He stood there, in all his naked guilt. Gritting his teeth, he tipped his head toward the ceiling, as if in search of some plausible excuse for the debauchery I’d stumbled upon. When he said my name, the word grated along my spine, like a saw ripping through raw wood. His hushed voice did nothing to disguise the malice in his tone. A cloak of fear descended upon my shoulders and I realised that I’d walked into something far more sinister. My fiancé fucking around behind my back was the least of my worries. Whilst he pondered his dilemma in no hurry, I’d scanned the room. God, I’d wished I hadn’t. Ripped clothes were strewn across the floor and the unmoving leg slung over the end of our bed, caked in blood, stilled my breath. The glint of a long-barrelled gun sitting on the sideboard was testament to a terrible scenario.

My eyes came back to rest on him standing stock still before me, this time his steely grey one’s bored holes into me. Clenched fists tapped the top of his thighs. The air crackled with a tension so thick, I knew one wrong move and the situation would be out of my hands. I took another look at him, from tip to toe. His blood smeared cock had me viciously retching. I doubled over and purged my stomach contents unceremoniously over the floor in front me. His erection dripping bloodied secretions onto the floor was enough to make anyone sick. The absurd thought of him still being hard crossed my mind, and I stole another look.

Was the fucker getting off on this?

Wiping the back of my hand over my mouth, I stood straighter and took him in a third time. I don’t know why - the sight of him disgusted me, made me physically ill -  but I had to see. He still hadn’t moved, having no shame, a smug grin tugging at his lips. He glared, that fucking grin chilling me to the bone. I was going to have eternal nightmares over it. The bastard was toying with me. I managed to pull myself together enough to stand fully straight but with my resolve choking, a sob worked its way to the surface, traitorous tears spilled down my cheeks.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he sighed, making a move towards me, his patience gone as quick as the love I’d felt for him that very morning.

Frantically shaking my head, I pointed my finger at him. “Uh uh.” I took a step backward. “You stay right the fuck there!”

I couldn’t control the tears any more. Everything was wrong here. I had to leave and leave now. The sadistic fuck wasn’t getting near me.

“Come on...”

That goddamned smirk mocked me. I watched in utter disbelief as he wrapped his hand around his cock and gave it a sharp tug.

“Where’s your sense of adventure, babe?”

He laughed, closing the distance between us some more. I glanced at his hand, now smeared with blood and cum too, feeling sick all over again.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I screamed. 

My sense of calm flew out the window along with my engaged status. I didn’t care, I wanted to leave, couldn’t be here another minute. That sinking feeling, drawing me closer to the idea of having to battle my way out, began to terrify me. How could I fight a six-foot two muscled man?

His smirk evaporated as he advanced ever closer. Slow, sure steps – like he had all day. Who knows, maybe he did? After all, he wasn’t expecting his fiancé home in the middle of the afternoon, now was he? Standing barely three feet away, the glare he gave me was petrifying, rendering me frozen. I’d seen this man’s face most days for the past three years, I thought I’d known every expression he gave away. I saw now, the man standing in front of me was not the man I knew at all. I didn’t recognise the look he gave, only the feelings it created within my chest. My heart pinched as I dragged in a ragged breath, warning bells screaming inside my head.

The door unexpectedly shifted open and I jumped when Colin casually strolled into our house. What he was doing there was anyone’s guess, I was thankful for the interruption. Fixated on him, I missed my ex fiancé grabbing for the gun. In my stupidity, I didn’t even move. In two seconds flat, the door closed, and a gun was pointed at my head while a stunned Colin stood rooted to the spot.

“Perfect timing,” my ex fiancé said, “come join the party, dude.”

The puzzled look on Colin’s face told me he didn’t have a clue who his best friend was at all. But now the situation unfolding had a witness. A chill raced up my spine as I pleaded with my eyes as best I could, for Colin to do something. Anything. The poor sod was as lost as me.

“Hey man,” he said cautiously, hands reaching in the air. “I got a text saying lunch?”

He diverted his stare from me and took a quick look around. From his position in the hallway it was unlikely he could see what I had earlier. It wouldn’t be until he came into the lounge he’d see the signs of one fucked up morning.

“Come in.” My ex waved the gun in a come-hither motion, a steel invitation towards where he stood.

Taking cautious steps, Colin moved into the living room with us. “Take a seat.” He slumped into my favourite wing backed reading chair across the room.

“What’s going on?” Colin’s knuckles drew white as they gripped the arms of the chair.

“I was just having some fun with your girl,” he smirked at his friend. “Little firecracker. Kept that piece of info quiet, did you not?”

I audibly gasped, realising exactly who the leg belonged to. She hadn’t made any noise since I’d arrived, and I was guessing that wasn’t a good thing. The longer this sick scenario played out, the likelihood of me walking away became slimmer and slimmer. Realisation swept across Colin’s face and all colour drained from the man’s cheeks. He was chalk white.

“What the fuck, man?”

He made to move from the chair, my ex fiancé swung the gun and took aim at him. Thinking I had a chance, I made a bolt for it, twisting with the intention of getting my arse out the door toute de suite. I didn’t get far. A fist grabbed hold of my hair and yanked me into a rigid body. His body. Hooking his arm around my neck, he held me in a tight choke hold. I coughed and sputtered, clawing at his arm in a feeble attempt to escape. He was too strong and simply squeezed harder, making any movement darned near impossible.

