Chapter 4
FOUR
JUST KILL ME NOW
DEIDRA
“Well, shit.” No matter how many times I checked, my phone wasn’t in my purse.
I glanced back at downtown, trying to decide if it was worth walking back to the bar to look for it.
I’ll go back tomorrow.
Wiping under my eyes, I picked up the pace toward my house on Sixth Street. The hospital loomed ahead as I crossed through the abandoned parking lot. Misty rain clung to my dress, providing a little relief from the humidity we’d been swimming in all week.
A car alarm went off, and I jumped. I’d made it a rule to never walk home drunk, but I’d bailed on my date without much thought.
For weeks, Everett had been coming into Kum and Go, flirting with me, begging me to go out with him. Who would’ve guessed that when I finally said yes, it would be a total nightmare?
He started the night by inviting his gaming buddies to the bar with us and then proceeded to get shit-faced.
Then, he chatted up another girl, a girl who had no interest in his ass, while his friends bought countless rounds of shots.
The final nail in the coffin was when he tried to feel me up in the alley outside the Welkum.
“Come on. I thought townies were an easy fuck.”
“Gah,” I screamed, shaking my arms out. My purse slipped from my hand, spilling all over the pavement. “Perfect.”
I dropped to my knees, wincing as they hit a jagged crack. My fingertips scraped the warm asphalt as I struggled to pick up my ID and credit card. Annoyed, I fell back on my ass and stared up at the cloudy sky.
Can’t fucking win.
As if my sad, drunk thoughts summoned it, the sky opened up into a downpour.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Just kill me now!” I yelled to the vacant lot.
The rain pounded down on me, bouncing off the asphalt and into my face as I finally scraped my shit off the ground. I struggled to stand, my long skirt drenched and heavy. “No use hurrying,” I mumbled and walked back toward the street.
A car turned, the headlights so bright I had to hold a hand in front of my eyes. It slowly rolled toward me, and my fight or flight kicked in. Gathering up my skirt, I prepared to book it. I knew these streets like the back of my hand. If I needed to, I could easily slip away.
The car stopped at the corner. When I turned to make a run for it, a familiar voice called out, “Deidra?”
I couldn’t make out the driver’s face through the rain and high beams.
“Huh, yeah?” I responded timidly.
“You need a ride?”
“Uh—” I glanced down the side street, calculating how much time this little detour would add to my trip home.
The car door slammed, and a man carrying an umbrella jogged toward me. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him.
Did we have a class together?
He smiled and said, “We had physics together with Dr. Lumpkis.”
That was probably it. There were over fifty students in that section.
“I can give you my umbrella if you don’t want—” He tilted his head toward the running car. His understanding smile as he held the umbrella out to me eased my concerns.
“Oh, hey. Yeah, a ride would be great.”
We rushed to the car, and he opened the passenger door and helped me in. He ran around the front, and I caught a glimpse of his handsome face in the headlights.
He got in the car, running his fingers through his wet hair with a smile. “That rain really came out of nowhere.”
“Yeah.” I frowned down at the clean interior. “Sorry about your seats.”
“No worries. A little rain’s not going to hurt them.” He smiled and turned the air down. “Is the temperature okay?”
“Yeah, thanks.” I couldn’t look away from his profile, wondering why he had stopped to help me.
Don’t be like that. There are good people out there.
My vision was blurry from all the shots, so it took me a minute to realize he was driving us in the wrong direction.
Duh, I didn’t tell him where to go.
“Oh. Sorry. I’m actually back toward the hospital.”
“Shit. Yeah, I probably should’ve asked where I was going.” He laughed, warm and comforting. Lifting his hand, he checked the display behind the steering wheel and sighed. “I need to get some gas. Do you mind?”
“Not at all.”
“Thanks.” He drove past the fast-food places that lined the main street through Kirksville. “There are some napkins in the glove box if you want to dry your face.”
Touching my cheek, I laughed. “I must look like a drowned rat.”
“Nah.” He flashed me a smile. “You’re gorgeous.”
Yeah, okay, buddy.
I tried the latch on the glove compartment, but it didn’t budge. “I think it’s stuck.”
“Sometimes, you have to—” He slammed his fist into the plastic, and it fell open. “Use a little force.”
