Page 69 of His Obsession

Alek had grown on me, I didn’t want it to happen, but it did. I wouldn’t betray him when I hated him, and I most definitely would not do it now. So Jimmy could tell me whatever he wanted about Alek, I would not go back on my word. Not that it appeared I had a choice anymore, anyway. I gave up the idea that I would leave this basement breathing, and if that was the case, the last thing I wanted to hear was repulsive things about Alek.

"But I was just getting started. Don't you want to hear how lover boy followed you around, installed cameras in your home, came into your room while you were sleeping? Cray knew all of it," he said, laughing.

His fingers dug into my knees, keeping himself balanced on his heels—his breath reeking of booze.

"You can tell me whatever you want about Alek, but you're wasting your breath, I don't care." The condescension dripped from my lips.Camerasthough? Come on, Alek. I couldn’t listen to this anymore. I couldn’t let it show that what he was saying was breaking me like tiny fissures in a water pipe.

Soon I would burst, and I hoped it caught him in the crossfire. In my head, I had conjured an image of Alek as my knight in shining armor. There, he was innocent. He was as I had left him.

The back of his hand connected with my jaw, and I tasted blood. A trickle in my nose ran down, and soon, blood was pouring onto my bare legs. I closed my eyes, trying not to look as my stomach clenched, and I felt the vomit wanting to rise.

"Don't lie to me." Jimmy's voice was low and threatening. "I don't like being lied to."

He rose and slapped himself on the head while walking away from me, muttering things under his breath. As if nothing had happened, he relaxed his shoulders and started again.

"Now, where was I? Oh yeah, Kris," he said, igniting another cigarette. "I asked Kris if he had ever heard of Alek Jackson. Turns out, Alek brokered guns for the Night Legion Motorcycle Club, their rival. That,get this," he said, pointing his fingers at me, "was the club that killed his family." He clapped his hands together in joy like he had just won the lottery. "It didn't get any better than that." He laughed.

He extended his hands over his head and made a groan of absolute pleasure of his muscles stretching. If there was one thing I envied of him, it was the ability to stretch and move about. My body begged and pleaded to move from this spot.

"Drunk people talk, you know?"

"Yeah, you're doing it now," I blurted, then cowered. Sometimes, I wished I could keep my sarcasm to myself. It earned me a substantial blow to the ribs. Sharp, knife-like pains shot through my chest, and I coughed, making it worse.

"Anyway," he continued as if I never said a word. "I sat in Night Legion’s bar and listened to those fools speak. I found out they were doing a deal with Alek. We came up with a plan. It was perfect, really. Kris would tell his Chapter, and it would be a slaughterhouse. Alek would die, we would have our revenge, and we’d go our separate ways. However, it didn't play out that way. Alek made it out alive. Once I saw him speed away, I knew Plan B would have to come in… you."

"When you attacked me in the night?" I asked, making sure we were on the same page.

"I wouldn't call that attacking," he replied.

Yup, he was delusional.

"To be fair, I tried sending someone to pick you up for a chat before all of this. You didn't want to be cordial," Jimmy said as if sending a man to pick me up in a restroom was natural.

"That's not an acceptable approach, I'm just saying." I couldn't believe how all of this had transpired. How normal he thought all of it was. The blood dripping from my nose slowed, and now I could feel each thick drop hit my skin and splatter.

"Anyway, I knew he had cameras and men around you. Getting in was difficult, I knew I couldn't get you out. So, I thought,how much sweeter would it be, the woman he obsessed over, be the one to betray him? Poetic, really. Once I saw that he took you and you went willingly, I knew you wouldn't do it, so it was on to Plan C. I'd destroy you and make him watch. Just like he made me watch his own mother."

It confirmed my suspicions. He was Alek’s father. No wonder why he didn’t want to tell me anything.

"Seems like we both have poor planning skills. Do you genuinely think this will pan out?" I laughed maniacally. I was losing my mind, right along with him. "If what you say is true about him, he's going to find you, and when he does, he's going to destroy your world all over again. This time, permanently, you prick."

I shook my arms, screaming at him. I wanted to tear the smug smirk off his face and burn him like he did me. That was it. My sanity left running, and rage consumed me. I couldn’t stay sane with my small bouts of sarcasm. I needed to fight for my freedom. If I didn’t try, I’d die alone in this basement with his empty eyes being the last thing I ever saw. I fought to get out of my chair, shaking my shoulders back and forth. My chair tipped, and I toppled over face first.

My forehead smacked into the floor, stars burst across my vision, and my knees stung with the impact.

Crazy laughter filled the room, and I groaned from the pain that was quickly dissipating. The rage still boiled up inside of me, and I was going to exterminate him like the cockroach he was. I pulled at my bindings, and one hand tore free, a splintered piece of wood from the chair coming with it.

The laughter ceased, and I braced myself for anything. I fisted the stake, ready to become a modern-day Buffy, slaying the demon before me. My hair flipped up, and my head followed, pulled to a sharp, awkward angle.

“Best entertainment I’ve had so far, Darlin.”

“Allow me to entertain you some more.” I sneered, baring my teeth, and swung the stake, sinking it firmly into his calf. He released my hair and screeched. Nowhisscreams bounced against the walls and became music to my ears. It was better than any concert I had attended. Bottle it up and sell his cries for a fortune.

I pulled on the rest of my bindings, and my other hand pulled free while he screeched, and he debated if he would remove the wood from his leg. I worked quickly, rolling to my back, and separated the coils around my legs. I did it. I was free. I wasn’t out of the woods yet, but it was a tremendous start. Now I just needed to figure out how to get out of here. I stood on wobbly legs and stomped on the wooden chair, grabbing another weapon.

Stairs towered behind me, and I staggered to them, using my hands to stable myself on each step as I climbed. I was so close. The top of the stairs was closed by a locked door cutting off my exit, causing a scream of frustration and hatred for this grotesque man that held me captive. I crawled back down the stairs to find blood pooled on the ground, the wooden stake next to it but the man missing.

Shit, where did he go?