Page 92 of Midnight Curfew

I shake my head, running my hand through my hair.

I don’t want to hurt her. I never hated Liv. I want to hurt him!

Milo grabs the backs of her knees and yanks her down to the end of the table.

“You’re such a man.” She trembles, but her fight doesn’t stop. “Come on. What are you gonna do? Huh? Do it. Come on, baby. Do it. Blow my mind.”

Jesus, will she just shut up?

He reaches inside his jeans, and she stares. I wince. Fuck.

“Oh, yeah,” she says, breathing so fast. “More, more. Come on, come on.”

“Come on, Milo!” Vincent shouts, but his brow is etched in anger, and I can see his face flush with strain.

I can’t do this…

“So, is this it?” She starts laughing. “Is it happening now? Is this what I’ve been missing? He can’t fucking get it up.”

He shoves her down and grips her throat, digging his fingers in.

“Is it happening yet?” she pants. “Come on, baby. Fuck me up! Come on!”

“Goddammit!” he shouts, throwing her off and stuffing his shit back inside his pants. “She won’t shut the fuck up.”

Del hands him a roll of duct tape. No…

As he bites off a strip and moves it toward her mouth, I take a step, but she’s already launching up. Grabbing the bar light over the pool table, she yanks it again and again, screaming at the top of her lungs. How did she get free?

But I make no move to stop her.

It crashes down, right on top of Milo’s head, and in a moment, she’s bolting off the table. She runs for the nearest door, diving through.

I exhale. She was buying time with that little performance, somehow loosening the band around her wrists enough to escape.

One, two…

“Goddammit!” Milo holds his head, trying to get up.

Three, four…

We help him up, and he tries to bolt to go after her, but I grip him tightly.

“Let’s go!” he cries.

Nine, ten…

I shove his head to the side, checking for bleeding like I give a shit.

Eleven, twelve…

But he pushes past me, and we all run after her. She’s had time to hide.

Or get a good head start, at least.

They race through the door, my strides just a hair slower as I keep the others behind me. We spot her just as she escapes at the end of another hallway, and Vincent runs.

He crashes into something on the ground, and we all tumble over a table she shoved in our way.