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“Sure, just let me go grab something.” I turn to leave, but gasp when he grips my arm and hauls me up against his chest.
I freeze in fear. Look, I talk a big game and I’m good at compartmentalizing. I’ve been living on the streets long enough to know that you have to adapt fast and put your emotions to the side. However, this is the second man tonight to grab me like this. A girl deserves a mental breakdown.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Mr. Politician sneers down at me. “I wasn’t feeling the whole druggy look, but now I kind of like it.”
Told you, all they need is a wet hole.
“Let me go,” I say between clenched teeth, pulling against his grip.
He yanks me back. “Stop fighting.”
Using the heel of my borrowed shoes, I stomp them on his bare feet. He yells before releasing me. However, my victory is short lived because he backhands me so hard, I crumble to the floor from the blow. My jaw is on fire and I’m sure I’ll have an ugly bruise tomorrow.
I look up just in time to see an Axe cut through Mr. Politician’s head. The crack sounds like an egg hitting the pavement. Blood sprays out in an arc, splattering across my face. Mr. Politician slumps forward but doesn’t fall to the ground. Gabriel is behind him holding him up with one hand. His eyes stare down at me, while his shoulders rise and fall rapidly.
Standing before me is not a man. When I walked in on him with Gregory, I didn’t pay attention to him, but now I can see it. He looks possessed. His eyes, that are truly stunning, look vacant. I’ve never been more afraid in my life.
Gabriel removes the axe from the politician’s head and then repeatedly beats him with it. Blood and chunks of brain matter fly everywhere.
My body is stuck. My brain can’t send the message to my limbs to move. As terrifying as this moment is, it’s also beautiful. I think that signifies I’m fucked up in the head, but he looks like an avenging angel in the way he kills.
Summer, get your ass up and get the hell out of here. The small, sane, sober voice in my head yells. I haven’t heard from her in a long time.
Without second guessing my conscious, I clamber to my feet, kick off my heels, and take off toward the door. Not stopping to check if he’s behind me, I sprint out the room. I don’t give a shit who sees me leaving that crime scene. Bypassing the elevator, I head for the stairs. I run as fast as my legs will take me. Once I get to the top level, I burst into the main floor nearly knocking over a waitress in my haste.
“Watch it, bitch,” she shouts.
Ignoring her, I race for the side exit. Freedom wraps me in its embrace when I open the door and step out into the alley. I pull in a lungful of fresh air. Spotting a homeless man rummaging through the trashcan, I start toward him.
“Help,” I plead. “Help me.” Rushing toward him, I grab his arms. I try to push him out the alley. We need to get as far away from this place as we can.
The elderly man looks over my body, his gaze landing back at my face. I imagine he’s noticed the blood. When his attention goes behind me and his eyes widen, my heart drops.
The old man is snatched away from me and tossed to the opposite wall. I turn just in time to see Gabriel standing behind me. He grabs me by the neck and shoves me against the brick wall. I hit it so hard the breath leaves my lungs. I feel like half of my night has been spent shoved up against a wall.
He crowds my space, slamming his fists against the wall on both sides of my head. I scream, before trapping the sound behind my hands.
“Don’t. Ever. Run. From. Me.” He punctuates the sentence with another fist to the wall.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I beg for his forgiveness.
He doesn’t respond, instead he leans his forehead against mine and takes deep breaths.
I have no idea what the hell to do. My heart is knocking against my chest like one of those old cartoon characters.
“I know you’re mad,” I start.
“Don’t. Speak.”
I immediately stop talking, hoping and praying this won’t be my last few minutes alive on this earth. Silence surrounds us as he continues to catch his breath.
When I was in school, every report card stated that I talked too much. None of that has changed. I’m even worse in stressful situations. “Are you going to kill me—”
My words are cut off when his fist slams against the brick wall again. He takes a step back, allowing me some space. I don’t dare make any sudden moves. He lifts his hand and I flinch before he cups my cheek. He then uses his thumb to wipe something away, most likely blood.
“You need to shower. Come,” he demands, grabbing my arm in a strong hold again.
As we make our way back into Ace’s, something becomes painfully clear. I will not get away from Gabriel by running. He’s just too fast and too clever for that. I will have to rely on my first plan of making him see me as human and maybe start to like me. However, I’m not really known for my charming personality. So, I don’t see this working out well.
