Chapter 21 #2
I open the window and lean out, testing it.
It’s firmly attached to the side of the house.
I grab my phone and tuck it into my back pocket before sitting on the windowsill, swiveling my body and ducking my head and shoulders out.
It’s a little scary at first, especially since I’m still shaky from whatever drugs they gave me, but muscle memory is an amazing thing.
I reach out with my right hand and foot and grab the metal tube, finding the closest bracket used to hold the spout in place.
It’s attached to the wall and doesn’t budge when I put weight on it, so I brace my foot against it before swinging out the rest of the way and gripping the pipe like my life depends on it.
Now that I’m out, it’s easy to climb down, almost like a ladder, my feet finding the rings screwed into the wall as I lower myself closer and closer to the ground.
Finally, I hop the rest of the way down and wipe my hands on my jeans. No sweat.
Next step: getting an Uber out of here. I pull up the app on my phone, careful to duck under any windows I pass while walking alongside the house.
I didn’t go to all that trouble for Colt or Nix to see me out here.
Either I’m good at sneaking around, or they’re not paying attention.
Either way, I make it to the driveway with no trouble and start walking down, glad to have the house behind me.
I don’t know what’s going to happen. All that matters right now is putting distance between us. I never thought they would do anything that cruel. What am I supposed to do with a tattoo on my ass?
It’s the sound of an approaching car that catches my attention first. My head snaps up from the phone. No. It’s impossible. I can’t be seeing this.
The car pulls to a stop in front of me, and the driver’s side window rolls down. “What are you doing out here?” James asks once he sticks his head out from inside.
No. No, no. I had over a week. Why is he here? “I was taking a walk,” I lie, closing the app.
“Well, surprise. I’m home early.” The way he smiles is the way he used to, back when he was pretending to be a normal person. It’s even more chilling than if he flat-out acted like a psycho.
“And Mom?” I ask since I don’t see anybody in the passenger seat.
“She’s still at the resort. It’s all paid up after all, and it’s not her fault I had to come back early for an important call that came up out of nowhere.” He lifts a shoulder, chuckling. “Some people, right? No respect for a man’s honeymoon.”
He’s back. Alone. Not that I would trust my mother to protect me, but I figured there’d be less chance of him hurting me while she was here. He’d want to keep up appearances, right?
“I know the guys will be happy to see you. I’ll be back in a little bit.” Nothing in the world has ever been more important than getting away from him, from this house, from all of it.
“No. You’re not going to do that.” The smile is gone and replaced by a scowl.
“You’re going back to the house, and that’s where you’re staying.
Right now. I’ll follow you the rest of the way up.
” He rolls the window up but doesn’t move the car, staring at me from behind the wheel.
Like he’s challenging me to go against him.
There isn’t just one red flag waving in front of my eyes right now. There are about a hundred. So many red flags that it’s basically all I can see. Red.
I can’t believe this. I can’t believe I have to turn around and walk up the driveway, but what else am I supposed to do?
My feet are heavy but nowhere as heavy as my heart.
I could try to run past him, down the driveway, and toward the road.
If I’m lucky, I’ll get to wave someone down before he catches me.
James taps against the glass, pointing toward the house. I give him a tight smile before turning toward the direction he wants me to take, only to spin around all the way before sprinting down the driveway toward the road.
My feet pound against the pavement as I run like my life depends on it.
Pushing my legs as fast as I can go, I race toward freedom while the sound of the engine revving up behind me breathes new panic into me.
My lungs burn, and my muscles ache, but none of that stops me from forcing my body to keep running.
Unfortunately, it’s not enough.
Before I ever reach the driveway, James’s car speeds past me, just to come to a sudden halt in front of me. The car is barely in park when the door pops open, and an angry James heads toward me. I dig my heels into the ground and stop a few feet in front of him.
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just try to run from me,” he sneers.
“Don’t be stupid, Leni. I’m trying to be nice here, but if you behave like a brat, I will treat you like one.
” Just like in the hallway, his voice has no amount of humanity.
It’s almost like he has a split personality.
I don’t have to be an expert to know that this side of James is dangerous, unpredictable, and utterly terrifying.
I thought things were bad with my stepbrothers, but something tells me the worst of it has yet to come. For everything the guys have done to me, I’m still more scared of James.
I was too blind to see it before, but now I’m certain James is the biggest monster of all.