32. I Brought a Vibrator to a Knife Fight
I brOUGHT A VIbrATOR TO A KNIFE FIGHT
Hazel
Turns out when you have your own stalker you reach the point where, when you wake up to footsteps in your hall, you’re not scared, you’re just pissed off.
My eyes flick open and I push up off my pillow.
“I swear to god Flynn you can’t just keep breaking into my house!
” I call out, ignoring the little voice in my head whispering that if I really didn’t want Flynn breaking in, I would have set the alarm.
If I’m honest with myself, the second I heard the footsteps my heart unknotted.
That is, until my bedroom door is kicked in and someone who is very much not Flynn steps into my room. My heart thunders, my lips going numb.
“Tommy?”
The fucker leans against the doorframe, twirling a hunting knife as he leers at me and that fear that was missing? Yeah, it’s definitely not missing now.
I scramble off the bed, putting as much distance between us as I can and feeling far too vulnerable in just my night shirt.
Tommy smiles, a lecherous glint in his eyes as his gaze tracks over my bare legs. “Miss me, babe?”
“What are you doing here? I thought you were in jail.”
“Oh, I was but it turns out I have a guardian angel who posted my bail.” Tommy flips the knife and points the tip at me. “See I have one more chance to become a King and all I have to do is finish what I started seven years ago and deliver you to our… mutual friend.”
My stomach hollows as I put together the pieces. “The senator.”
“You always were too smart for your own good.” Tommy shakes his head, greasy strands of his overgrown hair brushing his eyes. “You’re not getting out of this one though.”
Goosebumps prick my arms. Glass smashing against the wall echoes in my mind. My heart races. Memories of standing dead still as Tommy raged around me threaten to undo me, but I’m not the same scared girl I was back then. “I’ll fight you,” I say.
“No, you won’t.” He reaches into the pocket of his skinny jeans and I use his momentary distraction to sidle closer to the window.
Tommy takes out his phone and taps at the screen. “See, I have insurance this time and if you don’t come with me, your little boyfriend gets a bullet between his eyes.”
I stop moving. The world stops moving. And then everything is spinning, my breath caught in my chest.
Tommy turns his phone around, a video of a man, gagged and tied to a gurney. It’s not until the man turns his head that I can breathe again, because it’s not Flynn. It’s Derek.
I step back, thoughts racing through my mind. Tommy saw me and Derek together at the bar, he thought we were a couple. Which means it’s my fault they’ve kidnapped Derek. Oh god.
I clench my fists and try to focus. Fear has me wanting to do as I’m told, to let Tommy take me so they don’t hurt Derek, but in situations like this, letting someone take you to a secondary location is one of the worst things you can do.
Once they have me, there’s no guarantee they won’t kill Derek anyway.
Detective Derek who’s annoying but sweet, who’s one of the good cops who goes out of his way to tell us when they’ve caught the bad guy.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Tommy prowls towards me and I glance around the room, looking for anything that might help.
Somebody please tell me why I filled my room with blankets and teddies and not sharp heavy pointy objects.
I hold up my hands like maybe that will halt his progress. “You don’t have to do this, Tommy. You can just turn around and leave. I won’t tell anyone.”
He laughs. “Not so tough without your psycho bitch sidekick, are you?”
Anger straightens my shoulders and I edge closer to the window.
Tommy plays with the knife, the sharp blade glinting from the bedside light. “There’s nowhere to run, Hazel. So, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?”
I almost roll my eyes at the cliché. He thinks he’s so tough, but the window is unlocked. I’m on the ground floor. All I’d need to do is push it open and run.
Fuck it. I will not be taken down by Dickweed.
I spin around. The wooden frame digs into my palms as I push the window up and the briefest waft of cold air hits my legs before Tommy tackles me from behind.
I cry out, my hip cracking against the floor as I land with his body pressed on top of mine.
He leers down at me, his tongue darting out over his lips. “I was so hoping you’d pick the hard way.”
I buck, trying to dislodge him, but Tommy just straddles my waist and laughs. He trails the tip of the knife between my breasts and I freeze.
“I was told to bring you in alive, but no one ever said I couldn’t have some fun first.”
I swallow back bile and turn my head to the side. My heart is freaking the fuck out and I wonder what he’d do if I just had a heart attack right now.
