CHAPTER 4
brYNN
Itried calling him back half a dozen times after Shelby pulled that little stunt, but he never picked up.
He ignored my messages and texts. I’ve been hoping that he was just so annoyed by me telling him I wasn’t going to go out with him that he decided he didn’t need to respond.
But when I see him walking through the door of the coffee house, my heart sinks.
He walks to the counter, his smile wide. Shelby nudges me in the ribs with her elbow and giggles as she flounces away.
“Ready?” he asks.
“Didn’t you get any of my texts or messages?”
“Yeah, but I figured you were just nervous. I decided I’d give you a second chance,” he says with a laugh that sounds a little harsh.
I shake my head. “No, I really meant it. I don’t want to go out with you.”
He chuckles. “Come on. Why not?”
“Do I really need a reason?” I huff.
“Of course not,” he replies. “I’m just curious, is all.”
I sigh and shake my head, irritated that I’m being made to feel like I have to explain myself to him.
It reminds me of my ex all over again. I shouldn’t have to give a reason for not wanting to sleep with somebody and I shouldn’t have to give a reason for not wanting to go out with them.
Why can’t men just accept my answers without making me justify them?
Cole doesn’t seem like a man used to hearing the word ‘no’. And the way he’s looking at me makes me feel like he’s going to keep pestering me if I don’t give him some reason for not wanting to go out with him… which irritates me even more.
“Listen, I’m just not in a place where I want to date right now,” I tell him. “School keeps me really busy, and I don’t have the time—”
“It’s just dinner,” he cuts me off.
“I’m really not interested. But thank you.”
His eyes sparkle, and his grin turns feral. “How can you know if you’re not interested if you don’t even give it a try?”
My blood starts to boil, and I clench my jaw.
I catch Shelby glancing at me from across the shop, and she’s got a questioning expression on her face, clearly not hearing this exchange.
Cole is getting pushy, and I don’t like it.
And I don’t like the way he’s staring at me, as if I belong to him or something.
“I appreciate the offer,” I say through gritted teeth. “But I’m not interested. Now, I have to get back to work—”
“Come on, Brynn. It’s just dinner—”
“I said ‘no’!” I shout.
My voice echoes around the nearly empty coffee shop, drawing the attention of the few people sitting at the tables.
My cheeks flush, and my face warms. Cole remains standing at the counter, a ponderous, somewhat amused look on his face.
He’s staring at me with the most condescending expression that I’ve ever seen.
It’s like he doesn’t believe me. Like he thinks he knows what I want better than I do.
“All right, all right, chill,” he says. “I can take a hint.”
“Good.”
“But listen, the offer still stands. I’d love to take you out sometime,” he says. “You’ve got my card, so just give me a call when you’re ready.”
I say nothing and just glare at him. He chuckles again, nods, turns and walks out of the coffee house. Only when he’s gone do I let out the breath I’ve been holding.
“What was all that about?” Shelby asks.
Still fired up, I round on her, my eyes narrowed to slits. “Next time I tell you I’m not interested in somebody, don’t you ever call them and tell them I want to go out with them. Never again. Got it?”
Shelby recoils like I slapped her. “I’m sorry, Brynn. I didn’t mean to—”
“Forget it,” I say, then sigh.
I’m still so pissed that if this were a cartoon, steam would be coming out of my ears; I turn around and push through the swinging doors that lead to the back of the shop, wanting nothing more than to be alone right now.
When my shift is over, I storm out of the coffee shop without saying goodbye.
All I want is to take a hot shower, get into some comfy clothes, put on Netflix and forget this day ever happened.
The sun has already gone down, and the air carries a slight chill.
Because the coffee shop is located on a main street, we are forced to park in a lot a block away.
Pulling my sweater around me a little tighter, I duck my head and walk, more annoyed by this inconvenience than normal. Everything is annoying me right now.
I come around the corner and pull up short. “What the hell?”
As if sensing my presence, Cole, who is leaning against my car, looks up from his phone, and a toothy smile spreads across his face. I sigh and pull my keys out of my pocket.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I thought I’d give you one more shot.”
“What part of not … um, not interested in going out with you, are you having trouble understanding?” I snap.