The light in the well-organized glove box made it easy to find a stack of brown paper napkins, as well as a very sharp, very scary hunting knife.
My hands shook as I took the napkins out.
Play it cool. It’s probably nothing. Lots of people have knives.
Dad was a hunter, so I’d been around guns and knives my whole life, but this was different. I mean, it felt like he wanted me to see the knife. Considering how wet I was, that stack of cheap napkins wasn’t going to help. No, it was some kind of threat.
I’ll get out at the gas station and use their phone. Just got to hold on for another couple of minutes.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, dabbing my forehead as I watched for the familiar yellow sign. As soon as the gas station came into view, my stomach twisted.
So close.
“Rain’s letting up,” he said, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. We stopped at a red light, and he flipped the wipers off. “Just a little pop-up storm. Hopefully, it helps break this heat.”
I hummed, counting the seconds until the light turned green. Wrapping my fingers around the handle, I was ready to get out there. Better to be the weird girl who overreacted than dead. Just as I pulled the handle, he hit the gas.
It only took a matter of seconds for every ounce of hope in me to evaporate.
“Aren’t you getting gas?” I asked as he flew past two gas stations.
“Eventually.” His easy smile twisted into something more sinister. The dashboard lights cast an eerie glow on his face as we got further from town.
Swallowing, I blinked back tears. “Where are we going?”
“The new hotel. I want to see how far along they are.”
I nodded, looking out the window.
Will I survive if I jump out here?
“I wouldn’t do that,” he said calmly.
“Huh?”
“I wouldn’t try to run.”
I shook my head, pressing my back to the door. “I wasn’t—”
“Stop.” He slowed, turning into a pitch-black parking lot lined with trailers marked “McCormick Construction.” Parking behind the heavy equipment, he sighed. “I want you to get out and put your hands on top of the car.”
I eyed him, in no hurry to give him my back.
He let out a humorless laugh and reached for the glove compartment.
It was like a fuse lit inside me, and I was out of the car and running.
“Stop running, Deidra. You’re just making it worse for yourself.” The slow slap of boots on mud followed me across the dark construction site.
I’d almost reached the giant crane when he broke into a sprint, closing the distance between us in a flash.
Grabbing my arm, he yanked me back, locking me in his hold. “Come on. Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” he said, plunging his knife into my gut.
I cried out, my hands going right to my stomach. The pain was red-hot, radiating through my midsection.
My attacker laughed, shoving me to the ground.
I curled into a ball, trying to put pressure on my belly and ease the pain, but it didn’t work. My vision blurred with tears as I silently cursed myself.
He stepped back with a deep sigh, watching as I rolled to my stomach and slowly crawled toward the highway. Luck was on my side, and I caught sight of a pair of high beams less than a mile away. Shoving up onto my knees, I yelled, “Help! Help me! He’s going to—”
That same warm pain spread between my shoulder blades, and I fell face-first into the mud. Trying to lift myself up, pain shot through my torso, and I struggled to take a breath. The knife sliced my lower back, and I cried out, blood flying from my mouth as the car on the highway flew by.
It’s over.
“I warned you,” he said from behind. Picking up my foot, he dragged me back toward the car. Rocks cut into my belly as he yanked my body without a care.
He grunted and dropped my foot. “Great, now I’m all sweaty.”
Rolling me onto my back, he tsked. “Look at you.”
Tears, snot, and blood covered my cheeks as I managed to croak out, “Why?”
That hideous smile was back, only this time his eyes were hollow. All the warmth from earlier was long gone, and now it was clear it had all been an act. “Just working through something.”
I had no fucking idea what he was talking about. Every second that passed made it harder to breathe, let alone speak and ask him to explain. I choked out a wet sound, blood filling my mouth and suffocating me. Flat on my back, I was done for.
Without warning, he snatched my feet up and dragged me across the worksite. “I think it’s about time we called it a night, don’t you? I still need to get gas.”
Pressing his boot to my hip, he shoved me, and I rolled down a jagged slope, landing on my back with a heavy thud. Stars filled my vision as I stared up at the black sky. My blinking slowed as I fought to stay conscious.
A red light shone from outside the pit, dimming until I was left in total darkness.
Why did I get in that fucking car?