Page 56 of Save Me
“He knows,” she whispers while shaking her head sadly. “I don’t know how, but he knows, and now I have to break it off with you. If I don’t, he’ll hurt you, Xander!”
She places one of her small hands against my chest before eventually looking up to reveal streams of tears trailing down her face.
“Please forget about me,” she says with a shaky voice. She places her hand inside of mine and reaches up on her tiptoes to place one last kiss on my cheek.
“Enough!” a voice growls before dragging her away.
I remember shouting for her, yelling at him to leave her the hell alone as he pushed her head down and inside of a car with blacked-out windows. They’re probably bullet-proof too, considering what a piece of shit he is. Trust me, I get how dangerous and well-connected Oliver Lawrence is, so much so, my source told me to leave well alone, but I can’t. Not anymore. The last thing I remember is a giant fist flying toward me, followed by the sight of the ground fast approaching as I fall forward into blackness.
A cold splash of water soaks my face, waking me with a shock from my unconscious state. I cough and splutter as it runs down my nose and into my throat, right before the burn of my left eye hits me full force from where Oliver’s asshole guard had struck me.
How long ago was that?
“You ok, man?” Kaiden asks, still holding the plastic bottle he just emptied over my face. “I saw everything; kind of waited for the hulk to leave before coming over to help though,” he laughs nervously. “I’m hoping you’re going to explain all of this to me because I am scared shitless for Beth!”
I nod in agreement, then moan when the intense feeling around my eye and head deepens into deep, searing pain. I grip the bridge of my nose as I lean up, willing my body to respond to logic rather than the thudding between my ears.
“Hey, you dropped this,” Kaiden says, snapping me from my silent battle with myself, and hands me a small piece of paper. “It must have been in your hand when that bastard hit you.”
With greedy hands, I rip it open to see Beth’s scrappy handwriting that was clearly written in haste:
Mum’s number: 07778952331 I love you. Xxx
“Quick, get my phone, it’s in the car over there,” I tell him as I point to the only car with its driver’s door still wide open. “And Kaiden?” I yell when he makes a move to run.
“Yeah?”
The whites of his eyes tell me how scared he is, but I’m pretty sure I can trust him.
“You can’t mention any of this to anyone,” I warn him as I look him dead straight in the eye, hoping he gets how important this is, “you hear me?”
He instantly relieves my tension with his quick nod and with everything else written within his eyes. He loves her just as much as I do, just in a completely different way. I nod back and he runs to grab my phone from the front seat where I had slung it earlier. Meanwhile, I slowly move to my feet and begin to pace, trying to walk off the pain and get my head around everything.
“Here,” he says shoving the phone inside of my hand.
“Wait!” I gasp as I place my hand to my forehead, still willing my brain to think more clearly. “Let’s go to her place first, see if he’s let her go back there, or if he truly has taken her. I hope to God, he still doesn’t know that her parents are away, but if he knows about me, I bet the son of a bitch does.”
Beth
“Are you…are you taking me home?” I ask nervously. I am far from reassured by his choosing to keep his grip on my already sore wrists inside the back of the car. “I did what you said, so can you take me home…please?”
He laughs in such a way it sounds condescending, cementing it with a brief kiss to the back of my hand without any words of affirmation or explanation. He then returns his gaze to the front windscreen as he continues to ignore my question. Panic-stricken tears sit on my lower lashes just as a painful lump in my throat causes me to pant in anxious breaths. I already know, without his words, that I won’t be returning home any time soon.
“I hope you didn’t go all the way with him, darling,” he finally mutters before turning to me with a dark and threatening look in his eyes. “Though, I suppose it would mean I no longer have to wait until we’re married to fuck you into submission. Doctor Sawyer will be waiting for us when we return home.”
Oh, God!
When we arrive at my new prison, I end up throwing up into the footwell in front of me, only narrowly missing my shoes. He tuts before getting out to come and open my door, leaving me to wipe my mouth with trembling fingers and a thin layer of sweat to form all over my body. The door bursts open to reveal the still bright light of the afternoon sun, which only makes me want to empty my stomach again. There is no empathy in him when he reaches his hand out to grab hold of mine. He simply hauls me up and leads us to the front door where the same doctor as before stands awkwardly in front of it. I can’t look him in the eye, but thankfully, neither can he.
“Upstairs, Beth!” Oliver orders, lacking any emotion in his steely voice. “In our room, same as before.” I blush as I am pushed toward the staircase to ascend the steps in silence. “Remove your shoes, skirt, and panties, and be ready for us when we come up.”
“Am I not allowed some privacy during my medical exam?” I ask with my shaky voice, not sounding anywhere near as strong as I hoped I would.
“No,” he replies bluntly, then proceeds to remove his suit jacket. He turns toward the embarrassed looking doctor and begins talking about me as though I’m no longer there.
My steps are small, unable to be anything but, and with each of them, my stomach churns that little bit harder. Eventually, I have to sit on the end of the bed to take in deep breaths, else I will pass out. I only get as far as removing my shoes before the two men walk in, ready to invade me as though I’m Oliver’s pet at the veterinary clinic. Oliver simply rolls his eyes, clearly frustrated by my still being dressed. Fortunately, the doctor coughs loudly enough to get his attention before he can berate me for it.
“No need to remove your skirt, Miss Taylor,” the doctor says quietly.