Chapter Sixteen
Without saying a damn word he analyzes my every feature to see if I am telling the truth. I am, and he knows it. His facial expression turns from that of a cold-hearted monster to a freaking animal as he grabs me by my throat and raises me up in the air, slamming my body into the wall.
“You stupid cunt! I will kill anyone who walks through that motherfucking door, including your pansy ass brother. No one will stand in the way of what is rightfully mine, even him.”
He wrenches his hand away from my throat and I crumple to the floor, coughing and gagging, trying to catch my breath.
“Get the hell up. We’re fucking leaving here, now.”
His face contorts into a glare of pure hatred as he grabs my arm and yanks me up. I wince and cry out in pain as he drags me to the door.
“If you want to see Turner, you will do exactly as I say. I know you have a couple of cops sitting out there. I am going to slip into the backseat and you are going to drive. Do not do anything stupid. One phone call is all it will take and he will be dead. Do you understand what I am telling you?”
“I understand.”
I will do exactly as he says as long as it gets me to Turner. With this in mind, I turn the knob on the door and enter the garage. He opens my car door and shoves me inside before lying down on the floor behind my seat.
“I will shoot you on the spot if you do anything at all. You wave at them and keep fucking driving, bitch. Don’t you fucking speed or do a damn thing to get us pulled over until we get to where we need to be. Oh, and one more thing. Give me your phone.”
His voice doesn’t sound as distressed or troubled as it did before. He’s calm, and for some reason I don’t like calm Trent. What does he have planned? Where is he taking me?
“Phone. Now.”
His hands come over the top of the seat and I reach down and hand it to him. He opens the car door and drops it on the ground.
“Now get us the hell out of here,” he commands.
With trembling hands, I turn the key in the ignition and start the car. I see the unmarked cop car is still sitting there as I slowly back out into the driveway. Fuck, they’re going to follow me since they think I am going to Zack’s house. Shit, what do I do?
Acting as if nothing is wrong, I politely wave as I pull past them. My eyes keep flickering back and forth between the road ahead and my review mirror. When I see the cop car make a U-turn and start to follow me, panic starts to set in. My heart starts to beat loudly and feels like it is going to explode. When I turn the corner, they are just a few car lengths behind me. Shit. This is bad; I can sense it. I am going to have to try and outrun them, but first I know I have to make Trent aware of the situation and this is going to piss him off even more. Who knows what he will do if I don’t, though?
“Where am I going?” My voice is a stuttering mess.
“Get on the highway and head south until I tell you to.”
“Um, the cops are following us,” I blurt out and chew on my bottom lip while I wait for his response.
“I figured they would. I got it all planned out. All you have to do is drive like you normally would and shut your damn mouth.”
Fuck you! I want to scream back at him. I fantasize about getting on the highway and driving like a bat out of hell, and then ramming this fucker into the nearest pole, killing us both. That way neither one of us will get a damn thing out of this whole fucked-up situation.
It doesn’t matter if I live or die right now, anyway. My life is over whether he kills me or I kill myself. Turner is never going to want me back after this, and even though I have said time and time again I would be able to live my life without him, I know I won’t be able to. He is my life, and without him my existence is empty and meaningless. The only thing that matters to me right now is seeing him, even if it’s for the last time.
I pull onto the expressway and travel the speed limit for a few miles in silence before Trent finally speaks.
“Get off on the exit to your brother’s house and pull into the gas station on the right. You’ll see a white truck parked on the left side. Pull up right next to it and then get out. I want you to go into the gas station and buy something, and then walk back out and get in that truck.”
He really is fucking crazy. I could tell anyone in that store he has kidnapped me and he wouldn’t even know. The wheels are turning big time in my head. If I play this out right and let the clerk know my situation, he could inform the cops who are behind us. Maybe somehow they can follow or track us. Think, Clove. You can do this. There has to be a way for them to be able to follow us without him picking up on it.
Trent must sense some of what is going through my head.
“Don’t even think about telling anyone in that store a damn thing, bitch. If I think you peeped even one fucking word to anyone, your family will be burying you right next to your fucking husband.”
I have never been so scared in my entire life. I hope like hell they at least let me see Turner so we can try to figure out a way out of this. I glance down at the clock and see it has been almost an hour since I hung up the phone with Zack. He has got to be freaking the hell out by now and has blown up my phone wondering where I am and why I am not answering. I am sure he has talked to the two officers who are still several cars behind me.
