Chapter 41

Chloe

"Oh, would you quit that crying already?"

Kyle's voice slices through me, and all I can see behind my closed lids is him sitting across from me in Opal.

He'd come to find me. Said it had nothing to do with Ethan, and the entire time, he was lying . And I'd fucking trusted him.

As I sniffle quietly, doing my best to blink away the tears, I glare at him. Kyle's basic "struggling to get by" clothing is gone. It's been replaced with a suit nearly as nice as the one Ethan wears.

Fear kicks up behind the fury, and I glance over at my stalker to see him still fuming. Circling as he shakes his head.

Kyle is at his side in just a few seconds, and Ethan sneers at him. As their eyes meet, Ethan straightens his jacket before turning around to face me again.

"How could—" my words pause as the pain in my jaw makes it difficult to talk "—how could you do?—"

With a hand in the air, Ethan silences my words. "How could he betray you? Chloe, Chloe, Chloe."

Ethan crosses the room to me, backhanding me across the face again, this time on the other cheek.

"You dumb slut." He wipes his hand off on his pants. "Kyle was never your friend. Kyle was always working for me. Anything you ever said to my little apprentice here was relayed to me."

When my vision rights again this time, I look to Kyle, rage snaking through my veins as my cheek throbs with each heartbeat.

My mind swirls. Kyle betrayed my trust in every way. He told Ethan about my hometown.

Everything since we first started talking was just to help him stalk me.

"My brother. The concerns I had about him. You just fed it all to your fucking boss!"

Flinching back ever so slightly as I fight against the ropes, Kyle just looks at me with pity. Ethan notices and rushes up to Kyle, grabbing him by the front of the shirt and forcing him to his knees.

"Feeling squeamish now? What did you think was going to happen, you fucking idiot!"

For a moment, I think Ethan might kill Kyle, and in spite of Kyle's betrayal, I don't want to see him murdered.

The air hangs thick with tension as Ethan pegs Kyle with a glare that makes the guy flinch again.

"Do your fucking job, Kyle. And maybe you'll make that promotion."

Kyle's eyes fall to the floor before he struggles to stand back up. The knees of his light gray pants are stained black with grime.

"I don't have anything on me." Kyle's voice is barely above a whisper.

Ethan faces away from me, but I can still hear his raspy voice as he barks orders at Kyle.

"It's never stopped you before. From what I understand, you've always enjoyed being more hands-on ."

Kyle stares at me, and something about this new look in his eyes doesn't sit right. My blood turns to ice, and I thrash harder against the ropes to break free.

He's going to kill me.

Ethan pats Kyle on the shoulder, and my stomach clenches as I see the determination take over his expression.

This? This is how I'm going to die? No!

My pulse skyrockets, adrenaline pumping through me twice, three times as hard as before. Self-preservation fuels the growing anger simmering inside me.

Kyle's hardened eyes hunt me as his body approaches. He slithers toward me, dropping his chin as he glares, and I twist and pull my wrists.

Dominick.

The thought is simple but powerful. I want to get back to Dom. I need to.

I will not be some victim anymore. I'm done running from everything.

A dull burn and stinging rips through my wrists as I try to force my hand through the small space of the binds.

Then Kyle is right in front of me.

His hands shoot forward and wrap around my throat, Kyle's thumbs pushing into my trachea and closing off my air.

There's pain and dizziness as I struggle to breathe, but that's when I feel it.

Sweat is clinging to my arms and hands, making my skin just a tiny bit slick. It's my thumb. My thumb is the problem.

My eyes bulge, and I fight for conscious control of my limbs instead of the mad flailing my desperate body wants from me.

Using my other hand, I push my thumb into my palm, hard. Sure, it hurts, maybe it's even dislocated, but the rope finally slides across my knuckle.

Swinging to the side, my hand is free, and I don't wait another moment before I smash the side of it, rope and all, into Kyle's face.

He reels back, grabbing his nose as blood pours out.

I take advantage of his distraction and kick forward, landing the toe of my sneaker right in his crotch.

He yowls in pain, and Ethan finally turns around, eyes flaring as he takes in the situation.

"No!"

Move. Move now.

Standing, I shove Kyle back as he grips his groin, and he stumbles. It's not on purpose, but the asshole loses his footing and falls backward.

A set of rebars affixed to a wood base sits right behind him, and Kyle lands right on top of one.

It stabs through his side, and my stomach lurches before I remember my situation and take off for a massive stack of crates and out of sight.

"You fucking bitch!"

Ehtan's voice is shrill as he screams, and the pounding of his footfalls echoes behind me as I dart through the maze of boxes.

I have no idea how to exit out of them and avoid the Cobras at the back of the building.

Pausing for a moment, I look left and right before randomly choosing a direction and taking off down another path created by the tall crates.

Everything is shadows and repeating squares of wood. I don't know if I'm doubling back or running in a new direction, and my heartbeat is a bass drum in my ears.

I pull up to a dead-end and skid to a stop. Where are you going?

"I'm going to find you, Chloe. I always find you!"

Ethan's shout comes from my left and back, so I dart in the other direction. I'm out of the crate maze in just a few steps, though, and the lack of cover makes the panic fueling me pound my feet harder.

There's another stand of boxes down at the opposite end of where I heard the Cobras, so I sprint toward it.

The ground is slick with some type of brown liquid, and I slip, thankfully landing on my ass. The bones there vibrate as they make contact with the cement.

I can't worry about the pain right now. I need to get up.

I do, launching myself back into a run for the far end of the warehouse, where I hope there's a back door or something.

Passing in front of the edge of the huge pile of crates, a hand snakes out from behind them, yanking me off my feet and up against a hard chest.

I'm shoved against the wood, the hard surface biting into my back, and I try to scream, but the wind is knocked out of me.

"See." Ethan pulls out his switchblade, flicking it open this time. "I told you I'd catch you."

My breath is gone as the shock and hurt roar through me, and my mouth gapes as I wait for my lungs to start working again.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

The glint of the knife catches my eye as Ethan holds it up near his face, gesturing wildly with it.

"I took care of you, didn't I, Chloe?"

I'm frozen in place, so Ethan lashes out, slicing the blade across my bicep. My voice finally returns as I scream.

"Didn't I?"

Tears stream down my cheeks, but I meet Ethan's frenzied gaze with a glare.

"You kept me prisoner! You lied and manipulated and abused me!"

Another slash burns across my side and Ethan steps forward, holding me against the boxes by the neck.

His fist squeezes away my scream.

"You were mine! You needed to obey!"

Shaking his head, Ethan's voice drops to just above a whisper.

"And if you can't listen, you need to be punished. Say goodbye."

He pulls his arm back, lined up with my lower belly, and my brain is a sputtering mess of rage and terror.

Not like this. Not now.

He's about to stab me when a thick hand wraps around Ethan's arm near the elbow, abruptly stopping him.

Ethan whips his head around to face whoever has interrupted his plans of killing me.

"You!"