“Hello, Elena.”
I whirl around, red in the face and furious. My body bumps into his leather chest and I scream, my heart rate jacked. The murderous look doesn’t faze me.
“Get out of my fucking house!”
I flinch at the noise of leather squeaking as he lifts his hand and touches my face. “I’m not leaving without you and my money.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so.”
“Listen to me, you little twat. You’re going to bring me to wherever the fuck you stashed the money, and then I’m taking you back to where you belong.”
I shove his chest with both hands, and for a moment he looks incredulous. I don’t think he ever believed I would fight back.
“You listen to me. We are done and you are not getting a cent of that money!”
It’s like some kind of bizarre dance. I back away, and he advances. His hip bumps into mine until the backs of my legs hit the bed.
He grabs my face and shoves me backward. My back hits the mattress hard and I try to scramble to my feet, heart racing, but he places his hand on my shoulder and presses down. He’s so strong that he doesn’t have to try very hard.
Fucking asshole.
Rafael lowers his head, the lines under his eyes like dark scars. “You’re coming back to New York with me, right after you give me my money.”
“Never going to fucking happen, you psycho.”
My face screws up in pain before the blow comes, but a soft hand caresses me. I open my eyes in surprise.
“Ah, Elena. I missed this.”
Then a violent force smashes my jaw and stars erupt in my vision. I roll on the wooden floor, my head splitting into two. My skin burns, but nothing compares to the pain of my humiliation. I’m so fucking tired of falling—of just taking it and never saying a word.
“Where the fuck were you last night, huh?”
“None of your damn business.”
“You were fucking some other guy, weren’t you?”
I say nothing.
His face twists in rage. “You fucking whore!”
He aims a boot toward my ribs, but I spring to my feet and grab the closest thing—a crystal paperweight on my nightstand that I use for decoration—and I hurl it into his face. Rafael clutches his nose and screams, and I jump on the bed, bouncing toward the entrance.
It was so fucking stupid to come back here.
My feet pound the wooden floorboards as I race down the hallway. His heavy footsteps tell me that he’s not far behind. My voice stabs my ears as I scream down the hall, hoping that someone, anyone, will hear me.
“HELP ME!”
“FUCKING CUNT!”
A violent force rips me backward as Rafael takes the back of my collar and wrenches me. My hands fly out in front of me, trying to grab something to break his hold on me, but he’s too fucking strong. A surge of self-hatred for my weak body makes me scream, and then my side crashes against the wall, shattering a photograph.
“Arrêtez!”
A volley of French voices makes Rafael freeze behind me, his hands still balled in my hair. “Mind your own fucking business!”
Two men stream inside the apartment, guns drawn. I flatten against the wall, but Rafael advances toward them.
Please, shoot him. Please.
“This is none of your fucking business!”
One of the cops raises his gun to Rafael’s chest. “HANDS BEHIND YOUR FUCKING HEAD!”
I place my hands behind my head, trembling as they tackle Rafael against the wall. His head crushes against the plaster. He gives me a look of potent rage. It’s more than that, though. He just looks—evil. There’s nothing behind those eyes but ill will.
He won’t stop until I’m buried in the ground.
“Mademoiselle—Miss, are you okay?”
The cop touches my shoulder, giving me a puzzled look. I swallow hard and let my hands drop from my head as a snarling Rafael is dragged outside.
“BITCH!”
I flinch at the angry sound.
“Miss, you want to press charges?”
I gaze around at my apartment, which looks as though a tornado blew through it. I’d like nothing better than to see that fucker locked up, but I know that he’ll just come after me once he gets out. Or his boss might do it for him.
Numbly, I shake my head. “No.”
The disappointment on his face gives me a guilty squirm. “Miss, let me give you ah—numéro de téléphone for women’s shelter.”
I take the card he gives me in his shaking hands. Yeah, I might be able to live for a few days until Rafael finds a way to bribe one of the cops here and gets its location.
“Take care.”
He gives me a sad smile and leaves my apartment. I look around, knowing that I should clean up, or pack, or something, but I just can’t bring myself to do any of it.