Savage Love

Chapter 1

Mia

I’m drunk.

I didn’t plan on getting drunk when I came into this little dive bar earlier, but I’ve been here for almost four hours now, and I’m feeling warm and fuzzy.

At least I won’t be cold, I can’t help but think.

The only reason I’m even in this bar is because I have nowhere to go. They’re closing soon, though, and I need to make a decision; am I staying in Briarwood? Or am I going to waste what little money I have and take the train back to Oakbridge?

Fuck. I shouldn’t have drank so much; I can’t focus. The room is spinning a little bit, and I want nothing more than to put my head down and sleep.

I’m the only one left in the bar, and when the bartender goes into the backroom, I stand up quickly. I slip my hood over my head and hurry out the door before he even realizes that I’m gone.

I opened a tab tonight, and the card that I gave him is definitely going to be declined. I’ll be long gone by the time he realizes that, though.

The December air is cool and crisp, but I was right; I’m not cold. It feels nice, actually. It makes my head clear a little bit, and I curse myself again for drinking tonight.

I needed somewhere to go, though. And I couldn’t sit in the bar without drinking, could I?

I let out a loud sigh. I’m exhausted. My body is screaming for a break, and I wonder again for the millionth time if I made a huge mistake in leaving Mason King’s penthouse apartment. In leaving Bianca.

You know you didn’t, I remind myself. You would’ve put them in danger if you stayed. You did the right thing.

My story is somewhat complicated.

Two years ago, I helped my best friend, Bianca Romanelli, flee Oakbridge, where we’re from, and get a new life.

I got her hooked up with a fake ID, and she ran.

After her mom died, her step-brother and step-father planned on selling her off like she was cattle.

Bianca didn’t want to run or start over, but she really didn’t have a choice. Not if she wanted to keep her freedom.

We couldn’t stay in touch because it wasn’t safe. Not while Dario, her step-brother, was alive and looking for her. He was obsessed with Bianca, and he was livid when he found out she was gone.

Very shortly after Bianca left, my life went to shit, too.

My mom lost our house, and she owed a lot of people money. She took off, leaving me to deal with the consequences of her actions.

My uncle, Elijah, was one of those people. I don’t know how much she owed him, but it was a lot. And he planned on collecting – with the form of payment being me.

I ran from him, and I hid successfully for a long time before he eventually caught up to me.

He had a super seedy, underground sex club, called Red, and he found me and kept me prisoner there until Bianca and her now-husband, Mason King, broke me out.

I didn’t know Bianca was back in Briarwood; I’m not sure what the circumstances were that prompted her return, and I have no idea how she met Mason King. I’m happy for her, though. Mason King is one of the good ones. He’ll keep Bianca safe. He’ll protect her.

I also don’t know how Bianca even knew I was at Red, but I’m beyond grateful that she found me and came for me.

I was only held there for a few days, but I was kept drugged the entire time I was there, and I was terrified.

I was never coherent enough to form even a semblance of a plan, and I was worried that whatever Elijah had planned could potentially mean it was the end for me.

I have a vague memory of being carried out of Red, and then the next thing I know, I’m waking up in Mason King’s guest bedroom.

I wanted to stay so badly. I wanted to at least see Bianca; hug her, tell her that I loved her, that I was happy for her. Thank her and Mason for getting me out.

But I couldn’t. I knew that if I saw her, there was a chance that she would convince me to stay. And I couldn’t stay. Staying would potentially put her in danger, and she doesn’t deserve that.

So, I left her a note, and I ran.

The night that they broke me out of Red, Red also went up in flames. I have no idea who started the fire, but I don’t really care. I’m just thrilled that my uncle went up in flames with it. He’s one less enemy that I have to worry about.

Unfortunately, he’s not my only enemy. He isn’t the only one who has a vendetta against me, and I know that it’s not safe for me to be out and about like this, when anyone could snatch me off the street in a heartbeat.

I might as well go to the train station. I force my feet to keep going, even though my legs are aching.

I thought that the good night sleep I got in Mason’s guestroom would be enough to rejuvenate me somewhat, but my body needs much more than one night, apparently. My legs throb as I walk, but I don’t have a choice; I have to keep going.

My safest bet is to go back to Oakbridge. At least I know people in Oakbridge and I can find someone to crash with. Here in Briarwood, I have no shot at finding somewhere warm to sleep tonight.

I turn down a side street, and I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A chill creeps up my spine, and I freeze, slowly turning around.

I scan the street, but it’s dark and empty. I’m the only one out tonight, which isn’t surprising, considering it’s a Monday night in December. It’s thirty degrees out; no one in their right mind is walking around Briarwood at midnight in the cold. Just me.

I tell myself to stop being paranoid, and I pull my hood tighter around my head as I turn back around and continue to walk.

I barely make it five feet when I hear something, and I force myself to turn around again.

What I see makes me gasp. I blink multiple times, wondering if I’m just drunk and hallucinating, but the masked figure that’s standing on the opposite side of the street doesn’t disappear.

He’s tall and dressed in all black, and he’s wearing a Scream mask.

No, I think, shaking my head as if I can physically shake him away. This can’t be happening.

A sober voice inside of my head is screaming at me to run, and I force my feet to move as I take off.

I’m too drunk for this, and much too tired. But I know that I’m fucked if I stop, so I don’t, despite the fact that every single muscle in my body is on fire.

I can hear the masked man’s footsteps pounding on the pavement behind me, and I make the split decision to run into the woods.

I tear through the forest, branches scraping at me as I go. I cry out, but I don’t stop.

My lungs are burning, and tears blur my vision, but I’m almost at a park now. I can see it in front of me. There’s a fence that I can jump, and –

I’m lost in thought as large arms grab me and I feel myself being tackled to the ground.

I scream, trying to fight off the masked man, but he’s too strong for me. He flips me onto my back and straddles me, not fazed in the slightest by my kicking and thrashing.

He swiftly pins my wrists above my head, peering down at me with that creepy fucking mask.

“What’s wrong, Kim?” he asks. “I thought you liked the chase?”

No, I think, staring up at him. It can’t be. You’re dreaming, Mia. There’s no way…

“Or should I say, Mia?” he asks.

My world spins again and it’s not just because I’m drunk.

“K-Killian?” I manage to stammer and he gives a dark laugh.

“Hi, Kitten. I’ve missed you.”