33. Yara

Chapter 33

Yara

I t couldn’t have been too much later that I heard a raspy, “Wake up, my precious angel.”

Weight pressed down onto my chest, constricting my breathing; I spluttered in terror, unable to suck in air. Warm, wet, but sturdy shackles held me to the bed, trapping me in place. And through it all, the crippling darkness, the dread , of the unknown. Of what was to come next.

The feeling was one I was intimately familiar with–it crawled across my skin, burrowing deep into my gut.

This wasn’t real. I was having a night terror, it had to be.

Years of terrible nightmares had taught me one thing, how to wake myself up.

Except no matter how much I tried to pull myself out of this one, I was still snared, unable to move.

This wasn’t a nightmare, the realization caused me to finally blink my eyes open, my mouth opened to scream. Light flooded the room, I could see in my peripheral vision the window was broken, but my focus was drawn to the man that was imprisoning me.

“There’s my angel. You kept away from me for so long, but I told you I would always find you. You are tied to me for life.” Daniel’s voice was vines that encircled me into the trauma of my past.

I was living in the present and in my memories synchronously .

Of when I had woken up to him just like this, except those times I hadn’t remained calm. He enjoyed when I fought, loved to hear me scream, tried his best to make me cry.

“Get off of me.” I glared up at him, his muddy eyes were glazed over, and for a moment, I wasn’t even sure if he heard me.

“Yara, Yara, Yara. You aren’t pretty enough to talk back, remember? Nobody likes ruined angels, but I took you in. A precious angel, scarred and flawed. I took pity on you. And then you ran from me.” His monotone voice was more terrifying than if he was screaming into my face. “And now look at you. A filthy whore. Covered in not one but two men? I can smell them on you! You’re covered in their marks. But they’re both gone now, I watched them leave you. There’s nobody here in this house except us.” His eyes remained unfocused, I wasn’t even sure if he was here in this moment, or if he was caught in the past. “How dare you?” He bit the words out, spit flying from his mouth landing on my face.

“I’m not yours. I am my own person.” The words swirled into the tense room. I was doing my best to not lose my cool, to not let his voice alone unravel the years of progress I had made.

I held onto Mateo and Kazi, how they made me feel. I would make it out of this. They may not be here now, but they would return.

I knew I only had one chance. To scream. To fight. To escape this.

My heart pounded into my ears, I fisted the sheets below me.

He was using all of his body weight to push me into the mattress, his clammy moist hands encircling my wrists, his knees pinning my legs down.

The only part of my body that had any range of motion was my head.

What am I going to do?

He shifted, readjusting me and pulling my wrists above my head, one of his hands encapsulating them both. In his free hand, he now held a phone.

My missing phone .

A slideshow was playing. Pictures of me from that last month, through windows, from behind, across restaurants.

He had been vigilant.

He was talking at me still, but I ignored it, formulating a plan.

I wasn’t the same teenage girl he put into a box so small that she had to reduce herself to fit.

Was I scared? Terrified .

But that wouldn’t save me.

“You aren’t even listening to me!” His enraged voice jolted me out of my calculations.

He threw the phone across the room, his now free hand finding the scar on my forehead. He stroked the puckered skin there.

It was the last mark he ever left on me.

It reignited my fire, this man wouldn’t hurt me again. I wouldn’t allow it. I could save my fucking self.

Reinvigorated and formulating a plan, I smiled softly at him. “I’m sorry that you couldn’t get over me. I never stopped thinking about you either.” The lie was bitter. I raised my head up, and he beamed at me, leaning down, incorrectly assuming I was going to kiss him.

Instead, my lips found his cheek and I opened my mouth. The smell of alcohol permeated my nostrils.

He let out a disgusting moan.

My teeth clamped down on his fleshy skin there.

He screamed; he hadn’t expected it. He was caught so off guard that he let go of my wrists as he tried to yank back.

It was all I needed.

Tasting copper, I released my mouth from his bloodied cheek, spitting onto the bed .

In his discombobulated distress, I was able to push him back onto the mattress. With the newfound space between us, I attempted to jump away, but he caught me by the elbow, his fingers painfully pressing into my skin.

I began to scream, “Kazi! Mateo! Help!” Years of self-defense classes jumbled in my brain as a rage-fueled Daniel attempted to drag me onto him.

Fuck! No!

I fell back on him with all my body weight and heard a satisfying grunt as he let me go. With only a moment to spare, I used my legs and arms to roll over. We were close enough to the edge that by escaping his grasp, I tumbled to the ground.

