Jolie
As soon as Kieran gets me onto the floor, he flips me over and lies on top of me.
Fear clutches me so hard and fast that I swear my heart gives out for just a second.
Is he going to rape me?
Murder me?
Both?
I start to wriggle against his weight, pushing on his shoulders and begging him to let me go.
“Please. Don’t do this.”
“Give me that fucking drive.” He claws at the device in my hand, bending my fingers back painfully.
“Ow!” I cry, my heart thundering so hard, I swear it’s going to explode in my chest.
“You fucking interfering little bitch,” he snarls, whacking the drive across my face.
Pain rockets through my cheek, and stars fill my eyes. For just a second, I think I might throw up, but the feeling passes as I blink and clear my vision.
He rises to his knees, and that nausea fades completely as my brain clicks into action.
Escape, escape, escape! Run! Now! Get to Ben!
Scrambling back, I kick at Kieran’s hands when he tries to grab me again.
“No!” I scream, lashing out and driving my foot into his stomach.
He doubles over, and I manage to get to my feet and fumble toward the door. My legs are wobbly and uncoordinated. I’m not sure I’m going to make it.
Get the drive!
No! I have to get out of here.
I hesitate, pausing by the door and looking back at Kieran, indecision spiking through me.
Do I wrench it from his hand and make a run for it?
His eyes dart to mine and he holds my gaze, rising to his feet and growling like a dog getting ready to attack.
My breath hitches.
Screw the drive. Run!
“I’m gonna kill you. And then I’m gonna destroy your boyfriend.” His threat is soft and menacing, making my heart hitch.
Logic is trying to remind me that he’d be a fool to touch me. Ben’s coming. He’s probably already called the police. There’s no way out for Kieran now. Why would he risk touching me?
Because he knows it’s over.
He’s got nothing to lose. He might as well take you down with him.
My eyes bulge and I scuttle back, the office door rattling when I bang into it. I scramble for the handle.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Kieran darts toward me again, and I let out another scream, wrenching the door open and bolting through it.
“Jolie!”
I hear Ben’s voice and race toward it, but I end up tripping and crashing into Carina’s graphics desk before trying to bolt around Heather’s writing space. But Kieran gets a hold of me again, fisting the back of my hair.
A panicked wail punches out of me as pain spikes across my scalp.
“Get your hands off her!” Ben’s pounding on the door now, but I can’t respond.
Wrenching me back, Kieran throws me down once more, my shoulder clipping the edge of a table and knocking over a computer screen. It crashes to the floor at the same time I do.
My cry is more pitiful this time as my body tries to cope with the agony radiating through me.
Ben’s out there. He’s coming for you.
But he can’t get in!
When Kieran jumps on top of me again, I can only whimper. His eyes are wild, his gaze that of a full-blown maniac as he reaches for my throat, wrapping his fingers around my neck and cutting off my air supply.
“You meddling little bitch,” he seethes, his voice a wispy rasp.
I try to fight against his hold on me, but he’s lost his mind. It’s like he’s been possessed, and I don’t have the strength to counter the demon on top of me.
Ben’s not going to make it in time.
I’ll be dead before he even manages to open the door.