“So, yes, Zack, I did what I had to do to survive because I was a child when they first raped me, and when nothing changed as I became an adult, I did worse things for them. Each time, I lost a part of myself, but also found something else. Something dark and twisted. I held tight to it no matter how much it hurt.” Spreading open my hands on mylap, I study my palms. The crescent scars that run deep. I curl my fingers inward until my nails match up perfectly with the lines. Then I look back up at Zack, my anger fading.
“I didn’t fall for their lies, but what else was I supposed to do other than kneel for them and pretend to accept what they were saying?”
“You could have fought back!” he snaps angrily.
I scoff. “Just like the woman on the video fought back? Like Kat did? That’s why you’re doing this. If she had, you wouldn’t be fighting for her now. Not everyone gets a chance to be a hero. Sometimes going along with what the villain wants is the only way to make sure the end of your story doesn’t get cut short.”
A tear drips down his cheek and catches in the moonlight. He’s crying?
This man who is so comfortable around death and pain is crying. For me or for someone else?
“Who are you hurting for?” I ask him, placing my hand over his. “Whose pain are you carrying?”
Zack looks at me, shocked, his lips parting, and I know I’ve just sliced him wide open.
“You don’t have to go through it alone,” I add softly.
Before he can answer, lights fill the car from behind us, and the rumble of an engine cuts through the silence.
The cops?
“Make a scene, and this is over,” Zack snaps as he adjusts his grip on the wheel and keeps one eye on the rearview mirror.
I look behind us, but can’t see anything through the glare of lights. “I don’t think it’s the cops. The lights are white and there are no sirens. Maybe it’s just another random driver?”
Zack casts a glance my way. There’s no smugness or loathing this time. He looks almost scared.
The lights move, and a motorcycle comes into view along the road next to me. Another does the same on Zack’s side of the car. I recognize the faded emblems on the riders’ jackets from the bar.
Were they waiting for us?
“What do they want?” I ask, panicked. Zack gives me another look that I can’t figure out.
“Sit back and keep your head low.”
They’re the first people we’ve seen on the road all night. I suppose Zack’s luck had to run out at some point.
They rev their engines, and the one on Zack’s side gestures for him to pull over. Zack flips him off and speeds up.
My stomach is left back on the road as we race away. They catch up quickly to us though.
The one on the driver’s side reaches into his jacket, and I scream when I see a gun.
Zack grabs the back of my head and shoves my face between my knees. “Stay down!” he shouts as a shot goes off. “Shit, shit, shit!”
The car spins out of control. My screams drown out the screeching of rubber. Zack takes his hand off me. I lurch forward as we come to a sudden stop, and brace my hands against the dashboard. No airbags? Shit. That could have gone worse.
I do a mental check of my body and don’t feel any pain other than a sting on my palms. When I sit up, I see Zack’s forehead bleeding where it’s hit the steering wheel.
“Your head. Are you alright?” I reach out to inspect the wound, my fingertips hovering just aboveit.
“It doesn’t matter.” Worry is deep in his eyes as he scans over my body. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fi—” I scream again as my door is yanked open, and I’m dragged out by my armpits.
“Get off her!” Zack roars loud enough to shake the heavens. He reaches out for me, and our fingertips brush before I’m ripped away from him.
Chapter 16
