Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jenny
I won’t be able to move correctly for a week.
He broke me, then rebuilt me, making me feel more adored and valuable than I ever have in all my life.
But it’s the way he blushes when I snuggle up to him.
The way he holds me. The light caress of his fingers on my spine and the pangs of sadness in his eyes when I leave the bed to get dressed, that make me think, maybe it’s the first time he’s felt the same thing.
Did everyone else use him for his money and power? Or was it only quick physical encounters for him because that’s all he ever wanted before? And maybe what we have is different for both of us.
The more I watch him, the more I’m starting to think he likes me.
I tuck my hair behind my ear as I list all the reasons why I think I’m right. Yep. He like likes me. Cool.
Kingston is pressed against Joey, splooting his body as long as he can make it. Joey absently pets behind the dog’s ear, closing his eyes and resting his head against the pillow. The moment is perfect.
Until my stomach grumbles and he opens his eyes, throws on his pants and shirt, and leads me into the kitchen. For a cabin that is supposed to be a safe house, it's well stocked with high end steaks and fancy Irish butter.
Noticing my curiosity at the stocked fridge, he offers, “Dimitri and Katya came here last weekend to celebrate one of their many anniversaries.”
He’s basting the steak in butter when the alarms go off. Pulling the steak off the burner, he runs to get a gun from the bedroom, leaving me standing still in the middle of the room. He yells to get behind the couch and stay low as two headlights flood the cabin with blinding light.
He cracks open the front door, lets out a few rounds of ammo at the car, and everything is silent. I’m able to breathe again and things feel semi safe when a smoke bomb crashes through the window, and we don’t have much time to act.
We head out the back door, but there’re already guys waiting for us. Kingston starts barking and growling, but one of these motherfuckers kicks him. The poor puppy screams and howls worse than when he was in the vet.
Joey takes a swing at the guy bellowing, “Don’t fucking hurt my dog.”
Another guy draws his gun and shoots it. It misses Kingston, but scares him, and he races in a panic into the woods.
Joey is punching and fighting everyone he sees, and suddenly there’s a sharp pain in my neck. I call out his name as a pair of hands grab me. My vision goes blurry, but I see someone else grabbing Joey and injecting something into his neck too.
Am I dying? Everything is heavy and empty at the same time. Breathing slows. I need to get to him. I need to be by his side, to go save Kingston. My body feels like lead-covered elephants are standing on my arms, legs, and back. I can’t move. It’s getting harder to see, to feel, to hear.
There’s a car door opening, and my body is shoved forward. Joey screams my name before everything is blank, just darkness and emptiness.
And I'm still hungry.