CHAPTER FIVE
ATHENA
My mind was blown. Shattered. This entire night felt like a fever dream.
Not once had I guessed that Damon Price was the man chasing me through the woods. Seeing his face had shocked me. I thought it might be Andy or someone else who felt like I had led them on. Finding out that Damon had basically been hired to come after me was more than I could wrap my brain around.
I sat on the cold headstone, watching him dig a substantial length of rope from the back of his vehicle. Was I supposed to trust him? Because I sure as hell didn’t. How could I possibly trust someone who was basically a thug for hire?
Damon claimed that he was going to draw Andy out here, to make him sorry for what he wanted to do to me. Hearing Damon describe what Andy had asked of him made me sick. Maybe I should be glad that Damon had limits on what he was willing to do to another person. Assuming he told the truth.
Maybe Andy was really his partner in crime and the two of them were going to do those things to me anyway. I thought about trying to run but knew I would never get far with my aching feet. My dress was torn and dirty. Fit for the trash now. Not that it mattered. The dress could be replaced.
My stomach flipped with nerves as we waited for Andy’s arrival. Even though Damon had offered me a deal to get out of this, there was no guarantee that he would uphold his end. I wasn’t sure such a deal worked in my favor anyway.
I would owe him indefinitely from the sounds of it. Who knew what that even meant?
When headlights lit up the road approaching the graveyard, Damon quickly returned to me. “Get on your knees with your hands behind your back as if they’re tied. Head down. Don’t say a word.”
Not knowing what else to do, I did what he said. Hoping that if I played along, he would be true to his word and not let Andy hurt me. I let my hair fall forward so it hid most of my face. My chest heaved with fear and anticipation.
I began to tremble when Andy got out of his car. He hurried over to where Damon stood a few feet from me. Even though my eyes were downcast, I felt him stare at me.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “I thought you were taking care of it.”
Damon’s answer came smooth and easy. “You were so enthusiastic about what you wanted done to her. I thought you would want to be here.”
From beneath my lowered lids, I saw Andy shift from foot to foot, the grass crushed beneath his shoes. Clearly, he had not been expecting this. It took him a minute to answer.
“I guess I wasn’t really sure you would go through with it.” Andy sounded uncertain. “I was just pissed off, you know? I think you’ve probably done enough.”
Damon laughed, a wicked sound that sent a chill through me. Down my spine and right between my legs. It must have been the tension of the moment. Damon Price was so not my type.
“Done enough? What did you think was going to happen? That I would grab her for you and then we would let her go so she can run right to the cops and rat us out? I’m not sure you thought this all the way through, Andrew.” Damon’s tone grew more condescending with each word.
I had no way of knowing if he was trying to psych out Andy or if he really meant what he said. Should it be the latter, I was screwed.
“Maybe I didn’t. Maybe I never thought you would do a damn thing. I don’t want any part of this anymore.” Andy began to back away.
“You paid me, asshole. You told me to do some sick fucking shit to this girl. It’s too late for you to decide you want no part of it.” Damon surprised both Andy and me when he pulled a gun. Aiming it at Andy, he snarled, “Don’t take another step.”
I raised my head enough to see Andy freeze, his eyes widening. The absolute fear that flashed across his face, illuminated by his car’s headlights, made me feel a little better about this whole sordid ordeal. This asshole deserved to feel what I’d been feeling all night.
“What the fuck, man?” Andy’s voice took on a high note. “What are you doing with that thing?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” Cocking his head to one side, Damon used the gun to motion at Andy. “On your knees. Now.”
Andy gaped at him in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Damon’s response was to fire a bullet into the ground next to Andy’s feet. “I don’t like to repeat myself.”
The sound of the gun going off was startling. Although Andy seemed a lot more frightened than me. He dropped to his knees, raising his hands, confusion etched all over his face. I gasped when Damon used the weapon to smash Andy in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground.
He didn’t stop there. Following up with several punches and even a kick to the ribs that had Andy doubled over in pain, begging for mercy. I watched all of this, surprised by the brutality I witnessed. The more Andy begged, the more fired up Damon seemed to become.
“Do you have any idea how fucking pathetic you are?” Damon hissed.
“Acting like a little bitch because a woman is sick of fucking you. Throwing a temper tantrum at a party in front of everyone. Paying someone else to do your dirty work because you don’t have the balls to do it yourself. You make me fucking sick.”
As Damon spoke, he continued to rain down blows. Stopping only when Andy was barely conscious. I wasn’t a fan of violence by any means, yet I had a hard time feeling bad for Andy.
“But you said she deserved it,” Andy gasped out. “You convinced me this would be a good idea.”
“Because you’re an easy mark and a complete idiot.” Pointing to me, Damon snapped his fingers. “Get up, Athena. Get over here and tie this fucker up.”
I sprang to my feet, not knowing what else to do but obey. Damon tossed me a length of rope, keeping his gun trained on Andy who now struggled to get up.
“Tie his hands behind his back,” Damon instructed. “Make sure it’s tight.”
As Andy opened his mouth to protest, Damon slapped a strip of fresh tape over it. I did my best to tie Andy’s wrists tight together, even though he kept jerking them out of my grasp. It took several attempts to tie what I felt was a decent knot. This wasn’t something I’d ever done before.
When I felt like it was the best I could do, Damon double checked my work, nodding like it was good enough. Then he dragged Andy to his feet, shoving him toward the forest that surrounded the graveyard.
“You’re going to start walking now. Don’t stop until the sun rises. Otherwise, I’ll be here waiting for you.” Damon waved the gun in Andy’s face. When Andy made a muffled shriek in response, Damon gave him a shove that made him stumble. “What did I say about making me repeat myself? Get moving.”
One eye slowly swelling shut, blood dripping from his nose, Andy staggered into the trees, quickly disappearing in the dark. I stood stiffly, my legs and feet aching. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Damon next. He’d proven himself to be volatile and unpredictable.
Tucking the gun into the waistband of his jeans, he turned to face me. He jerked a thumb toward the headstone behind me. “Take a seat, creampuff. We’re not finished here yet.”