Roman wrestled her to the ground, sealing her mouth shut, so her screams were muffled. He would knock her out, but he didn't want to damage her pretty face, so he took his knife.
She squirmed as he jutted it towards her, but less so when she realized He was cutting off her nightgown.
It was hard work, doing it with one hand while the other clamped down on her mouth. He was getting sweaty and uncomfortable on this humid night, and it made his patience wear thinner.
He nicked her a few times, but eventually, there was enough for him to shove in her mouth, and then tie around as a gag.
Marlena was naked now, but he didn’t care because he'll make sure no one would see them. He blindfolded her with the remaining fabric and threw her over his shoulder.
It'll be easier to move her this way.
He ran from one floor to the next, ducking behind doors to regroup.
It was not even 4 am yet, so people were still deep in their slumbers. Marlena tried to scream, but the gag muffled most of it, and he was moving so fast that her stomach bumped on his shoulder, causing her voice to break.
If anyone were to get up to look for the sound, they'd already be on the next floor.
When they got to the parking lot, he breathed a sigh of relief, lowering her to her feet. She was barefoot and naked; her hair was wild.
She moved her head wildly, completely unable to perceive her surroundings.
She already looked feral.
Seeing her body exposed and helpless out here made him want to drop her in the ground and fuck her, but he couldn’t risk getting caught out there.
Not after all this.
He huffed as he pulled off his sweatshirt and wiped away his sweat. Running with her over his shoulder was not a small task.
“Come on,” he ordered, with a tug of her forearm.
She whimpered as they stepped outside into the night’s air, twigs cracked under her feet. He knew it hurt, but there was not much he could do for her right now.
She tripped a few times over obstacles she couldn't see. They walked for ten minutes until they were able to emerge.
He saw his car in the distance.
Just a few more steps, and they'll be off.
This was the riskiest part of all. He has to walk with a naked, bound woman down a residential street. He stepped out, looking right and left as far as his cop eyes could see, just to make sure no one came upon them by surprise. He didn’t have time for resistance, so he picked her up and jogged us down the street.
He popped the trunk, tossed her in and slammed it shut. He lowered himself into the driver seat with a huge sigh, laughing a little bit as he wiped the sweat off her brow.
He didn’t know what the fuck he just got himself into, but the thrill of taking Marlena all to himself after she chose the wrong man between the two, gave him such overwhelming satisfaction. The thrill of carrying her naked through neighborhoods while people slept soundly made him feel like a fucking god.
He has her.
The perfect woman.
He started the car, and pulled out. The freeway was a block away, and once he was on it, no one would hear her kicking against the trunk.
*********
​
We're back with you, live on the six o'clock news. The family of Doctor Marlena Evans, who was abducted on Friday evening from her penthouse while her fiancé was out, spoke today.
They cut to a clip of Carrie sobbing in front of a bank of microphones. John and Abe stood solemnly behind her, rubbing her shoulders. “She's a good person. She is a psychiatrist. She helps people. Please, I beg you, just let her go. You can just drop her off and disappear. We don't care. We just want her back.”
Abe, dressed in a black leather coat, took the podium. He introduced himself as detective Abe Carver. He made a brief statement that they were doing everything they could to look for her. He looked tired.
She looked around for Belle, but she was not there. They must have thought this would be too much for her. She crawled towards the screen to get a closer look at John, the jubilance he carried on his face, no matter how tired he was, entirely gone. The chain yanked at her leg, keeping her feet away from the screen, so she was left reaching, but unable to touch the pixels that formed her family.
The image of her family's press conference was cut away and backed to the anchors. Once the last sentence was uttered, Roman came back downstairs and pulled the antenna off the set.
Everything dissolved to snow and frantically she begged.
“No! No!” She wanted to keep watching different news stations, see her family, and just be continually assured that she hadn't been forgotten. But he didn’t give a shit and wheeled the TV out of reach.
“Why did you do that?” she yelled. “Roman, just let me go…Everyone’s worried sick, and Joh-” she whispered.
“Let’s cut the bullshit, Doc. Beg.”
“Beg? For what? For letting me go back home?”
“Beg for me to take you again.”
“Never.” Her fists balled up in dismay. She couldn’t. She won’t beg for someone who did that to her. Who abandoned her in a dirty basement like she meant nothing. She won’t let him have all the power.
She won’t fucking beg.
She needed to know why.
“No.” The knife dug deeper.
She has seen his other sides; she knew how wonderful he could be.
“I said fucking beg, Marlena.” He slid his head out and back in.
