Chapter 2
Chapter two
Madelyn
I sigh, my breath leaving warmth into the cool air.
Smother the fire, I tell myself. I could wait until morning, but I must allow myself to believe I’ll escape him.
My stepfather. The one that didn’t even let my mom’s body go cold before declaring he wanted me.
The one who waited until we were alone and assaulted me.
I know he’s close to finding where I am.
I can feel it. This cold and manipulative man will only allow his treasure to remain hidden for so long.
I shudder before forcing myself out of the cabin.
Always one step ahead, Madelyn. Keep it that way.
The night is quiet as I hurriedly place my packed bag into my old beater car. Luckily, I’ve got an old friend that offered me a place across state lines. I just need to hurry.
An eerie sensation washes over me as my door slams, breaking the stillness of the night. The moon shines bright, through the ever-growing cloud cover, illuminating the white paint sprayed upon my wooden cabin. My eyes travel toward the smoke drifting from my chimney and into the air.
The cabin is four miles from the main road, surrounded by mature timber.
A creek runs on both sides to combine into one behind the main property.
The terrain can be rough with steep drop-offs and sliding rocks, which is why it was so appealing.
In order to find me, one has to work for it.
I had bought this place a mere year ago with cash Mom left me after her death.
I thought it would be a good hiding spot until one of my stepdad’s old buddies called me two hours ago, advising my stepdad just got on a flight to his area.
Bless him. He always liked my mom, and therefore, by extension, I guess me.
“Fuck it,” I murmur, letting the flames burn on. If the cabin catches fire, just as well. It’s not like I’ll be coming back, anyway. Decided and out of excuses not to leave, I take one last glance around before getting into the car.
My car is nothing to look at, with a dent on the passenger side, manual roll-down windows, with no AC.
The color might as well be called rust. But it gets me where I need to go and, most importantly, it was cheap.
I bought it understanding that if I ran a couple of red lights or got into a high-speed chase, it wouldn’t be a substantial loss if it got totaled.
The engine cranks over after only a slight hesitation, and soon enough I’m pulling away from the only place I’ve ever called mine.
My headlights shine the way, casting shadows through the treeline.
The car leaves dust behind as it picks up speed.
Movement to my right causes my focus to shift back to the trees and off the path. My eyes scan the area, coming up empty.
I turn my attention back to the driveway, and that’s when I see him.
My car clips the side of a body, and he goes rolling into the center of the driveway.
My breath catches as I slam on the brakes.
My body jolts forward from the sudden movement, causing my chest to hit the steering wheel.
Pain radiates from my ribs and down my back, but I breathe a sigh of relief as my car stops just short of the man.
However, his eyes are closed, and his body appears to be unmoving. Did I kill him?
I debate on what to do next as my fingers tap against my pants.
It is entirely stupid to even consider getting out and checking on this guy.
My stepfather might be behind this, and I’ve seen too many movies and read too many books to know what happens to the girls that try to do nice things.
In theory, the body still hasn’t moved, so…
what damage will running over him do that’s not already done? Dead is dead…is well... fucking dead.
My stomach rolls. Even though I want to keep going, there’s just something in me that won’t allow it.
Murder of a person is not something I can live with, even though I’d like to think otherwise.
If the trees weren’t so close, I could just go around.
But I can’t. It’s either getting out or backing up all the way back to the cabin.
I curse into the air and grab my knife out of the glove box.
Forcing myself out of the car, I point it at the body. “Sir? Are you okay?”
The car's lights break up the darkness so that I can get a better look at his condition. A mixture of blood, mud, and grass cover his T-shirt and jeans. Sweat forms on his brow and trickles down, past his brown hair, and onto the side of his neck. The wetness allows his tattoos to bleed through all the grime. My eyes narrow at the place where the sweat droplet lands and conclude that he is, in fact, alive. Light breaths escape him, and his chest slowly expands. He’s lucky the weather has been mild, and he can get away without having a coat.
Another couple of months, the environment would have killed him.
“Sir?” I whisper. Again, no movement. My free hand fumbles toward my jean pocket for my phone. “If you can hear me, I’m calling 911 to get you some help.”
“If you make that call, it will be you needing medical attention,” his voice growls into the night. A mixture of gold and blue gaze back at me. Not what I imagined his eye color to be. Black seems more appropriate.
I flinch at the sudden noise, which gives him just enough time to snatch my arm. His fingers bury themselves deep into my skin, causing me to lose my grip on the knife and my phone. With a clang, they drop to the ground.
I pull away, silently cursing myself. “Let me go!”
