rung out twice since she left. The nurses have long since finished their rounds, forcing me to take lots of little pills, all the while ignoring the phone and other things I shouldn’t have on the table.
How silly of them to not question the items on my desk. I mean, there is the chance of swallowing the ring and choking myself to death…or rubbing the edge of the card over the cuts on my wrists until it slices through something detrimental.
What would they say then?
We didn’t know she had them. She must’ve had someone smuggle them in.
Before I ponder further on that thought, the door opens behind me. No one is supposed to be here. It’s after hours, and the door is meant to be locked, which makes me wonder if the nurses purposefully left it open.
With booted footsteps, such a sound shouldn’t make something hot and sick spread through me. Yet here I am, feeling just that, my heart jumping to my throat as he says, “How do you want to do this?”
Hysteria bubbles in my chest, and I can’t help laughing as I sense his presence behind me, deciding to taunt instead of adhering. Didn’t he say I loved playing the victim? “Do what?”
“What I must do to shut you up.” His irritated tone sends multiple shivers through me. “Is that not what you asked Ms. Calderway to tell me? To come to do it myself?”
“Thought I’d present you the opportunity to further be a dick.”
Large hands grab my arms. Picking me up easily, he pushes me against the wall, pinning me from behind. I’ve yet to see his face, but I can imagine it. The spark of fury in his eyes drilling into the back of my head for baiting him.
I push back against him, bending my arm to jab him with the end of my elbow. Not that it does any damage, as all I hit is hard muscle. Keeping me against the wall with his hips, he grabs my arms and clamps them to my sides. “Get off me!”
“Stop fighting me. You don’t want to wake up your neighbors and have them think you’re having a bad dream…or a good one. You’re a little messed up in that department, aren’t you?”
“Fuck you.” He turns me then, and I’m now facing him.
As I envisioned, his expression is one of fury, which I’m glad for. He’s also wet from the rain outside, currently beating against the window. The droplets on his jacket seep through my shirt as his scent invades my nostrils—faded cologne and rain.
Donning a black leather jacket, dark jeans, and boots, the Milton I once knew has returned. Seeing him in his motorcycle gear takes me back to the multiple times he looked as he does now. Pissed. Frustrated.
All because of me.
“You almost gave Lisa a heart attack. Though, I guess I should have told her this wasn’t a romantic endeavor.”
“Then what is it?”
He shrugs nonchalantly. “You liked what I did too much.”
“Do you honestly think I’d sign just so you can have another taste of me? I’m guessing those other women you put a muzzle on didn’t quite match up, or you wouldn’t be asking someone you hate to sign themselves over to you.”
In the darkness, with moonlight pouring
