3. Brynne

Chapter 3

Brynne

A s if half of my belongings crammed in my car wasn't bad enough, a flat tire was just the cherry on top. I had no doubt Chase was the reason for this. He was a sore loser and that was one of the main reasons I left. Apparently, each time he'd lost a bet, he slept with a new girl in the vicinity. McKenna's sister had seen him fucking some chick in an alley, and I'd left not an hour after she'd told me. I could have gone to live with her, but she was in a one-bedroom house, and a couch didn't seem like my idea of comfort. Although, the motel mattress wasn't much of an upgrade.

And of course, Chase had hunted me down at work. I hadn't expected anything less. But slashing my tire? Major dick move.

After fishing through one of the bags in my car, I pulled out an oversized t-shirt and sweats. Before heading in the direction of the motel, I made sure to lock the doors, though nothing of value was in the vehicle. I'd taken a few things into the room last night, but left a good chunk of it on the backseat due to my desire to lose myself in a bottle of vodka.

By the time I got off work, it was dark, and the streetlamps were a joke as they cast a faint yellow glow over the weeds growing through the cracks in the sidewalk. This town could use some improvements, as well as the men in it. Whoever the man was that had intervened in the alley had broken Chase's wrist, but I wasn't sure if that really meant he was some kind of hero. By the sound of it, he had to have shattered the bone. The injury itself would make it difficult for Chase to play pool, which meant he'd have to win his earnings some other way. Otherwise, his boss would be pissed.

I didn't know exactly what Chase did to make money other than gambling, but half of what he won in the games he bet on went to the man he owed a debt to. That was all I knew, and even then, I wasn't sure why he had a debt with the guy. I wasn't even sure how much he owed, but by the time he'd already become invested in trying to pay the guy back, I could only guess that it had to be a lot.

The walk to the motel wasn't long at all, which was one positive out of this whole situation. If my streak of bad luck continued, I'd never make it through the week. Shifting the clothing to the crook of my arm, I fished the key out of the pocket of my skirt and inserted it into the knob. The hinge squealed as I shoved open the door, the room pitch black as I slipped inside. I closed the door behind me, making sure to lock it before I did anything else in case Chase followed me here. He wasn't normally so handsy, but his ego was hurt with me leaving, and by the act in the alley earlier, clearly he wasn't afraid to put a hand on me .

Feeling along the wall, I blindly searched for the light switch, running my hand up and down the textured wallpaper. Finally finding it, I flicked the switch, but as soon as the lights were on, a hand wrapped around my mouth, pulling me back into a stone hard chest. Instantly, I tried to grab for the attacker's arms, hands, anything, but they'd looped their other arm around my torso, holding mine flat to my sides.

Warm breath heated my neck as the intruder rested a stubbled chin on my shoulder, like my struggle was nothing. "Gotta calm down, Darlin'."

For the second time today, a man had his hands on me. My stomach twisted.

"Let me go," I tried to grit out beneath his hand, but my words were muffled. I tried to rear my leg up between his legs, but he was tall, and I hit nothing, only resulting in my skirt rising up my thighs even higher. I could kill Marv for making this our uniform.

"I just want to talk." His voice held no comfort as he dropped his hand from my mouth, and I swore it was familiar.

I grunted. "This isn't how you start a conversation."

"Would you suggest storming into your work instead?"

I knew exactly who the fuck this was.

The knowledge made me stop squirming. If he'd wanted to hurt me, he would have earlier. Right?

"Very good," he praised, his voice lower, smooth like barrel-aged whiskey.

Slowly, he released me, spinning me around so my back was to the wall. Unlike when I saw him in the alley, he now wore a skeleton mask that took up half his face, with a black cowboy hat casting him in a slight shadow.

"Are you scared, Brynne?" he asked, stepping closer as he tilted his head ever so slightly.

My breath hitched at the use of my name. I'd taken my name tag off, but I assumed he'd snuck a peek in the alley earlier.

I nodded. If that's how he wanted me to be, I wouldn't hide the fact that fear slithered over my skin like the mist that coated the air outside. How had he gotten in here?

"Good." He set a hand on the wall beside my head, leaning down. "I want you to listen very closely." His eyes, so dark behind the mask, devoured me where I stood. "Are you listening, Darlin'?"

I nodded again, at a loss for words.

"You're going to come live with me so I can take back what's mine."

He must be dreaming if he thought I'd go with him willingly. "Who even are you?" I spit.

"Your worst nightmare."

I wanted to roll my eyes despite the chill crawling over every inch of me. He wasn't doing a very good job compelling me to agree. If anything, the motel was a better motivator to take any opportunity I could get. "If that's the case, why would I agree to live with you?"

"Because if you don't, who knows what that wimpy little ex of yours will do next if I'm not there to save you."

Despite the close proximity, I crossed my arms over my chest and turned my nose up at him. "He's not going to come back."

The man let out a raspy chuckle, low and lacking humor. "You must not know him very well, then. "

"I fucked the guy. I'd say I know him a hell of a lot better than you."

His hand darted up, grabbing my chin between his fingers. "You let some questionable men inside that pussy of yours. Not a good look."

My eyes narrowed as he kept my face firmly in place. He acted like he knew what men I'd slept with in the past. "I'm sure they're all a hell of a lot better than you. Bigger, too." The last remark was childish, but he was pissing me off.

He didn't let it get to him as he said, "He's a cheat." I tried not to let any emotion show on my face at the words as they stabbed me in the gut. "He plays dirty, but we play dirtier, Darlin'."

Who the fuck was we ? Whatever his, or their, problem was, it wasn't mine. "How did you get into my room?"

He dropped my chin but didn't give me any space. "Real easy to pretend to be your boyfriend and get a key. Does that make you feel safe?"

It didn't. Not at all. He'd been able to get the key so effortlessly, and it only instilled how vulnerable I was here. Chase was mad, probably irate, about his broken wrist, and I had no doubt he'd figure out where I was staying and find a way in just as easily.

I could go to McKenna's, but Chase knew where she lived. Her house would be first on his list.

He stepped back, but no amount of distance could make the mask he wore any less frightening. That was the point, I supposed.

"You have twenty-four hours," he said, tossing the key on the comforter. "Otherwise, Chase won't be your only problem. "

The door creaked on his way out, shutting with an ear-piercing scraping sound from the foundation having moved. The place was falling apart, and I seemed to be quickly following suit.

The fact that I was seriously considering taking a stranger up on his offer to live at his house baffled me. Not even a day ago, I would never have imagined myself in this situation, but now, I didn't seem to have a choice. I could stay in this piece-of-shit motel where anyone could pretend they knew me and get a key to my room, or I could live with a complete stranger. I had no other options. No family in town, no close friends other than McKenna. I was backed into a corner and desperate, which was exactly how this man wanted me to be.

Truthfully, I didn't have enough to stay in the motel longer than a week. Tips were shit at the diner, despite the revealing clothes my pig of a boss required for the dress code, and though the motel was trash, it wasn't cheap. But I had to persevere.

I landed face-first on the mattress, not bothering to change into the clothes I'd brought, and when sleep claimed me, I only saw that mask in my nightmares.

And it didn't end pretty.