The sound of muffled grunts and thuds emanated from the trunk, causing a mix of apprehension and knowing this was what needed to happen to war within me. I couldn’t believe I had gone through with something so impulsive. But there was no way this fucker was walking away from that, and no backing out now.
I pulled into the back parking lot of the crematorium. It was more secluded than it would’ve been if I had opted to take him to the basement of the funeral home, and it still had just what I needed for what I had in mind for this dumb fuck.
I opened the trunk and took in his wide, scared eyes. He was making too much noise for my liking, but I wasn’t sure that knocking him out again was the best idea. He might not wake up again for a while, and I wanted him to be awake for all of what came next.
I contemplated the best way to get him to shut up and remembered his knife in my pocket.
I was overtaken by a feral rage that I’d never felt before in my life. I’d never been particularly violent, but I supposed that loving Indie could do that to a person. I would protect her at all costs, and I needed to scare him away permanently.
Sure, I could go to the police. And I would if it became necessary. But my gut told me what I had in mind would be morepersuasive.
With a frustrated grunt and a sharp tug, I ripped off one of his shoes and yanked the sweat-dampened sock from his foot, flinging both onto the gravel.
With a flick of my wrist, the blade snapped open. I pressed it against the sole of his foot, carving a shallow but painful line. Most normal people would be grossed out or incapable of inflicting that kind of wound on another person, but it helped that I did things so much more invasive to human bodies daily. I wanted him to remember this moment and think twice before coming anywhere near my girl again.
He released a hoarse scream as blood dripped from the fresh wound. “You’re fucking insane,” he ground out.
“Probably,” I shrugged, jerking him to the edge of the trunk and letting his body thud against the ground. “Now shut the fuck up or there’s more where that came from.”
I slammed the lid shut and dragged him across the gravel. He didn’t put up much of a fight, which made me wonder if he was truly even capable of whatever he thought he was. I wondered how long he’d been alone with Indie in her apartment. How long he’d watched her without acting. How many times he’d been there before, hesitating to follow through.
The thought made me shudder.
It’s amazing what the body is capable of when adrenaline is coursing through your veins. I was used to lifting dead weight, but always with assistance and it was neverfucking wiggling.
But still, it took almost no effort whatsoever to lock Mark inside the empty body cooler.
I couldn’t help but stifle a laugh as he thrashed around inside the tiny compartment, his panicked cries echoing off the metal walls.
I couldn’t leave him inside for long. But fifteen minutes or so in freezing temperatures should be enough to scare him a bit before we had a little chat about what is and isn’t appropriate when it comes to pursuing women.
And why he wouldn’t be pursuing my woman at all again in the future.
I pulled a chair up and stretched my legs out, crossing my feet at the ankles as I listened to him hyperventilate.
“I hope you’re thinking hard about your actions in there, Mark.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I answered the call.
“Amelia? Everything okay?”
“Yes and no.” Her tone was one of slight concern and I wasn’t convinced of theyespart of that answer.
“Indie is fine,” she started. “Safe, anyway. But I have never seen anyone have such a severe panic attack, Kier. I think she may need to go to the hospital.”
Fuck. I shouldn’t have left her so quickly. “I’m on my way.”
I ended the call and rushed to the door before she had the chance to say anything else, beating myself up for thinking she was fine. Of course, she wasn’t fine. She’d just experienced something seriously traumatic, and I left her like a moron.
My hands shook as I gripped the steering wheel, my foot pressing harder on the gas pedal. The street lights blurred as I drove through the quiet neighborhood, desperate to reach her apartment. My heart raced with worry, and I couldn’t shake off the feeling of panic gnawing at my insides.
I literally could not think of anything aside from getting back to her. Not even the fact that I’d left a living, breathing human being inside a cooler meant for dead people.
And that the temperatures inside were too cold for him to survive in for as long as I would be gone.
INDIE
Kiernan had forced me to take a few days off of work after all that had happened, promising me that he’d deal with anything that came up.
