Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Choking noises fill my ears, and I bury my fingers in the bedding. Whoever Adam’s opponent is, he licked my fingers. He was hiding under my bed.
What is going on? I force myself to inch toward the edge of the mattress, but crossing the room to reach the exit feels impossible while the two beasts remain locked in a fight to the death. When Adam spins with the stranger on his back, they hit my wardrobe and tip it sideways, blocking my way out.
The stranger has messy black hair, about shoulder-length, and it whips about as Adam flails around the room with him. One more hit against the wall elicits a pained grunt from the man, and the wire comes off Adam’s neck.
He turns to his assailant, about to stomp on him, but the other man yanks Adam’s leg from under him, making him topple in a show of strength I didn’t expect of someone his size. He must be ripped under those clothes.
Adam swears and lifts himself on his elbow. It’s like watching a fight between a rhino and a puma. Despite being hit several times, the stranger doesn’t waste time and grabs my Anubis-shaped lamp. He bares his blood-stained teeth, and my eyes go wide when he brings the lamp down on Adam’s face without mercy.
I scream and back away until my back is against the wall and all I can see is blood. Each time the lamp hits Adam’s head, the light flickers as if the room is being struck by lightning, but I hear the squelch of blood, meat, and bone instead of thunder.
Heaving, the stranger throws his weapon to the side where its light dies. I think it’s over when Adam stops moving, but the man once again wraps the wire around his neck, then steps on Adam’s nape and pulls so hard something cracks.
I don’t dare move, because I’ve never seen anyone die before, and when this demon of a man pushes back his black hair, staring at me with eyes like two pieces of coal, I know I’m next, because he can’t leave a witness alive.
With my lamp as dead as Adam, I barely see the stranger’s features in the dim light coming from outside, but the distorted image is somehow scarier than complete darkness. The stranger remains silent, like a wraith about to pounce and take my soul, cheek and tattooed arms dotted with the blood of his previous victim.
There can only be one reason for his presence here. With Adam visiting me every Wednesday, it only makes sense that whoever needed to take him down over some shady dealings worked out how easy that would be in this remote house. But if this man came here because of Adam, why would he… lick me?
The man hums and rubs his cheek, but instead of wiping off the red streaks, he ends up making them messier. “Hm… You’ll have to come with me.” His voice is like something from a crypt, a low tone meant not to disturb the other undead.
Oh no.
No. No. No. I might be terrified of this monster, but even I know the most important rule is to never let someone take you to a second location. Better to die fast in the struggle than let some freak rape and torture you for days.
I don’t try to protest or negotiate, just turn on my heel and dash for the window, because the damn wardrobe is blocking the door. My fingers scrape over rough wood, but I manage to push the frame up. The whiff of fresh air is like a promise of freedom, but as I raise my leg to roll to the other side, strong arms pull me back to the creature about to consume me.
“No, please no,” I cry, because yes, I’m not above begging.
“I won’t hurt you,” he says as he wrestles me to the ground, most definitely bruising my shoulder.
I don’t believe a word of it, not after witnessing the proficient way he handled Adam. The only reason I’m still alive is because he wants to take his time with me, and that’s more terrifying than death itself. I kick him, then slap him, but it’s like he’s used to this. He doesn’t even punch me back, just grabs my wrists and—
He zip-ties them. When the plastic band tightens, I scream out as if someone’s flaying me alive, because I’m too young and pretty to die like this. I now regret renting a house so far away from my nearest neighbors. I wanted privacy. Well, I fucking got it.
He shushes me, his weight on my legs preventing me from kicking, and as I scream again, he stuffs a bundle of fabric into my mouth. I try to spit it out, but he secures it with so much proficiency I know he’s done this before. How many guys like me has this absolute psycho abducted and maimed?