Page 68 of Born Reckless

I wake up.Pablo beats the crap out of me some more. I'm a bloody, messy mess. It's a good thing my dress is black, because I’d look like an absolute nightmare if this thing were white.

He continues to ask my name. And when I don't give it to him, he gets physical.

Jemima Albertson.

Juanita Domino.

Doc McStuffins.

Esperanza Francisco Dominguez.

He doesn't like any of the names I give him.

I don't know why it matters. I don't understand why he wants to know my name so bad. He's going to kill me in the end anyway. What does my name have anything to do with that?

I'm not sure how long I've been in here when his phone rings. It has to have been at least five hours. Maybe ten, possibly a hundred. It's hard to tell. But his phone rings in his pocket and he reaches for it, turning his back to me. He speaks Spanish, and I don't speak Spanish, so I have no idea what he's saying or who he's talking to.

It's a smell that draws my attention. Familiar, comforting, and it makes me sit a little straighter.

Just barely, I hear the sound of footsteps outside.

That familiar scent is joined by another. And then another.

But I must not be the only one who heard the slight noise outside.

Pablo goes silent. He stands a little straighter, and his eyes dart toward the door.

Five sets of footsteps. All making their way straight towards us.

"You know, I'm getting a little too comfortable over here," I say, speaking louder than necessary. "I think there's a blood-free space just below my left ear. Don't you want to do something about that? I have a few more pints left in me."

But for the first time, Pablo does not rise to my taunting. He still stands with his attention piqued; his eyes fixed on the door.

"I definitely expected more out of you," I continue to set my mouth off, trying to cover the sound of the approaching footsteps. "You're sure acting like this is a big deal. But I don't think I've even screamed once. Isn't that embarrassing?"

There's a sound above us. I hear quiet footsteps.

Pablo gives a feral hiss, and without hesitation, he turns and explodes through that high window.

The footsteps no longer try to be quiet. Pounding and barreling, I hear the sound of more than one door bursting into splinters.

"Juliet!" I hear more than one person yell.

"Down here!" I call out.

Just then, Elena bursts through the door, immediately followed by Tabitha.

"He just jumped out that window," I say, my voice growing slightly frantic. "He heard you coming. Hurry!"

Without hesitation, Tabitha jumps through the window, and I hear the sound of her sprinting footsteps racing into the night.

I look back and watch as Sebastian Vincent, Sigrid, and Warren run into the room as well.

"Shit," Sebastian hisses as he jumps to my side. His fingers are deft and careful. "He tortured you?"

"You know, I didn't even think about it until today," I say as Sebastian's fingers brush over me, searching for all of the injuries to my body. "His daughter isn't evendead. I drained her, but she Resurrected four days later. All of this, and she's not even six feet under."

"What were you thinking?" Elena hisses as she goes to the bolts attached to the wall. She yanks on them once, twice, ten times. And finally, it pulls from the wall. "Going after him by yourself? That was completely unnecessary, Juliet."