Woman thwarts man’s plans to kill her by dying first.
Tommy shifts lower but the second his hands grips my jaw I start fighting again. I will not let this man force a kiss on me. Not again. Flynn’s name is still written on my stomach and the only person who gets to touch me like that is him.
“Stay still,” Tommy curses, but I don’t.
I twist and writhe, reaching for anything I can use as a weapon. Then my hand hits silicone. I almost laugh. I wrap my fingers around the vibrator wand, tug it free of its charger, and slam the metal end against Tommy’s head.
The knife falls from his hand and scatters under the bed.
“Fucking bitch!”
I hit him again and he scrambles off me, reaching for the knife.
Shit, shit, shit. I can’t let him get it. Knife beats vibrator every time. I sit up and the metal point of the charging cable digs into my palm. The cable.
I yank the charger free and hook it over Tommy’s neck, pulling him back before he reaches the knife. I twist the cable around his neck a second time and pull hard.
His hands go to his throat, trying to tug at the cable, but I just pull harder, wedging my knee into his back.
My hands are shaking, adrenaline rushing through me as Tommy’s spluttering hits the quiet room.
I don’t know how long I hold it but eventually he stops struggling. I collapse against the floor.
Painful grooves dig into my hands where the cable was and I back up against the bedside table, my whole body shaking. The room around me blurs, fading into nothing until a familiar voice reaches my ears.
“Hazel! Lilac!”
Flynn.
“In my room,” I call out, my lips numb. God, I’m cold.
Flynn bursts through the door, dropping to his knees in front of me. His warm hands cradle my face and I don’t realize I’m crying until he brushes my tears away.
“You’re okay, you’re okay,” he murmurs and I nod because I don’t know what else to do.
My gaze drops to where Tommy’s lying on the floor, the vibrator charging cable still wrapped around his neck. His eyes are closed, his mouse brown hair sticking to his forehead.
“Is he— is he dead?” I ask.
Flynn’s jaw sharpens, cold fury in his eyes. He presses two fingers to Tommy’s throat then takes his head in his hands, kneels on his chest, and twists sharply.
I shudder at the crack that fills the air.
“He is now,” Flynn says.
My breath slips out of me.
Flynn climbs off of Tommy and cups my face in his hands. “You did so good, sweetheart.” He picks me up, cradling me to his chest. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
I claw my fingers around his top, burying my head in his shoulder and breathing in the familiar rich scent of him.
Flynn carries me through to the living room and sits down on the couch. He drapes a blanket over me and presses his lips to my forehead. Another tear slips silently down my cheek and Flynn brushes it away. “You can let it out, Lilac. It’s okay. I’ve got you now.”
His words unblock the tap and my chest heaves as I sob, the shock and fear pouring out of me as I cry into his chest.
“You know you’re fucking beautiful when you cry,” Flynn whispers and a laugh breaks through my sobs.
“Pretty sure that’s not what you’re supposed to say after someone’s just been attacked.”
Flynn tenses beneath me. “Maybe I should tell you all the things I’m picturing doing to the fucker instead.
Or that I think I felt scared for the first time in my fucking life when I realized you were in danger.
Or that I’m furious at you for taking down the cameras and that I’m never going to let you out of my sight ever again. ”
My heart squeezes. I sit up in Flynn’s lap and cradle his face, the tension in his jaw practically vibrating against my palm. “It’s okay,” I tell him. “I’m okay.”
His pale blue eyes sear into me. “Good. Because you not being okay isn’t an option. Understood?”
I nod.
“While we’re on the topic, you not being mine is also not an option.”
My chest unlocks, all the pain I’ve been holding since I walked out on Flynn pouring out of me. “I was wrong before,” I say. “I don’t want that.” Tears push at my eyes but having Flynn here feels right. “I want you.”
Relief flickers in his eyes and he kisses me. I sink into the feeling of his lips on mine, the firm caress of his tongue soothing my nerves. Flynn is the only man I ever want to kiss.
Eventually we break apart and Flynn tucks my hair behind my ear. “Good choice. Saves me from having to kidnap you again.”
He looks so serious I laugh a little, but then I remember Tommy and I bite my lip. “I do have one question though.”