Page 65 of Wrecked By You

“You crazy—!” He thrashed underneath, jostling the mattress.

Pausing at the door, I turned around and fired again as he started crawling out. I remembered what Damon and his father told me about shooting to kill.

Somehow, he got out from beneath the bed and grabbed my ankle.

I kicked him and shot a third time. I didn’t know where all the bullets were going. I got my footing, ran down the hallway, and barreled through the door. I ran outside, fumbled with my phone, and pressed Damon’s number.

Kyle screamed at me. “Get back here! You can’t get away from me! I’ve been waiting for you!” He came out the door, but I fired another bullet in his direction and kept running down the driveway.

Damon answered. “Hello? Hello!”

“He’s here! He’s here!”

Kyle came at me, cast in shadow from the light outside, and dragged me to the ground. I dropped the phone and then I felt metal against my own face. A pistol of his own.

“I’m going to kill you,” he snarled. “I warned you. I will kill you for this!”

He grabbed me by the hair, dragging me down the driveway and then out into the woods behind the house. He was fast. He weighed a lot more than I did, and he was stronger than me. I tried to kick my legs and grab at him, but he moved quickly. We got to a truck, and he opened it and pushed my face into the seat. He cuffed my hands behind my back and then shoved me in the back of the truck.

I went dizzy for a second and thought I might pass out. I willed myself to stay awake.I’m not a victim. I’m not a victim.

Kyle started the truck, and it began to move forward.

I wrenched my body up and kicked him in the head with my foot.

He cursed at me. “I’m going to kill you. You better just hold still. It’s going to be more painful.”

I kicked him again. He reached back and smacked me hard in the nose with his gun, making me go dizzy again.

“You just should’ve come back to me. You should’ve come back. I was waiting for you to come back, and then I realized you had left. So I began my search. Of course you would come back to this place. Clever. I couldn’t find you, and then I was at your place in Texas and found your cell phone bill. Of course you were here. It was perfect. I’ve gotten to stop around this town and see all that you’ve been up to.”

I got my wits about me, hoisted my body, and kicked him in the head again. This time, his punch slammed harder into the side of my head. For a couple seconds, I blacked out.

When I came to, he was still cursing. “You’re gonna die. I’m just going to torture you first.”

Thirty-One

Damon

My blood ran cold at what I was hearing over the phone—her screaming and him cussing. I ended the call and called McCrae.

“Hello. What are you doing before your wedding?”

“He’s there, McCrae. I’m turning back. Call everyone and let them know. And get your butt out here. Call all of the brothers and Dad.” I hung up and focused on the road.

I got back to her place just in time to see a pickup truck heading around the corner toward the opposite side of town. On instinct, I followed that truck. It must have been Kyle’s truck.

I sped up and started praying. “Dear God, if you’ve ever been there, if I have any blessings stored up in heaven, or any of my parents’ blessings, I know they would want to use them to please save her. Protect her. Give me strength. I need a miracle. Please. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

My knuckles whitened as I gripped the wheel. I knew I would kill him. I knew it.

I reached into my glove compartment and pulled my gun out. It was cocked and loaded. This dude was going die before he hurt another hair on her head.

As I got closer, it seemed like he saw me, so he tried to speed up. I sped up even faster. I couldn’t see much, but I thought I saw her kick him. She must be in the back seat. Good for her.

I was closing the distance between us. Then it was as if someone turned his truck’s wheel, and the truck jerked around so fast it flipped over. I could barely breathe, and I slowed down. The truck kept spinning and then hit a ditch, sending a big rock smashing into the driver’s side.

I parked and got out, hurrying toward the truck. It had spun out, and now it lay still.