His grip tightens as he twists my arms behind me. Heat rushes to my face from the pain and shock of it all. I thought my stepfather would come to me in person. Guess I was wrong. “Did Oliver Carter send you? I’ll pay double what he did. Please, just let me go.”
A low chuckle escapes his throat. “Where are you headed this time of night?” he asks, completely ignoring my statement.
He closes the gap between us as his feet shift closer to mine.
A shiver goes down my back as he breathes in my ear.
“There are worse monsters out here than this Oliver Carter. Be a shame if you found one.”
I stop struggling at his words. He must not know my stepfather after all. “Maybe, but I’m only worried about him,” I answer before realizing I shouldn’t have. I knew hiding from Oliver would only last so long, but I’ve been lucky so far. Until now.
One hand lets me go and finds its way to my throat. His fingers graze down my neck, lightly tracing down to my collarbone. Goosebumps form along my arms at his touch. “Why the knife if you are so worried? Shouldn’t you have a gun?”
I force myself to swallow. A million thoughts run through my mind as I try to come up with an appropriate answer, but fail miserably. “Shouldn’t you? You’re the one alone in the woods.”
A finger drums against my chest. “I do. I’m just not using it.”
I gasp, heart hammering in my chest. I wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t. The only noise between us is his gentle tapping against my skin. Silence stretches on for several minutes before I realize he could probably stand here forever. I sigh, face flushed. “The gun is on my to-do list.”
“Is dying on your to-do list?”
My body tenses up at his words. “Obviously not,” I hiss before thinking better of it.
He loosens his grip to spin me around. My eyes are level with his chest. I keep my stare there to avoid having to make eye contact. “You’re bratty,” he says, voice deep. His hand tugs at my hair, forcing my eyes to find his. “Maybe you need to be broken,” he murmurs.
“I already am,” I say. It’s the truth. While I may try to act differently, my stepfather changed me. I learned very quickly to shield myself. I slipped a mask in place and never learned how to take it off again.
His eyes narrow, studying me. A shift takes place in them, and his hold loosens slightly. “What’s your name?” he whispers.
I close my eyes, not wanting to look at him. At the way he stares into me like I’m his next prey. I find myself shivering at his gaze. “If I tell you, will you let me go?”
“Not likely.”
“Just wait another day or two, and you’ll have competition if you don’t.” I try a different approach. “What do you want? I have a cabin just up the drive. Use it. Keep it. I don’t give a fuck. No one will know you are here. Until Oliver gets here. I won’t tell a soul.”
His arms let me go. Suddenly, I wish I didn’t have to go without his heat. He bends over and takes my knife from the ground. “I like games,” he says. The knife twirls around his fingers. “Tell me your name. I have a proposition for you.”
I eye the knife as he moves it so easily. It’s memorizing. “Madelyn,” I murmur.
He smiles at hearing my name. “Here’s what’s going to happen, Maddie…”
“It’s Madelyn,” I interrupt. “Not Maddie. And who are you anyway?”
“As I was saying,” he continues, not telling me his name.
His index finger touches the end of the blade.
“We are going to race to the cabin. If you reach it first, I’ll leave.
” He hands me the knife. “Here’s the catch.
If I catch you, you are mine. Use the knife to defend yourself if you must, but I warn you, Maddie, I do like pain. ”
My mouth opens. He’s fucking crazy. My eyes go wide as I try to get a handle on my nerves. He’s going to kill me. I glance around at my car and wonder if I could just circle around and take off with it.
He’s one step ahead of me. Walking over to my car, he switches it off and pockets my keys. I force myself to swallow the fear that rises to my chest. “This is your only chance to be rid of me.”
What I want is to go back in time ten minutes and run his ass over.
It would take less effort, and I’d be driving my happy butt away.
This whole thing could have been prevented if I just wasn’t a good person.
But no. I had to check on him, and this is where it got me.
Holding my knife, playing tag with a psycho.
“I’d like you to leave,” I say through gritted teeth and teary eyes.
He smirks and moves a few spaces back. “Then you better run.”
I stare at him for a beat, trying to make myself believe that this is real. Am I really going to do this? His arm muscles flex as he digs his feet into the dirt. He looks at me, eyes turning dark. The air around us shifts, causing the hairs on my neck to stand up.
Yes. Yes, I am.
I bolt toward the cabin with the knife in tow.
This man is already gaining on me, so I quickly erase thoughts of staying on the driveway.
Thud. Thud. Thud. His footsteps ring in my ears.
I swerve into the treeline to lose him. My heart races against my chest as my body tries to catch up to what my mind already knows.
This man can’t win because he can’t kill me.