"I can do that, and I can do a lot worse. I can get him killed, Elle."
"The police would never let you do that."
Gris bent down to her and pulled her to her feet. Then he shoved her up against the door and pressed her face to the window.
"Look at him, Elle. He's almost dead already. They let me do all that, you think they're going to stop me now."
Elle shook her head. She couldn't bear to look. Forrester looked like he'd been attacked by a pack of wolves and left for dead. She knew he wouldn't be able to survive too much more abuse at the hands of Gris and his friends.
"How about this?" Gris said. "Either you get in my car right now, and come home with me where you belong, or I go back into that cell and kill lover boy."
"Gris," Elle cried.
"I'm not kidding, you little slut. I should kill him just for what he did. He touched you. And you're mine."
Elle couldn't believe what was happening. She couldn't believe what she was about to do, but she had no choice. Forrester was in no position to be able to defend himself. If Gris went back into that cell, it could mean the end for Forrester.
Even still, something inside her resisted Gris. She couldn't bear the thought of going home with him. She couldn't bear the thought of being dragged back to the life she'd struggled so hard to escape. Going back with Gris would mean death for her heart. Could she really do that? Could she allow herself to give up her own future to protect Forrester?
And she knew the answer.
A hundred times, yes.
Of course she could. She loved Forrester, more now than ever. If Gris went back in there and killed him, she'd be dead anyway. The body can't live without its heart.
Gris shoved her aside. "Need time to think?" he barked. "Let me go stomp on lover boy's face while you make up your mind."
"No," Elle said, her voice strong and clear. "I don't need time to think. I'll come with you. Just don't hurt Forrester any more."
Chapter 36
Elle
GRIS DRAGGED ELLE BY THE wrist out of the police station. They crossed the snowy parking lot and he pushed her into the passenger seat of his car.
"I don't have to tie you up, do I?" Gris said, menacingly.
Elle shook her head.
"I mean, I'll go back into the jail and kill Forrester if you try anything. You know that, right?"
"I know it," Elle said.
"Okay, good," Gris said.
He went round to the driver's side and got in. Elle took a deep breath.
This isn't over, she promised herself. This isn't the end.
Whatever Gris thought he was going to do to her, whatever he had planned for her life, she wasn't going to let him get away with it. She'd come too far to give up everything to a brute like him. She'd escaped Los Lobos. She'd escaped him. She could do it again.
She watched as he turned the key and started the car. She remembered the night she'd gotten into the pickup next to Forrester. She remembered the way his arm had looked with the pit bull tattoos. She remembered the way his eyes sparkled in the light.
"Where are you taking me?" she said to Gris.
"You know damn well where I'm taking you. I'm taking you home. And don't think it's going to be as easy to get away from me a second time. Now that I've got you back, I'm going to make damn sure I keep you. You're not going to have a car. You're not going to have a job. You're going to stay in the house, and you're going to do what you're told. You'll eat when you're told to eat. You'll talk when you're told to talk. And you'll fuck when you're told to fuck. Are we clear?"
"Gris, you can't do this to me."
"What do you mean, I can't do this to you? I am doing it to you, and there's no one in the world to stop me."
"My friends. They'll call the police when they realize I'm gone. They saw you threaten me."
"Didn't you see what just happened back there, sweetheart. I have the police in my pocket. The sheriff in that town is as spineless as a snake. All I had to do was threaten him and he gave me the run of the town jail."
"What did you say to him?"
"Well, truth is, I didn't have to say much. He was ready to believe all sorts of terrible things about your little boyfriend, Forrester. Turns out he came from that town, and everyone knew who he was."
"I know. I heard."
"Then you'll have heard that his past wasn't all that different from yours, Elle. His parents didn't love him either."
"His mother died. I'm sure she'd have loved him if she'd lived."
"But she didn't live. Forrester killed her coming out of her. And the dad hated his guts for it."
"His dad must have been sick."
"Call it what you want, sweet cheeks, but that father brutalized Forrester and in my book, that counts as hate."
Elle's cheeks flushed. She hated the way Gris was talking about Forrester, and she hated when he called her sweet cheeks.
Gris lit a cigarette. They'd left the town behind and were heading into the dark and windy road that led through the mountains into the town. Elle thought back to the night she'd arrived. It had been so recent, and yet it felt like a lifetime ago.
Gris kept talking.
"I guess that's why you were so attracted to him, Elle. I mean, apart from his pretty boy looks. He was a discard, just like you. No one wanted him, just like no one wanted you. Did you hear the story of what his old man did to him?"
At that, Gris let out a hearty laugh. Elle felt sick.
"So, Elle, listen. I've been thinking. I don't want you getting away from me again, so I came up with a plan. Why don't I put a ring on you?"
"Excuse me?" Elle said.
"I'll marry you. That way, you can't go anywhere. You'll be mine."
"Gris," Elle said. "The only reason I'm in this car right now is because you said you'd hurt Forrester if I didn't come with you. I don't want to marry you. I'm in love with him."
Gris laughed again. "You can't be in love with someone who doesn't love you back, you stupid bitch."
"Gris," Elle said, but she wasn't even sure what she was going to say.
She knew she was in love with Forrester, but she wasn't so certain he was in love with her. What if she was wrong? What if Gris was right? Could there really be love if the other person didn't feel it too?
But she knew he felt it. The last time she'd been with him, she'd felt his love. She'd felt it right in the core of her being. He'd loved her like a raging fire that no one could put out. She knew that. The only reason Forrester hadn't showed up the other day at the diner was because Gris and his henchmen had thrown him in jail. If he'd been able to get out of there, he'd have come for her.
"I'll never marry you," she said firmly.
And then it came. What she knew was coming, sooner or later. Gris's heavy hand swung across the car and slapped her right in the face.
"Don't make me pull this car over and teach you some manners, bitch."
"You can't teach me anything, Gris," Elle said back, defiantly.
She'd made up her mind. She'd let Gris create some distance from the town. She'd buy Forrester some time to get over his injuries. She'd stay with Gris for a few days if necessary. But then she would escape. As soon as she felt Forrester might be out of that jail, she'd escape and get back to him.
"You know what," Gris said, "I should just stop the car and get you to suck my cock. That will show you what you're worth."
"I'm worth so much more than that, Gris."
"That's not what you used to think. You always did whatever I wanted. You were my little slut."
"I didn't know what to think back then."
"You were my slut then and you're my slut now, Elle."
"No I'm not, Gris. I'm more than that, and I know it now. You don't know me as well as you think you know me. I'm not the girl that was with you. That's not me anymore. Those few nights with Forrester taught me so much. They taught me to respect myself. They taught me to love myself. He showed me that I'm beautiful, and that a real, loving, kind man could want me and want to have a baby with me."
Gris was getting mad but she didn't care. He had to know the truth. He had to know that she was too strong for him now. She wasn't going to be bullied. She wasn't the timid girl he thought he knew.
"Forrester loved me more than you ever did, Gris. He treated me right. He lifted me up into the air and swept me off my feet. And he made love to me, Gris. He didn't just fuck me. We made love. Real love. And it was the most amazing thing I ever experienced in my entire life. I'm not going to forget that. I'm not going to let you take that away from me."