#14

I feel like I"ve beenwalking with my heart in my throat for an eternity...that I feel actually relieved when I finally hear footsteps following behind me...just before someone presses the end of a gun against my back.

"Guess who, bitch?"

The words come out in a strange, high-pitched snarl. I"ve heard this guy talk more than a few times on TV, and now I"m starting to wonder if his voice in those interviews has been auto-tuned to death before broadcast.

"I"ll shoot you if you fucking scream or make any sudden movements. Got that?"

All I can do is nod, but he still pokes my back with his gun for the second time.

"I mean it, bitch." He suddenly grabs my hair to yank my head back. Don"t fucking try anything." He shoves me away right after, and I nearly fall to my face. "Now turn around slowly..."

Aaron smiles at me as soon as our eyes meet, and even though I believe with all my heart that the Devil will protect me just like he promised—-

Old habits die hard, and Aaron"s creepy smile makes me weak in the knees in the worst possible way.

I look into his eyes, and all I see there is my past being reflected back at me. All I see are the nights this man had me either crying helplessly in the dark or locking myself in the bathroom while I hyperventilate.

Aaron asks for my phone and starts smashing it under the boot of his shoe, but all I can think about is how this asshole had me wanting to jump out of the window because I would rather die than have him risk hurting my parents.

"You"ve been so fucking lucky," Aaron gripes.

Lucky?

Me?

Is that supposed to be a joke?

"I"ve been planning to fucking kill you for so many weeks now, but it"s like I"ve got the whole fucking universe conspiring against me."

While my instincts tell me that it"s the Devil and not the universe that"s been working against him—-

"I"ve had food poisoning at one point, and some jerk slashed my tires the other day..."

It"s his endless whining that makes me realize how weak and foolish I"ve been, to have let a man like Aaron turn my life upside-down with his threats.

"It"s been one fucking thing after another—-"

My fears have transformed him into this scary, larger-than-life boogeyman...when in truth he"s nothing but a man who can only rely on his family"s money and power to get his way.

"And that"s the only reason you"re still alive."

But just as Aaron slowly raises his gun, another voice interrupts us—-

"I"m afraid you have it all wrong, Mr. Bronn."

I know that voice, and if the terror that flashes in Aaron"s eyes is any indication, it seems like he knows it, too.

My heart thunders against my chest when I see the Devil stepping out of the dark.

"Don"t come any closer," Aaron yells out shakily.

"You look frightened, Mr. Bronn."

"F-Fuck you!"

"You"re right to feel scared of me," the Devil says softly. "You may not be prepared to hear this, but the only reason you"re alive is because she"s alive...and for the past few weeks, my men have been working hard to keep you from making the worst mistake in your life."

The Devil takes another step forward, and Aaron"s expression turns slightly hysterical. "I said don"t fucking move—-"

"I warned you, didn"t I? You were supposed to forget she ever existed—-"

"Fuck you!"

Multiple things happen all at once after that.

Aaron is about to pull the trigger when the Devil lunges at him, and my whole world turns into a tearful blur when the Devil snatches the gun out of Aaron"s hold...and shoots the other man using his own gun.

I"m already sobbing by the time I crash down on my knees.

Oh God, finally.

It"s finally over.