Rescue Me(77)

He stands there with me cradled in his arms and stares at me for the longest time, and the way he is looking at me makes me want to spit right into his face.

“Everything that happens from here on out is your own fault. I told you if you ever left me I would make you pay, and BITCH, you are going to pay.”





Chapter Twenty-Five

Erin



On the inside I am shaking and quivering and scared as hell of what Joel has planned. He’s always at his worst when he’s been drinking and after looking into his feral eyes I am even more frightened.

Joel places me down on my feet and seizes a chunk of my hair, pulling so hard I swear it is coming out by its roots. He starts pushing me in the direction of a cabin sitting on top of a hill. As I look around taking in my surroundings, I realize I know exactly where I am...we’re at Luke and Shayne’s cabin. We have been here a few times over the summer.

“Joel, what are we doing here?”

“They’re never going to look here, Erin. We’re going to stay here right under their noses until I can get us the hell out of here. So shut the fuck up and don’t say a word until I tell you to.”

He yanks on my hair and my head falls back until he has me bent backwards so I can do nothing but stare into his disgusting face.

“You know when I ask you a question you fucking answer me. Now get down on your knees!”

I am not going to give into him. If he wants me on my knees then he can force me. With his free hand he reaches into his coat pocket and retrieves his gun and points it right between my eyes. I gulp but I will not give him the satisfaction of seeing my fear. He thrives on it and fuck him! He is not going to get it.

“GET. DOWN. ON. YOUR. KNEES.”

Even though I wasn’t going to comply, he doesn’t give me time to react as he pulls even harder until I fall and I am lying flat on my back on top of the gravel. I feel the sting of the small, sharp rocks piercing through the skin on my back and butt.

Joel leans down and straddles me, sitting directly on my chest and cradling my head in between his knees. He brings his face within an inch of mine as he slightly slurs his words.

“You never learn, do you?” He starts squeezing my head even harder with his knees. “Now when I tell you to something you will do it, and you will not defy me. Do you want to know why, Erin? Because if you don’t, I am going to take that precious little sister of yours and make you watch me beat the ever-loving shit out of her until you beg me to stop. But I won’t. I won’t stop until I fucking kill her.”

He releases the pressure of his grip around my head and then stands up. Right as I’m trying to stand myself, he whips around and punches me in the stomach. I fall back down on the ground clutching my stomach and gasping for air. I can’t even use my hands to break my fall because they are still bound together.

I lay there fighting back tears and tell myself even though this man is crazier than I thought, there is no way that he is going to risk being caught by going back and finding Shelby. It’s me he wants. I am sick of being a victim and this time he is not going to have the Erin he once knew, this time he is going to get the Erin who is going to defend herself no matter what.

I’m still on the ground when I hear the sound of glass breaking and when I slowly get up I see Joel reaching inside and unlocking the door through a broken windowpane. I stay motionless, not knowing what Joel will do next, and when he turns around and summons me to him, I go. I will play his game until I think of a way out of here.

I climb the stairs and walk past him into the cabin. The cabin is more like a house as big as it is. When you walk in, you enter the kitchen with stainless steel appliances and a beautiful black island counter right in the middle. I keep walking, not knowing what he wants me to do and enter the huge living room with a floor to ceiling fireplace and black leather furniture. The staircase is to the right where there are two small bedrooms and a bathroom as well as a small loft area where both Sierra and Lucy played for hours one day while it rained.

I close my eyes and picture my beautiful daughter’s face until the sound of the door slamming shut brings me back to the here and now. I turn around and look at Joel who takes a swig of what I assume to be whiskey. He sets the bottle down on the counter and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Come here, Erin.”

His glare is icy as he stands there and looks at me. God, please don’t let him touch me. The thought of him putting his hands on me makes my stomach instantly churn. I slowly walk toward him with my head held high and when I am standing directly in front of him he grabs my arm and pulls me farther into the kitchen. He starts rifling through drawers and I freeze when he pulls out a long, sharp knife.