Chapter 26
OLIVIA
T wo nails left.
I am so close, I can barely breathe. My fingers and hands ache as I wedge the narrow side of the hinge piece under the nail’s rusted round head. My fingertips are red and bruised from the consistent effort.
I keep going, however, because, outside, the night, with its velvet sky and smattering of stars, awaits. I can see it through the bathroom window that I’m desperately trying to open. It’ll be a tight fit, but I might just make it.
“Dammit!” I cuss as the hinge piece slips and slashes my hand.
Though my hand is dripping blood, I can’t stop. I won’t stop. So I start again, digging under the nail’s head over and over, until I yank the damned thing out like the others before it. In my mind, moments replay like fuel for my escape.
The night I met my men.
The first time we kissed .
The way it felt to wake up in their arms after a long lovemaking session, my muscles sore but my heart singing new and beautiful songs.
The idea that I might get a happy ending after all in this twisty, complicated life.
“Yes!” I hiss as I remove the nail.
For a moment, I hold still, listening to the silence. I don’t know where Marcus went, but I know he’ll be back. I just need to make sure I get the last nail removed before the monster returns.
Snippets of our life together intertwine, from the moment I met Marcus to the moment I snuck out of our home because it wasn’t safe anymore. It was never a home; it was nothing more than a gilded cage, a purgatory to slowly rot in, until there was nothing left of me.
My mind wanders back to Dax, Leo, and Beck.
Thoughts of them make me move faster, dulling the pain in my fingertips until I manage to jerk the last nail loose. “Almost there, Olivia,” I say to encourage myself. “Almost there, babies,” I add for my unborn children.
No way I’m trusting Marcus with our well-being.
The noose is tightening around his throat. His obsession with me will likely be his undoing. Unfortunately, it could also be mine.
“Ah,” I gasp as I pull the nail out, hurriedly tugging at the window frame until the paint comes loose, chipping along the grooves. “Come on.”
“What the fuck are you doing, Olivia?” Marcus’s voice booms across the small space. I freeze .
Suddenly, the tiny bathroom gets even tinier, the walls closing in around me as I slowly turn my head.
Marcus stands in the bathroom doorway, tall, menacing, and furious.
I didn’t even hear him come in. He’s pissed, and he is going to hurt me, unless I figure out a way to talk him out of it. He’s arrogant and obsessed with control.
Stroke his ego, Olivia, before it’s too late.
“It was stupid of me, I know,” I manage, my voice trembling with raw fear. “But you can’t blame a girl for trying, right?”
“Did you really think I’d let you get away from me again?”
“You outsmarted me. I never learn, Marcus. I’m sorry.”
It doesn’t work. It strokes his ego, sure, but it doesn’t shield me from the repercussions as he dashes forward and grabs me by the neck.
“Time to go,” he hisses as he drags me out of the bathroom.
“Marcus, please, I’ll come willingly,” I try to plead with him. “You don’t have to hurt me.”
But there is no mercy in his grip, no patience in his voice. “Shut the fuck up. You’ll get your due when we’re home,” he growls and forces me toward the motel door.
“No, Marcus. Please, let’s talk about this. It’s not safe for you to leave now, they’re out there looking for you!”
“Yeah, in the wrong place. Jocelyn made sure of it.”
“What?”
No .
The woman’s hatred of me really knows no bounds.
He cackles maniacally as he tightens his grip while simultaneously opening the door. “You’re such a na?ve little fool. I have power, Olivia. Even this far from home, I have power.”
“Yes, you have power, Marcus, but people are looking for you right now. They’re looking for me . I’m only weighing you down. They won’t stop until they find me.”
He pauses in the doorway to look at me with flaring, furious eyes. “But you’re mine , Olivia, and you always will be. If you want to live, you’ll come along without resisting. Dead or alive, I’m dragging your fat ass back to Devon with me.”
“Marcus—”
“Don’t worry, we’ll put you on a diet once you give birth,” Marcus grumbles. “I like your curves, but you’re getting to be too much.”