The carpet burned my knees as I landed. It was the first time I realized I was entirely naked. Ignoring the disturbing realization, I got to my feet and searched the area for a weapon.

“Come here my precious angel, I just want to give you a fucking bite too.” His tone was mocking as he got up, his face flushed, his cheek still bleeding. He appraised me, licking his lips. “Well you aged quite fucking well didn’t you?” He zeroed in on the marks Mateo had left on my thighs. “But you’re still a disgusting whore, aren’t you?”

What am I supposed to do now?

I screamed for Kazi and Mateo. Tears attempted to escape my eyes, but I blinked them back fervently.

No, I can do this.

I leveled my gaze at Daniel. Instead of backing away, I took a step into his space.

He smiled smugly. “You always came crawling back to me, didn’t you?”

I aimed for my next move.

He didn’t expect my elbow to hit him directly in the throat .

Men never protect their throats. Izzy’s voice reverberated around my mind.

He made a gurgling noise as he fell on his hands and knees.

I didn’t wait. Didn’t look back. I knew this would be my very last chance.

I bolted to the door and just as I tried to open it, it whipped open and knocked my hand into the wall.

“YARA!” the growl Mateo let out sent tingling waves of electricity all the way down to my toes.

I was safe. Everything was going to be okay. He spared me a quick glance before stomping into the room. Kazi was behind him, my lunch hanging from his hand.

“Get her out of here, and get her some fucking clothes,” Mateo barked over his shoulder as he reached out, grabbing Daniel.

Kazi tried to tug on my wrist, but I dug my feet into the ground. “I’m not going anywhere,” I argued.

Mateo looked at me as Daniel thrashed in his hold. If I wasn’t staring directly into his eyes, I might have missed the moment they turned pitch black. “Suit yourself.”

I watched in shock as Mateo secured Daniel’s head in his bulky hands.

He moved so fast I almost didn’t see him break his neck.

Almost didn’t realize Daniel was dead.

Lifeless.

Almost didn’t register the immediate relief I felt to know that my stalker was wiped away in less than a moment.

For a few moments we all stood in silence, a light breeze coming in through the broken window along with slivers of light.

“Thank you,” I whispered the words before falling back into the comfort of Kazi’s arms.

Using his strength as my own.

“Thank you?” Mateo dropped Daniel’s corpse to the ground. “You’re thanking me?” He took long strides until he stood directly in front of me.

Kazi set my food down. A jacket was wrapped around my shoulders. Kazi’s arms encircled my waist from behind, his head going into the crook of my neck, his breath caressing my ear.

“You shouldn’t be thanking me! I made a mistake! I followed the wrong trail. Yara, my little bee. We were almost too late.” His hand reached up, fingers stroking along my mouth.

“I escaped him. I didn’t need your help. I had it handled!” I was suddenly angry, outraged. How dare he?

“You did. You know he’s dead don’t you? You understand that I just killed him?”

I swallowed around the lump that formed in my throat. “I do.”

“It’s time we told her,” Kazi murmured into my ear.

Mateo eyed me. “Yara, you’re going back home for your reunion?”

I didn’t bother to ask how he knew. “I…” I paused, I really didn’t want to, but it was a month away, and I needed to talk to Izzy. “I am.”

“That’s where we will tell you all our secrets. Can you wait till then, mi peque?a abeja?”

I eyed Mateo, focused on Daniel, and then turned in Kazi’s arms. “Kazi?” I asked, needing his reassurance.

I had noticed how he hadn’t reacted to Mateo. How he almost seemed to know what was going to happen. “Yara, we’ll tell you everything there. But please remember after all is said and done, I love you. And I have, for a very long time.”

My heart beat painfully in my chest. Anxiety swirling with foreboding.

My eyes whipped to the broken window.

I thought I saw something move, but when I blinked, it was gone .

“Can I eat my shrimp now, please?” I asked, tugging out of Kazi’s arms, reaching down for the bag, and leaving the room.

I paid no mind to Daniel.

Ignored the creeping unease that was racing through my veins.

Stamped down the dread of what I would learn of Mateo and Kazi.

Pushed away the memories of James.

I would deal with it all when I returned home, when I made it to the reunion.

Until then I would push my head into the sand and live in ignorant bliss.

I needed to, if only for myself, because otherwise?

I might have to admit that I was certifiable.