I was smiling back at Luke when I unlocked the door, and I must have been in a fog from the flood of emotions, or I’m sure I would have noticed that something was wrong before I stepped inside, closed the door, and felt the hand cover my mouth and the knife blade at my throat.
“If you make a sound, I will kill you right now, and then I’ll kill that little prick outside.” Bug’s whisper was deadly serious, and I felt all the blood rush from my face. “You understand?” he asked.
I nodded, feeling his hand pressing painfully on the jaw that he’d bruised the day before. He pulled me — slowly, so I wouldn’t stumble — into the master bedroom, the furthest point from the front door, and I knew that even if I screamed, that there was no way Luke would hear me. My only hope was to stay alive and hope that Luke came inside to check on me.
Bug picked up a roll of duct tape from the dresser, tore a piece off, and covered my mouth with it, grabbing me by the jaw after he’d silenced me and examining the results of his handiwork the day before. “Looks like you’re a little bruised up, you fucking cunt.”
I stood still, shaking in fear, trying desperately to think of a way to get out before he killed me.
“Now, I was going to take my time with you, sweetheart. I guess I have to change my plans a bit since you’ve brought your stupid fucking lover boy with you. I was gonna fuck you every way I could think of, and I was gonna kill you with my dick in your ass. I was gonna make you bleed to death while I fucked you bloody.” Bug started to stroke himself through his jeans, and I could tell that he was turned on by the thought of my pain.
“But I don’t have all day, do I?”
It wasn’t like I could answer, not with tape over my mouth, and all I could hope was that maybe I could escape while he fumbled with his pants, or maybe I could distract him somehow. I forced myself to stay calm, even though I could feel the telltale signs of a panic attack beginning.
Bug pushed me backward onto the bed, and I stumbled and ended up sprawled across it. He reached down and pulled my t-shirt away from my skin at the neck. Using his knife, he slowly sliced the shirt down the front until it fell away, exposing my bra.
“Unbuckle my belt,” he said, rubbing his hard-on.
I sat up, not even bothering to try to cover myself with the remains of my shirt, and I unbuckled his belt, waiting for further instructions.
“Undo my pants.”
I did what he asked, and he stepped back to shift his jeans down over his erection and step out of them, keeping the knife pointed at me.
“Wrap your hands around my cock, whore,” he said, stepping toward me and pointing the knife right at my throat.
Knowing that if I tried to hurt him, he’d kill me, I complied. He grabbed my face while I rubbed his cock, and he turned my head to the side, pressing painfully on my jaw. I must have moaned in pain, because he pulled his erection out of my hands and stepped back, looking at me in tears on the bed.
“Does that hurt?” he asked.
I nodded silently.
He reached out with the knife and ran the blade along my stomach, just beneath my breasts. The knife must have been really sharp, because for a second I didn’t feel anything but pressure. I looked down and saw blood welling from the cut and the pain hit me.
“How about that?” he asked. “Does that hurt?”
I nodded, and it occurred to me that I was going to die that day. I was going to die at the hands of the monster I’d slept with, cooked for, and lived with. Bug was going to kill me, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Bug reached down with the knife again, and I flinched as he cut my bra, right in the center, so the cups fell away and my breasts were exposed. He used the knife to circle my nipple, light enough that he didn’t break the skin, but terrifyingly close to it. I drew in my breath, trying to keep still and hoping that somehow, some way, he would stop. He pulled the knife away from the nipple he’d toyed with, and casually sliced toward my other breast, opening a cut that stopped just short of my other nipple. I breathed in, wishing my mouth weren’t covered, and I flinched and pulled away.
“Don’t you fuckin’ move, you piece of trash. I’m gonna make you bleed to pay for what you’ve done. Your whore’s body will be taken out of here in pieces when I’m done with you.”
I closed my eyes and felt the tears running down my face. When I opened my eyes and looked down, I saw tears and blood mingled on my chest, and I felt any hope for survival disappear.
Chapter 31
Luke
I was standing outside Bug’s house, enjoying the sunshine and thinking that it wouldn’t take much effort to make the front yard look one hundred percent better, when my phone vibrated. I looked down and saw a Colorado number that I didn’t recognize.