Page 130 of Truck Up
I struggle against his hold, but it’s useless. He’s stronger than me and has me pinned so I can’t move, but at least he removed his hand from my mouth. “The only person who’s going to be taught a lesson is you.”
He laughs, a diabolical sound that turns my fear into pure terror. “No, sweetheart. No one is teaching me shit. I’m taking what’s mine and no one can stop me. Not even that piece of shit boyfriend of yours.”
I lift my head and fight to find my strength. It’s the only way I’m going to get out of this without getting hurt. “He’ll kill you. That is, if Linden doesn’t do it first.”
That gets his attention because he pulls away from me slightly. “Linden is my best friend. He wants to see us together. As soon as you tell him you were lying, he’ll support me.”
“It doesn’t matter what I say at this point. He knows the truth. Your only chance of survival is to run.”
He growls and wraps his hand around my throat. He squeezes just hard enough that it makes it difficult to breathe. I claw at his arm, begging for relief.
“You underestimate our friendship.” He steps back further, and with his free hand, he runs his finger down my chest and between my legs. It’s enough to make me want to vomit. “You’re mine, Amelia. I’ve always known that. Now it’s time for you to learn that too.”
His eyes follow the invisible line his fingers made. It’s enough of a distraction that his hand around my throat loosens to where I can move. I need to take my shot now because I might not get another one.
“Then I guess it’s too bad for me that I’m a slow learner.” His eyes snap to mine and I jam my knee between his legs. He cries out and hunches over. In doing so, he releases me.
I fall. My ass hits the concrete floor hard, and it jars my body. It also knocks the air out of me, and I struggle to take in more oxygen.
“You bitch!” He yells.
I scramble to get to my feet and fail. All I do is scoot a few inches away from him. He lunges for me, but I crawl out of hisreach. It’s enough that I’m able to take in my surroundings and find the doorway leading back into the store.
Seeing a way out is enough to motivate me to move. I push up to my feet and run. The second my hand pushes the door open, I scream. “Help! He’s attacking me.”
Badger rushes out and jumps on me, wrapping his arms around me before we go down. His arms break the fall, protecting me from another painful hit.
“Help!” I scream again.
I hear the pounding of feet running toward us and relief settles over me. He’s not going to hurt me anymore.
“Hey, let her go!” Clyde Williams, the owner of Williams’ Family Grocery, calls out.
“Stay out of this, old man.” Badger growls. “I’ve got a score to settle with this one.”
“I can’t do that,” Clyde says.
“Mind your own damn business.” Badger gets to his feet, pulling me up with him.
“Oh, my God.” Betty, Clyde’s wife, says. She covers her mouth and stares at us in horror. She’s a sweet woman and probably hasn’t ever seen anything like this before in her life. Beaver is not a violent town. People fight and argue, but crimes like this never happen.
“Honey, call the police,” Clyde says, his voice a calm beacon in this nightmare. “And Mr. Koch. He’ll probably respond faster.”
Badger tightens his hold around me, pressing my back close to his chest. The sick fucker has an erection.
“Let me go.” I struggle to get free, and it only makes him squeeze tighter.
“No can do, sweetheart. You and I are leaving together.”
Chapter 28
Save the ones we can, let go of the ones we can’t.
Christian
Time drags on, each agonizing second stretching into an eternity. It feels like hours have passed since I found her, time ticking away the minutes with cruel indifference.
Chase arrived within minutes of my call, his face pale, his eyes wide with shock. He must have broken every traffic law in the county to get here so quickly. The sirens of the emergency vehicles wailed in the distance behind his arrival.