Page 101 of Unmasked
“Give it up, little girl. You’re mine now.”
I try to get up, but my limbs are like Jello, refusing to hold me.
As I slump to the floor, tears fill my eyes, rolling down my cheeks.“Stryker. Please help me.”
The man squats down in front of me. “He can’t help you now. No one can.”
The world spins, growing darker. I try to tell him he’s wrong, but my tongue is too thick.
The darkness claims me, dragging me under.
CHAPTER 64
Mallory
Iopen my eyes, groaning as nausea assaults me. Squeezing them closed, I focus on breathing through it.
The rocking motion isn’t helping.
Opening my eyes, I take a deep breath to get my muddled brain to work. My head pounds, and my body aches.
The memories begin washing over me.I went on the self-guided haunted house tour with Mandy. I wished Stryker was there to experience it, and she smiled and said, “I think your wish came true.”
She ran down the steps, and I saw his glowing red mask. I encouraged him to chase me and took off.
My eyes widen as my breathing accelerates.Except it wasn’t Stryker.
Oh, God. He got me.
Panicking, I try to sit up, realizing that my wrists and ankles are bound by rope.
Deep laughter rumbles in my ears. “You’re awake.”
My mouth is as dry as cotton as I meet his eyes in the rearview mirror.He’s the creepy Uber driver, andI’m in the back seat ofa car.
I take a deep breath and push myself to a sitting position, ignoring the aches and pains. The leather seat is cool against the exposed skin on my back that isn’t covered by my dress. “W-Who are you?”
He looks at me in the rearview mirror. “Don’t you recognize me, Mallory?”
My eyes widen, fear making my heart pound faster. “Cole? Cole Jacobs?”
He looks at me over his shoulder, his dark hair gleaming beneath the red light ahead. “Correct. Took you long enough.”
“But… How…”
“I’ve had some plastic surgeries done for my career. Of course, the biggest one was when I was seventeen, and you shoved me down the steps and ran off.”
“Y-You were groping me. You weren’t taking no for an answer.”
Oh God. I tried to tell my mom not to set me up with Cole again because he gave me the creeps. My mom scoffed, looking at me like I was insane. She refused to listen, setting me up with him again.
I try not to let the memories assault me, dragging me down. Even though I escaped, the fact that Cole slammed me against the car and roughly groped my breasts and pussy through my clothing while I begged him to stop, messed with my head when I was younger.
When I finally dared to tell my parents, my father said, “Boys do those kinds of things,” and shrugged as if it were no big deal.
My mom’s response was worse. She accused me of “enticing” him and then changed my mind, claiming he assaulted me so he looked like the bad guy.
Pushing it away, my voice shakes as the light turns green. Ilook around, not recognizing anything. “Where are you taking me?”