“Fuck!” Twit let me go, standing over the sink to rinse out his eyes.
I spotted a can of deodorant on the bench and snatched it up while he was occupied, hiding it by my side as I coughed and spluttered. This was my chance to get away. And if I didn’t succeed, I was going to nail that fucker in the eyes so he’d be blinded for life. He deserved to live in darkness.
He turned back to me, putting his face in front of mine so I could see his bloodshot eyes behind blinking lids. I raised the can and pushed down the nozzle as hard as I could, unleashing a chemical cloud offensive.
He screamed like a pig and stumbled backwards, hitting his back on the wall beside the door. Lurching forward, I pulled on the handle and sure enough, it gave way, setting me free. So I thought, until my head was yanked back, putting my neck at a painful angle. He’d gotten hold of the end of my hair. I cursed its long length.
Something rough knocked into my leg and my head snapped forward, suddenly released of its tether. A feral snarl ripped through the room from behind me, drawing out another scream from Twit.
“Fuck off. Dumb mutt. Aargh!”
I turned, unable to believe what I saw. My sweet Ruby was channelling her inner wolf and had her teeth locked onto Twit’s leg, yanking and pulling until blood seeped through his jeans and he fell back on his butt. Every hair on my body stood on end, as if the room was as cold as an ice cave.
Ruby. She’s okay. And she’s saving my life, again.
Kicking out his leg, Twit pulled on her collar, but she switched her grip and latched on to his arm. He wrenched up so the dog was level with his face, her legs leaving the ground. She let go, falling into his lap. Her vicious barks amplified in the small tiled room, making it sound like he was being attacked by a pack, not a lone wolf.
My jaw hung wide, my eyes even wider. It all happened so fast, I couldn’t keep up with her. She jumped at his face with her jaws ready to inflict severe damage. I spun and bolted for the door. I didn’t need to have that imprinted on my brain so I could replay it in my dreams, and I needed a weapon so I could knock him out and get us out of here.
The growls and screams followed me down the hallway as my eyes scanned for a lamp, a vase, a bloody mug … anything! I didn’t care. I just needed...
Why has everything gone quiet?
Ruby trotted up to my legs, her jowls coated and dripping with blood and bits of skin. She sat at my feet and cocked her head to the side as if to say, ‘are you okay, mum?’ I was sure all my blood had drained to my legs and my head had detached from my neck, leaving me numb as the room warped out of focus. I patted the rough fur behind her neck.
“Good girl. Let’s go and see Felicity.”
I stumbled back to the stairs, holding the walls for support, the bitter taste of soap still in my mouth. The sight of Felicity sprawled halfway down had me sitting on my arse and my skin pulling tight. I could just see Mr. Stevens’ legs at the bottom of the descent.
Sliding down one step at a time, I reached a clammy hand for her neck to check if she had a pulse.
“Is she still alive?”
I jerked, shrieking at the noise from below and Ruby’s piercing bark near my ear. I’d assumed that Felicity’s father had passed out.
“Stay, Ruby.”
The dog plonked her tail down beside me. I didn’t have the stomach to watch more carnage and he was incapacitated, so I figured it was safe.
“Why do you even care, arsehole?”
A flutter of movement pressed against the pads of my fingers, flooding my body with relief. Rubbing my knuckles against her breast bone, I checked to see if she was responsive.
“I didn’t want to hurt her. He made me do it. He was blackmailing all of us with the video footage. He made us do horrendous things while he watched.” Stevens broke down, sobbing.
I had zero sympathy. He was only concerned about not getting caught.
Sick mother fucker.
Felicity’s head lolled to the side. Come on, Felicity. Snap out of it.
“Why? What did he get out of it?”
“Power. Manipulation. He’d always been given anything he wanted. Could demand anything from anyone and they’d do it. Nobody said no to Derek Lindstrom or he would destroy them. It all became a game to see how far he could go. He wanted to claim the high-profile people as his puppets, because they had the most to lose and Derek could benefit from their power. He thrived on it.”
“Why didn’t you get evidence against him and take it to the police?”
“He would’ve killed me. Even with him dead, my life is still in danger. Evidence has a way of disappearing. There are too many people with a vested interest in keeping this quiet.”
“Jesus.”
Curling my hands around my legs, I rocked myself to calm the onslaught of anxiety driving my blood to a gallop and wracking my body with shivers. The man was an unstoppable force of evil, and my little pocket knife had taken him down. Thank God
