statement. I saw what her boss will do to her if she goes back. I have no idea what I’m going to do when I get there. I’m hoping I’ll see her little beat up car racing toward me, but it doesn’t happen.
I’m driving down the street, way too fast, and whip into the parking lot. The cherry red sports car means I’m either someone to fear or I’m incredibly stupid. I’m both. Maggie is the only family I have left. Neil’s not the same, and he never will be. I’ll be damned if I let some low life drug dealer dump her body in an alley.
I’ve never been in a fight in my life. I have no idea how to throw a punch or what to do, but that doesn’t stop me. Bravery and stupidity seem to be best friends. I wonder which lot I fall into as I race up the staircase and dart down the hall. If she’s dead, if he hurt her, I’ll kill him. I have no idea how, but he’s a dead man.
By the time I get to her door, I’m huffing. I pat the door with my palm and quietly call her name. “Maggie? Maggie are you there?” No answer. I do it again, and again, but she doesn’t reply.
My throat tightens and I want to cry, but I don’t. Instead, I press my ear to the door and listen. The couple upstairs is quiet tonight. There are no screams, no fighting—no nothing. The soundless halls make my skin prickle. I close my eyes for half a beat when I hear him speak.
“Looking for your friend, pretty girl?”
When I glance up, I’m face to face with Victor Campone.
CHAPTER 4
Victor grins at me in a smug serial-killer way. He hasn’t shaved in days so thick dark stubble lines his cheeks. There’s a scar along one cheek where hair no longer grows. It’s as if someone sliced it open with a pencil and it never healed correctly. The place where skin meets skin is raised and forms a jagged white line that runs over his flesh like a dying river.
I don’t value my life, not anymore. I’ve lost too much and the only person I care about in the world more than myself is on the other side of that door and I’m afraid that I’m not going to like what I see when I go inside. I turn into someone else, someone I don’t know, when I answer him my voice is fierce and my gaze is cruel. “Where is she?” I growl like a beast ready to rip his throat out.
I think about what I’ll do to him if Maggie’s hurt, if he did something to her. I don’t fear the repercussions—nothing frightens me at that moment. My heart races faster, but it has nothing to do with this evil man or his cruelty. It’s all me. My hands are by my sides, but I’m already picturing them clutching a rusty nail that protrudes from the wall and slamming it into the side of his face, giving him a matching scar down the other cheek.
Victor smirks. Our eyes have been locked this entire time and I don’t back down or look away. “Listen, you son of a bitch, I’m not leaving without Maggie.”
He appears mildly amused. Victor crosses his meaty arms and leans his shoulder against the wall. “Or you’ll do what?”
Evil thoughts flicker behind my eyes in graphic detail, but I reveal none of them. “You don’t want to find out.” The words come out in a bre ath.
The man’s gaze slips over me once, reevaluating , as if he underestimated me entirely. “Look at you. Well, who would have figured you’d be a tough little shit?” He smiles like he’s found a diamond at his feet in this wretched place. He pushes off the wall and reaches into his pocket. I flinch, reaching for mine, like I have a gun or something.
Victor laughs and lifts his palms toward me. “Settle down. I was just grabbing the keys. You can go in and see for yourself.” Victor repeats the movement, and my eyes don’t stray from his hand. He pulls out a ring with a massive amount of keys attached. They’re packed tightly, with little room between each one. The thing must weigh ten pounds. It’s amazing his pants didn’t fall off.
He steps towards Maggie’s door and unlocks it. “Go on.
I’m driving down the street, way too fast, and whip into the parking lot. The cherry red sports car means I’m either someone to fear or I’m incredibly stupid. I’m both. Maggie is the only family I have left. Neil’s not the same, and he never will be. I’ll be damned if I let some low life drug dealer dump her body in an alley.
I’ve never been in a fight in my life. I have no idea how to throw a punch or what to do, but that doesn’t stop me. Bravery and stupidity seem to be best friends. I wonder which lot I fall into as I race up the staircase and dart down the hall. If she’s dead, if he hurt her, I’ll kill him. I have no idea how, but he’s a dead man.
By the time I get to her door, I’m huffing. I pat the door with my palm and quietly call her name. “Maggie? Maggie are you there?” No answer. I do it again, and again, but she doesn’t reply.
My throat tightens and I want to cry, but I don’t. Instead, I press my ear to the door and listen. The couple upstairs is quiet tonight. There are no screams, no fighting—no nothing. The soundless halls make my skin prickle. I close my eyes for half a beat when I hear him speak.
“Looking for your friend, pretty girl?”
When I glance up, I’m face to face with Victor Campone.
CHAPTER 4
Victor grins at me in a smug serial-killer way. He hasn’t shaved in days so thick dark stubble lines his cheeks. There’s a scar along one cheek where hair no longer grows. It’s as if someone sliced it open with a pencil and it never healed correctly. The place where skin meets skin is raised and forms a jagged white line that runs over his flesh like a dying river.
I don’t value my life, not anymore. I’ve lost too much and the only person I care about in the world more than myself is on the other side of that door and I’m afraid that I’m not going to like what I see when I go inside. I turn into someone else, someone I don’t know, when I answer him my voice is fierce and my gaze is cruel. “Where is she?” I growl like a beast ready to rip his throat out.
I think about what I’ll do to him if Maggie’s hurt, if he did something to her. I don’t fear the repercussions—nothing frightens me at that moment. My heart races faster, but it has nothing to do with this evil man or his cruelty. It’s all me. My hands are by my sides, but I’m already picturing them clutching a rusty nail that protrudes from the wall and slamming it into the side of his face, giving him a matching scar down the other cheek.
Victor smirks. Our eyes have been locked this entire time and I don’t back down or look away. “Listen, you son of a bitch, I’m not leaving without Maggie.”
He appears mildly amused. Victor crosses his meaty arms and leans his shoulder against the wall. “Or you’ll do what?”
Evil thoughts flicker behind my eyes in graphic detail, but I reveal none of them. “You don’t want to find out.” The words come out in a bre ath.
The man’s gaze slips over me once, reevaluating , as if he underestimated me entirely. “Look at you. Well, who would have figured you’d be a tough little shit?” He smiles like he’s found a diamond at his feet in this wretched place. He pushes off the wall and reaches into his pocket. I flinch, reaching for mine, like I have a gun or something.
Victor laughs and lifts his palms toward me. “Settle down. I was just grabbing the keys. You can go in and see for yourself.” Victor repeats the movement, and my eyes don’t stray from his hand. He pulls out a ring with a massive amount of keys attached. They’re packed tightly, with little room between each one. The thing must weigh ten pounds. It’s amazing his pants didn’t fall off.
He steps towards Maggie’s door and unlocks it. “Go on.
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