Page 74 of Forever Only Once

I fought even harder.

I expected the second slap, and then felt another as Chris hit me again and again, his ring slicing my skin near my hairline.

Blood ran down my face, but I didn’t care. I had to get out of here.

There was no going back. I had to move.

“I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t know we were going to do any of this,” Chris complained.

“You want your money, you’ll finish what we started. It’s as easy as that. You shouldn’t have let me into your little building last week if you were so scared. I followed my wife and found out she was with that sad excuse for a man. Lucky for me, his name is so unusual, and I could find this place. And you.”

Thomas smiled then, and my skin crawled. I hated that smile. He’d smiled like that before he’d hit me. Before he stalked me when I tried to run away. He’d smiled at me like that the last time before he’d been put away, locked up, behind bars.

But now he was here. Out of jail. And here.

What was I going to do? I had to do something.

Macon.

Macon was hurt.

I needed to help him.

I needed help.

“You came to me, telling me that you had a way for me to get out of my agreement with Cross. That I wouldn’t get in trouble for skimming my invoices a bit.” Chris paused, confused. “How did you know that anyway?”

“I listened. How the hell do you think I knew? You never shut up about it. You were an opportunity, Christopher. A good one. And if you don’t start moving, you’ll be a dead one.”

“Don’t fucking threaten me!”

Thomas held up his hands, that smile back on his face. “You’re right. We’re…partners. I shouldn’t threaten. My apologies. However, we really must get a move on if we’re going to get out of here before anyone else arrives. For all we know, Cross will show up and perhaps the authorities.”

I was stilled pinned to the ground, listening to the two, trying to catch up. So that’s how Thomas knew Chris? By chance? Opportunity?

And now Macon was dying, and I didn’t know how I was going to get out of this.

“Fuck. What about Macon?”

Thomas shrugged as I continued thrashing. I felt dizzy, blood pooled in my mouth.

There was blood on my hands too, but not my blood. No, it was Macon’s. Macon’s.

“I don’t care what you do with him. Leave him here, do whatever. You know what you have to do to the building when we’re done anyway. It’s not really my problem from this point on. You wanted your money, we’ll get to that. But I need her. And that was the promise.”

I screamed, but then Chris’s hands were on my mouth, stifling the sound. I could barely breathe. I fought, but he hit me again. I couldn’t do much. Everything hurt, but still I kicked and dug my heels into the carpet as I tried to get out. But he was so much bigger than I was, and I couldn’t do anything.

He pinned my arms over my head and dragged me. I realized that no amount of kicking or twisting was going to work.

There was nothing I could do, but still, I tried.

“Stop fucking screaming,” Thomas said, his hand right in front of my face.

If you don’t fucking stop, I’ll kill him right here. He still has a chance. He’s still breathing. I don’t think the bullet punctured a lung. But what do I know? I only know how to hurt you. I don’t really know how to heal you, isn’t that right? You’re the one who put me in jail. So really, this is all your fault.”

I listened to Thomas’s diatribe, my whole body freezing.

“That’s a good girl.” He tapped my chin with the gun, the end still warm, the heat of it singeing my skin.