“Come on, now, sweetie,” he purrs. “Let’s just go have a drink—”
“Seriously, fuck off. I’m not going anywhere with you!”
He sighs, as if pained, his lips forming a taut line across his face. There’s something in his eyes, a faint glimmer, that makes the back of my neck prickle. My heart lurches, and fear-fueled adrenaline rushes through my veins.
Something’s not right.
“Is that your final answer, Brynn?” he asks.
“Please,” I say. “Just get away from my car and let me leave.”
“Is that a ‘no’?”
“I don’t want to go out with you.”
“I was afraid you might say that.”
My stomach drops when I hear the scuff of a shoe on the concrete behind me.
Before I can turn around, though, a hand, almost as large as my head, is clamped around my mouth.
My unseen attacker is large and pulls me against a body that dwarfs mine.
I try to scream, but my voice is muffled.
I struggle, but his arms are so large and muscular, I can’t move. I’m trapped.
Standing in front of me, Cole grins. “It didn’t have to be this way, sweetheart. All you had to do was go along with me, and this would not hurt you as much as it’s going to.”
He reaches into his inside jacket pocket and withdraws a small case.
My eyes widen as I watch him pull out a syringe.
He pulls the cap off and tucks it into his pocket, the tip of the needle glinting coldly in the dim street lighting.
I struggle and thrash as he approaches, trying to scream through the hand covering my mouth.
The man’s grip on me loosens slightly, but then he strongly snaps me back against his body.
His hands feel like iron vices. My feet lift from the pavement, and I try to kick. Just air.
“Hold her, still” Cole sneers.
“I’m tryin’.”
Cole’s lips curl back, and he slaps me hard across the face, rocking my head to the side.
Then again, harder this time. My cheek blooms with pain, and the inside of my mouth suddenly tastes like old pennies.
I’m stunned. Dazed. In pain. And feel the fight ebb out of me as he steps forward.
He reaches out and grips my throat. He squeezes and my mouth pops open.
A gargled sound emerges. I cannot breath and I feel my pulse throbbing in my head.
I am terrified. From the corner of my eye, I sight a silver needle rise up, heading straight towards me.
I wince as the needle bites into my neck.
His thumb depresses the plunger, and I feel warmth spread instantly through my veins. What the—my thoughts blur.
He quickly recaps the needle, puts it back in the case, then tucks it away in his jacket again. My vision wavers, and my limbs weaken. Cole leans close. Very close to my face.
“You’re going to learn to do as I fuckin’ tell you, you fuckin’ slutty piece of chicken-shit.” He spits the words, and his saliva spatters across my skin with each angry syllable. “And, if I can make a suggestion, you should learn to do it very fuckin’ fast,” he says, then turns away.
My body trembles, and my field of vision starts to narrow, but I hear a sharp crack and suddenly the man holding me loosens his grip and goes limp.
I hear a meaty thud and see him laying on the ground behind me.
My legs give out, and I collapse, half on top of the man who was holding me.
The world around me is fuzzy, but I see another large man who looks a lot like Mr Black-coffee-PI, or is his name ‘Berk’, a name that suddenly emerges from somewhere deep within my mind-mush—stepping forward, a gun in his hand.
“Wh—what’s happening?” I say, though I don’t think it’s loud enough for anybody to hear. And I’m not sure I spoke any actual meaningful words.
I watch, seemingly from a great distance, as the PI man presses his gun into Cole’s face.
“Get down on your knees,” he growls.
“Go fuck yourself,” Cole shoots back. “You’re making a big mistake.”
A grin curls the corner of the man’s mouth. “Not the first. Won’t be the last. Now, get down on your fucking knees.”
“Fuck you.”
With lightning speed, the man raises the butt of his weapon and brings it down on Cole’s head with a sharp, vicious crack. Cole slumps to the ground immediately and lies still.
He turns to me, his dark eyes filled with concern.
“Can you stand, Miss?” he asks.
I shake my head. At least, I think I do. He quickly tucks his gun away, then reaches down and scoops me up as if I weigh nothing at all. As my vision grows dark, he slides me into the back of a vehicle—his vehicle, I guess—and slams the door.
My entire world dims, and then goes black.