He must see the disgust in my eyes. “Don’t worry,” he adds, “you’ll learn to love me again.”
It’s the last straw. I’m done trying to placate him.
“After you kidnapped me, hurt me, and insulted me? Dream on, you delusional fuck!” I snap, my anger bursting into a heatwave that burns throughout my body. I kick him hard in the shin.
It takes him by surprise, causing him to loosen his grip on me. “Shit!”
I grasp the opportunity and run across the motel’s parking lot.
My body moves well ahead of my brain. The cool night air fills my lungs as I sprint like I’ve got the devil on my tail. In a way, I do have the devil on my tail, and he’s about to catch up.
“Olivia, you stupid bitch!” Marcus shouts after me.
There are various lights on in the two-story motel. I catch glimpses of people coming to the windows to see what the fuss is about.
“HELP ME!” I scream. “SOMEBODY HELP ME!”
“Olivia!” Marcus snarls just over my shoulder. I feel his fingers slip through the ends of my hair.
“Oh, God!” I cry out as I see the parking lot exit.
Just a few more yards. I don’t know where I’ll go next. I can’t outrun this bastard. He’ll catch me. It’s just a matter of time.
“Olivia, I’m gonna fucking kill you!” Marcus growls.
POP!
Something heavy thuds behind me.
I scream. Somehow, I’m able to run even faster. I see people coming out of the shadows, rushing toward me. I don’t know whether to feel relief or dread, until I recognize their faces.
Dax. Beck. The sheriff’s deputies, though Carlos isn’t among them.
“Oh, thank God,” I gasp and stop. I’m panting, burning up on the inside while chills simultaneously trickle down my spine.
I glance back and I see him.
“Olivia!” Dax shouts as he and Beck rush toward me.
“He’s…” I mumble as I stare at Marcus .
He’s dead on the ground, a pool of blood spreading across the dark pavement. There’s barely any light out here, but it’s for the best. It’s a gruesome scene. I don’t need the details. He’s gone, that’s all that matters.
Relief washes over me, and the adrenaline subsides. By the time Dax and Beck reach me, I’m shaking like a tree caught in a summer storm.
“Fucking hell, Olivia,” Dax says as he wraps his arms around me.
I burst into tears, crying my heart out as I look around. “How did you find me?”
“Jocelyn came to us,” Beck says, then covers my face with warm, reassuring kisses. I hide in Dax’s strong arms, trembling and sobbing while coming apart at the seams.
“He’s gone,” one of the deputies says. He puts his gun away while his colleagues dispatch across the parking lot. Two of them go into the motel room, its light beaming through the open door. “Was he alone, Olivia?”
I nod once. “Yes.”
“Look up there,” Dax whispers, and I follow his gaze.
On the motel roof, invisible until he stands, Leo waves at us. There’s a sniper rifle in his hand, his broad shoulders and tall, massive figure outlined against the night sky. My dark savior.
He fired that shot.
“You’re safe now,” Dax tells me, his lips finding mine.
I damn near lose my breath, turning into a limp noodle as he and Beck help me remain upright. “I’m so sorry,” I manage. “My legs are wobbly.”
Blue and red lights flash as an ambulance enters the parking lot. Other emergency lights come on from four different sheriff’s department–issued cruisers. They were all waiting on the side of the road, hidden beneath the cover of darkness.
Marcus wasn’t going to make it out of here a free man, that’s for sure.
“You’re going to be okay,” Beck says, gently checking my vitals. “We’ll take you to the hospital for a full checkup.”
“He hit you,” Dax says, noticing the bruises on my face and neck. “If we could kill him again, I fucking would.”
“It’s okay. Like you said, it’s over,” I say with a sigh.
Finally, the nightmare has come to an end. My men didn’t give up on me. They came through and then some. They did what they swore they’d never do after they left the Marines.
They took a life.
To save my life. To save our children.
“It’s over,” I say it again, as if to convince myself that it’s true.