I turn on my blinker to indicate I am getting off on the exit, and when I look in my mirror I notice the cops are, too. They still have no idea Trent is in the car with me.
“How are you going to get out of the car without them noticing you? They’re going to see you.”
“Don’t worry your beautiful little head about what I am going to do. You just do what you’re told.”
His hand reaches up over the top of the seat and grabs my hair as we come to a stop at the end of the exit. I cry out in pain and shock.
“Quit asking so many questions. Just do what you’re fucking told.”
He releases his hold on my hair as tears start to form in my eyes. I don’t know how much more I can take. I feel like I am at my breaking point. I don’t want to just sit by and do nothing, so when I pull into the gas station I decide I am going to say something to someone in there. The way things stand now it really doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do, because once they have gotten whatever they need out of Turner and me, they are going to kill us, regardless.
Wait. I remember Trent said he needed something from me when we were back at my house. Desperately I try to figure out what it is. If I am the only one who can get him what he needs, then maybe, just maybe, I can make some demands of my own.
Pulling up next to the truck, I put the car in park and shut it off. I gather my purse and just when I am reaching for the door handle to get out, Trent’s brutal words halt my hand in midair.
“Wait one motherfucking second, bitch. There is something you need to hear first before you step out of this car.”
He takes out his phone and dials a number. There is a slight pause before the line is picked up.
“Yeah, Dad, we’re on our way. I told you she was a feisty one, but I know how much she loves that pussy of a brother of mine, so if you don’t hear from me in five minutes, blow his fucking knee cap out.”
His voice sounds vengeful, and yet why do I feel like I hear the smallest hint of regret when he speaks? Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part. Not wanting to hear anymore, I jump out of the car and head into the back of the gas station where I grab a bottle of water and a bag of chips. I now know exactly what I am going to do to try and keep Turner alive.
There are two people standing in line in front of me at the checkout lane as I wait impatiently, constantly checking my watch. I have a minute and a half left to get this done. Sweat pops up on my forehead and I start tapping my foot. Come on! Thirty seconds remain when I finally drop my items onto the counter.
“Will that be all, miss?” The clerk behind the register asks.
For a few seconds I stare at her blankly, trying to decide what to do.
“Yes,” I finally squeak out.
She immediately scans my items. I hand her over a five-dollar bill and grab my stuff and make my way to the door.
“Miss! Your change!” she calls out.
“Keep it.”
I scramble through the door and scan the area looking for the cop car. When I see it parked on the opposite side from where I am, my nerves go on high alert. I round the corner of the gas station and open the passenger side door of the truck.
“Hurry the hell up.” Trent leans over and jerks me roughly inside. “Scoot all the way down in the seat and stay there until I tell you to get up.”
How I would love to deny him and tell him to shove his demands straight up his ass. But I do as I am told and slide down in the seat as he starts the truck and pulls out. He now has on a baseball cap and sunglasses, trying to hide his looks.
As long as I stay ducked down like this I am not going to have a clue where we are going, so I try and pay attention to the turns he is making. I realize he has turned back onto the highway heading in the direction we just came from. Trent looks repeatedly into the rear view mirror and I study his facial expressions, trying to figure out what he is thinking and if we’re being followed. He seems completely at ease, as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. He shows no signs of panic or worry. I wish he would take those damn sunglasses off so I could see his eyes.
My legs start to cramp up as I continue to sit on my hands and knees in the front of the truck. Fuck him and his damn demands. I cannot keep my mouth shut anymore.
“By the look on your face I would say the coast is clear, so I am getting up now.” I put what little bit of strength I have left into my words.
“I don’t think so.”
He lifts an eyebrow and smirks down at me.
“Fuck you! I am not riding like this any longer,” I insist, pulling myself up from the uncomfortable position I was in. Several minutes tick by before he speaks again.
“I should force you to kneel like that more often,” he smirks. I whip my head around and glare at him.
“I will never kneel for you, you prick.”
“Oh, but you will. Any time I tell you to kneel, you will.”
“Like hell, I will.”
“Well you see, one of the things I like about you is that gorgeous mouth of yours. I know firsthand what it can do, and baby, you do it so well. We have a hell of a long drive ahead of us and I am going to need some relief, so when I tell you to get on your hands and knees and suck my cock, you will.”
I turn my head and look out the window, and as I tick off the miles one by one, I sink further and further into the abyss of self-hatred. Vivid memories of the things this man has done to me and the way my body reacted invade my mind. But not this time. If he even looks like he’s trying to put his dick in my mouth, I won’t hesitate to bite that fucking thing off.