“Not so fast,” he growled. Turning to his friend he asked calmly, “Where’s my money?”

“What?”

What? What money?

“Three seconds then I shoot you dead like your gorgeous bit of fluff lying next door.” He took aim with the gun, his face set in grim determination. “Where’s my fucking money?”

Colin kept his mouth shut, either he didn’t have it or didn’t know, I had no clue what the hell was going on.

“Three...” His grip around my neck tightened. I took great gulps of air through my mouth hoping I wouldn’t pass out from the dizziness swirling around me.

“Two...” I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping against hope Colin would tell him what he needed to know, or at least bullshit him to stall, buy us some time. He took a step closer to the chair, dragging me behind him.

“Fuck you!”

Oh man, I was dead. Very, very dead.

Pop!

Funny – I imagined when someone shot a gun, the noise would be far louder. Deafening. Frightening perhaps. But no.

Pop, that was all. Pop.

However inoffensive the sound was, it would be one that would haunt me a lifetime, this I knew as fact.

“You’ve gone mad,” I croaked out, struggling with real panic to get out of his hold. “Get the fuck off me, you fucking lunatic!”

He shrugged his hold of me and grabbed at the back of my neck, holding me firm. My eyes fixated on Colin in the chair and I stood there, watching in morbid fascination. Dead eyes glared accusingly at me as the hand at my nape gripped tighter. I vaguely registered my surroundings anymore, vacant eyes penetrating deep into my soul. My breaths came in short pants, a panic attack threatening. I managed to keep from unravelling that string of madness, keeping it at bay. I knew with certainty those ragged breaths would be my last if I succumbed to them, let them consume me.

I gaped at the man in front of me, more than conscious of the man behind me. Blunt fingernails dug into the flesh of my neck making me squeeze my eyes shut at the sting. I opened them again trying to maintain my rapidly declining composure. I was losing it with each passing second. A familiar breath tickled across my ear, the heat against my back doing nothing to curb the chill that had taken over my body.

“Oh Jessie...” he whispered softly.

A whisper I’d heard a hundred other times, in a hundred other ways, but not like this. Never like this. A tear slid down my cheek. The stranger behind me had ripped my heart wide open in less than thirty minutes. And all for money? Money I knew nothing about.

“Look...”

He nudged my head in the direction of his best friend. I did. I looked at him again, this time with no curiosity. He told his own tale, told his own fate. Dark, red blood trickled through the centre of his brows, down the bridge of his nose, dripping from the end. Stark, crimson droplets spattered his stiff white shirt, no longer pristine; the Colin liked it. The hole in his head was no bigger than a five-penny piece but that small hole had rendered him dead anyway. I witnessed his sentence delivered, not five minutes ago, by the same hand that now held my own life.

A harsh sob caught in my throat, I couldn’t keep it from bubbling up. I flinched as the grip around my neck tightened. My focus shifted, not my eyes – no – they stayed glued to the corpse in front of me. A reminder it could be me in the blink of an eye, just like him. My internal focus shifted to the situation I was currently in, my head scrambling urgently to find a way out. I had nothing; no control here. My shoulders slumped as realisation settled in - these could be the last few moments I’d ever have.

The burning muzzle of the gun snaking down my cheek startled me out of my misery and catapulted me straight back to category ten terror. I choked on yet another sob when he slung his wide arm around my shoulders and pulled me back against his chest with force. The urge to fight diminished with each stinging stroke of metal. He ground his hips against me, pushing his erection further into the small of my back.

“Yes...”

Heated breath fanned across my cheek, repulsing me, giving me shivers that felt like needles. Removing the gun, he licked at the salty tears still running down my face. Disgust welled up as he ground up against me, his hand creeping into my blouse, damp fingers pushing into my skin painfully. The hand at my neck loosened, moving finally from my throat, entwining in my loose hair. Tugging, he pulled my head back, biting at the lobe of my ear as I let out a sharp cry. He turned me in his arms and slammed me against the wall, the force rattling my teeth, weighted muscles pinning me so hard I was momentarily winded.

Since entering the room half an hour ago I’d felt helpless. Hopeless. I couldn’t guess where his emotions were, he’d killed his best friend in cold blood. No hesitation. No second thoughts. I had no doubt he would do the same to me if he saw fit. Yeah, hopeless about summed me up all right.

I didn’t wonder for long where his head was at. He roughly yanked my skirt up over my hips and savagely ripped at my underwear. Pretty laced panties he’d playfully twanged that morning, lay shredded at my feet now. Dread blanketed my bones - this wasn’t meant to be happening, I had a million and one things I wanted to do with my life. No way was it ending here, like this.

NO!

I screamed, struggling violently when his hand gripped my throat again. He squeezed tighter until my fight against him waned and became a battle for air. I wheezed, trying to drag precious oxygen into my lungs. Black spots of nothingness danced behind my eyelids, getting darker with each futile attempt at pulling in air. I clawed at his hands, manicured fingernails drawing blood and ripping skin. The reward was a deep bite to my shoulder, blood dribbling down my clavicle, pain lancing through me. I halted in my efforts to break free.

“Good girl.”

Fingers loosened around my neck. Every sip of air felt like drinking cool, fresh water.

“Good girl,” he hummed into my ear as he rocked his hips against me, pushing me further into the wall. “You and me are gonna get acquainted in ways we’ve never before.”