That’s when I see it. It’s only a brief flicker. If I had blinked, I would have missed it. But he knows Kas’s name.
I smirk, triumphant. “You’ve already met him, haven’t you? Well, I mean, met him again. ’Cause you already knew him, right? From seven years ago. But he’s changed a lot since then. This is what he does, you know.” I lean forward and lower my voice, like I’m telling him a secret. “He gets close and then”—I draw my index finger across my neck, making a slicing sound in my throat—“next thing you know, you’re drowning in your own blood.”
My words hang in the air between us. He looks afraid, and I feel strong.
Then, his face suddenly changes, and he laughs loudly, clutching his stomach with his hand.
And my stomach sinks.
“I fucking had you there, didn’t I?” he crows. “God, you dumb bitch! Did you really think I would give a fuck about your little boyfriend? Do you know how many bitches I’ve raped? How many people I’ve killed? That little cunt and her pansy-ass boyfriend were two in a big-ass pool of people. Let him come. I want him to. It’ll give me a chance to finish what I didn’t get to finish all those years ago.” His eyes narrow and darken on me. “Because I do hate a loose end, Daisy.”
He walks slowly toward me, and I fight against the urge to run. Balling my hands into fists, I bite my lip hard to stop from trembling.
Reaching me, he stops inches away. I can smell the stench of cigarette smoke and cheap aftershave, and I want to gag.
He presses the gun to my chest, pushing the barrel in between my breasts. My legs start to shake.
“You know, the first time I saw you, when Jason brought you around, I noticed how fucking pretty you were. But you always looked so uptight, like you needed a good fucking. And I know how to fuck real good, Daisy. You want that, huh? Me to give it to you good?”
I spit in his face. And he laughs.
Eyes fixed on mine, he slowly wipes my spit from his face and then gives me a sick, twisted smile. “I’ll let you have that one. But you pull any more of that shit, and I’ll put a bullet between your pretty friend’s eyes before you can scream for me to stop.”
I can hear muffled sounds coming from Cece, like she’s trying to shout behind her gag.
I force my eyes to stare back at his. “You pull that trigger, and the neighbors will call the cops faster than your inefficient, small dick can get an erection.”
He grins, excitement flaring in his eyes. “Silencer, baby.”
He taps the gun against my chest, drawing my eyes down to it, and that’s when I register the silencer attached to it.
Fuck. I’m done for. There’s no getting out of this.
I squeeze my eyes shut in defeat, and he chuckles softly.
I feel the gun move from my chest, and he comes closer.
He presses his mouth to my ear and licks the shell of it.
I shudder in disgust. A tear runs down my face.
“So, don’t worry, baby; no one will hear a thing. Not even the sound of you screaming while I fuck you.”
He steps back, and then he grabs the top of my dress and yanks it down, ripping it open, exposing my bra. His eyes flash with excitement, and my stomach revolts, sick with fear.
“If you’re a good girl and do as I say, I’ll kill you and your girlfriend quickly. You fuck with me, and I’ll kill you slowly. I’ll fuck you and your girlfriend six ways to Sunday, and then I’ll make you watch while I cut her open before doing the same to you. You hear me, Daisy? Play nice, and this will all be over real soon.”
Body quaking, I swallow roughly, my throat like sandpaper.
His hand comes up and roughly grabs my breast. “So fucking pretty. I’m going to enjoy every fucking minute with you.”
He rips my dress the rest of the way off, leaving me in only my underwear. His eyes run a sick appraisal over my body. An evil-sounding chuckle comes from his mouth. Then, he leans forward, and his disgusting tongue licks the top of my breast.
Tears running down my face, I lock eyes with Cece. She’s crying behind her gag, her eyes wide with fear.
I shut my eyes, so I don’t have to see her. As though that will stop her from having to see this.
This must have been how it was for Haley and Kas that night.
Something inside me suddenly snaps.
No.
I won’t let this happen. I won’t be this sick fuck’s victim anymore. He’s taken enough from me already. He’s not robbing me of this as well.
He’s never doing this to anyone ever again.
And, if I have to die while stopping him, then so be it.
Because I’d rather be dead than be his victim for one second longer.
Then, I stop thinking and just act.
I tightly grab ahold of his balls, squeezing harder than I ever have in my life.
He cries out in pain and shock. His head jolts up, and he head-butts my chin. I bite my tongue, and blood floods my mouth. But I don’t let go. I keep a tight hold of that motherfucker’s balls.
“Get the fuck off me, you fucking cunt!”
He hits me with the butt of his gun. Pain explodes in my eye, and I lose my hold on him as I stumble back, clutching my eye.
“You’re gonna fucking get it now, you little bitch.”
He punches me in the face. I fall backward, hitting the floor.
He’s on top of me, and I’m fighting him with everything I have.
But he’s too strong.
He grabs one of my flailing arms, forcing it to the floor and pinning it there. I see the bottle of champagne lying on the floor beside me, only inches away.