Page 36 of Merciless Angel
“Yeah, I guess we went pretty hard on you tonight.” A self-satisfied grin lit up Blaze’s face. He pulled me in for a kiss that was more tender than I’d expected. Almost affectionate. “Get some rest. You’re going to need it.”
He swatted my ass as I stepped out of the car. To Blaze’s credit, he didn’t drive away until I was safely inside the building. Once I was alone, I let out a tired sigh. That had been a hell of a night.
The building felt more quiet than usual. With the late hour and more empty rooms than usual, it had an eerie vibe that followed me to my room. All I wanted was to enjoy a hot shower and fall into my bed. After the way the Angels had taken charge of my body, I was exhausted.
I unlocked my door and pushed it open, yawning as I stepped inside. Shutting the door, I flicked on the light and screamed.
Zane sat on my bed. He looked pissed. As I turned to run from the room, he leapt off the bed and slammed a hand against the door, holding it shut.
“Where have you been all night?” His angry gaze rolled over me, taking in my strange attire. “With those fucking Angels again. Being their nasty little whore. Yeah, I know. I followed you there when Blaze picked you up.”
My mouth dropped open. I’d known that Zane had anger problems but this was taking it too far. This was more than I’d expected.
“You followed me? Why? Nothing I do is any of your business, Zane.” My tone grew hard. Inside I quaked with fear.
“Sure it is.” He eyed me like someone about to lose their mind entirely. “You’re mine, Clover. Not theirs. Mine. Why can’t you understand that?”
Something about the strange glint in his eyes told me to tread carefully. He was still covered in cuts and bruises from the beating the Angels had given him. That meant he wasn’t at full strength. Still, he outweighed me by a lot. Clearly he was feeling well enough to follow me around.
“I don’t belong to anyone,” I said, knowing that it wasn’t true. “I don’t owe any of you anything.”
“What do they have on you?” He continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “There’s no way you would ever be with guys like that. Are they blackmailing you? Tell me why you’re with them.”
He didn’t know how close he was to the truth. I had no intention of telling Zane anything. He didn’t need to know.
“Nobody is blackmailing me. Look, it’s really late. Can we talk tomorrow? I need to get some sleep.” I still wore the pink bracelet that I’d been forbidden to remove. This time I wouldn’t let Zane hurt me. I would use the bracelet to summon the Angels.
Zane’s face morphed into a vicious scowl. “I can smell them all over you. You reek like cologne. Why, Clover? Tell me why you let them use you. You know they can never love you. Not like I do.”
This was not going well. I swallowed hard, trying to figure out how to get him to calm down and leave. He seemed to be working himself up more by the second.
“Zane, please. Go home and get some rest. We’ll meet tomorrow for lunch. Okay?” Keeping my tone light, I offered him a small smile. He was going to hurt me again. I felt it coming.
Before I could reach for my bracelet, Zane grabbed me and jerked me against him. “Nope. I’m not going anywhere. Not unless you come with me.”
Pinning me against him, Zane reached into a pocket and pulled out a pill. The fear that slammed through me was like nothing I’d ever felt before. I fought hard to get away. I shoved against his chest, squirming in his grasp as he tried to hold onto me.
Managing to slip free, I ran for the door. Zane tackled me from behind, taking me down to the floor. I hit hard, knocking the breath from my lungs. Zane sat on top of me, fighting to roll me over onto my back. I needed to hit the button on my bracelet.
Once he got me on my back, he worked on prying my mouth open. I clenched my teeth, tightening my jaw.
“You’re coming with me, Clover. If I have to drug you to make it happen, so fucking be it.” He slapped me across the face, hard enough to make my ears ring.
Zane grabbed the bottom of my jaw, wrenching it open. I tried desperately to bite him, to do anything to keep that pill from going in my mouth. It was no use. He jammed it into my mouth and held it shut. I had no choice but to swallow or have it dissolve on my tongue. Either way, it was going to affect me.
I stopped grabbing his hands and instead pushed the button on my bracelet. Unfortunately, he saw me do it.
“What the hell? Is that supposed to summon your precious Angels?” Zane’s voice began to sound fuzzy and far away. “I don’t fucking think so.”
My vision blurred and darkened as the pill took hold. My arms fell slack at my sides. He easily removed the bracelet and tossed it aside. I was vaguely aware of him gathering me up into his arms. Then everything went dark.
When my eyes finally opened, I was disoriented and nauseous. It took several blinks for my vision to clear. At first, I didn’t recognize what I saw. Then awareness set in as I remembered what had happened.
Zane drugged me. He took me out of my dorm room. Where was I?
I found myself staring at a brown wall. It appeared to be made of wood. Daring to move, I discovered that I was on a bed with a too soft mattress. Both my hands and feet were tied together. A renewed sense of panic made me sit up to assess the situation.
I was alone in a room I’d never seen before. The room was relatively plain and bare, having only a bed and a dresser. There was a window on the opposite side of the room. Outside the window I saw only trees and sunlight. It was daytime now.