She bit her lip and scrunched her face to bear the agony.
“You chose John. You chose poorly. Now, I’m here, Marlena. I’ll give you what you fucking need. But you better beg for it.”
“Fuck you,” she winced. “Go to hell.”
He yanks her hair ferociously, the knife pressed so tightly against her that if she jerked, it would cut her skin.
She glared at him, her lips trembling with disdain. She wanted him to feel the pain he was putting her through.
He will fucking feel it.
He will know what a piece of shit he was.
Roman looked at her, his brown eyes determined. He couldn’t hide the tension in his neck and how uneasy he felt doing this to her.
He didn’t say a fucking word, looking at her with dead eyes, before turning to walk away. She watched him, his body a monument to destruction, as it walked away, leaving her in shambles again. And this time, she fucking lost it.
She yanked up her water bottle and ran towards him before the chain stopped her movement.
“What the fuck is wrong with you!” she screamed, tripping over her last meal and landing on her knees. The cement pierced into her skin, but the pain was negligible compared to the fire breathing out of her lungs. “You ruined me! You son of a bitch!” she collapsed down on all fours, heaving tears.
He kept walking, but his body got heavier with each step. “How can you be such a heartless bastard,” she screamed through tears. “You ruined me! You took me away from the man I love only because that man isn’t you!” She raised back to her knees, the cold floor digging deeper into her skin.
“What did I ever do to you, Roman? You hurt me so much. You fucking bastard! You don’t even have the fucking balls to tell me, you asshole! Man up! Man, the fuck up! Face the mess you made!”
Roman finally stopped, like each word was another weight added, and finally, they were just too heavy to bear. In the moment of quiet, she has a moment of clarity as Roman’s back faced her.
He looked heavy. Her words, they hurt him.
Her words mattered.
And instead of screaming this time, she pleaded, with a week’s worth of hidden tears in her voice: “Roman, why?”
The rain outside began to pour down, and she sunk back on all fours. She looked down at the gray floor and dirt, unwilling to watch him. His footsteps scraped along the bottom. But this time, the sound came closer. She looked up to see him standing over her. His eyes were heavy, and he grabbed her forearms, pulling her close to him. Their bodies clung to each other, and she stopped wrangling with him.
His lips brushed against her ear. “You only get one chance to get away from me, Marlena. I’m giving it to you. I can’t resist you. I was doing this for you,” he breathed into her neck.
“No, you are doing this for you,” she said. “You don’t get to do this to me. You left me, remember? Years ago! You don’t get to set me on fire and leave me like a pile of ashes here.”
“You fucked John!” his yell echoed through the walls of the small room.
“I never really left you, Marlena,” he breathed, “but it’s not me who will hurt you. I am protecting you from him.”
“Are you protecting me? Of John?”
“Mark my words. John will pay. And remember-” he stilled. Staring at her, almost lovingly.
Time froze.
Sounds got quiet.
“I own you,” he said as his fingers grazed her neck. “There’s no one like you, Marlena. If you can’t be mine, you will never be his.”
“Fuck you.” She bellowed.
Cold abyss stared back at her, choking her in its darkness, like it was penetrating her body, obscuring her from the inside out. A hand too quick for her to stop ,reached and grabbed her around the throat, squeezing. Her eyes expanded in shock, the blood vessels screaming for mercy. A shriek attempt to escape, but without a sound.
He was so strong.
She clawed at the hand stealing her life, but it was having no effect. He remained stoic, staring in at her, his grip gaining strength.
She was fading…dying…stop.
Air rushed into her lungs, scorching her raw gullet as she was released. She dropped to the floor and pain sliced into her kneecaps, shooting up her body.
“Stop,” she choked past the rawness scratching her throat, crawling closer. His shadow creeped over her like a dark tide—infecting her, overwhelming her, drowning her.
His hand gripped her hair, dragging her to her feet while her legs flailed beneath her. The pain spanned her entire scalp.
“Roman, stop, please,” she begged, her voice broken and hoarse. “I want to go home.”
“This is home now,” he told her, not one inflection of emotion in his voice.
He yanked her back and she fell onto the floor, his clenched fist gripping strands of her hair. When he drew his gaze to TV set, her eyes followed and a whimper left her.
Slow and menacing, he dragged his eyes back to her. Her head shook no as her body trembled. Heavy hands grabbed at her. She fought, lashing at him with a frenzied bout of energy and fury.
Humiliation, pain, and fear saturated her soul as he subdued her without any effort, leaving her naked as he found her when he was finished, embarrassed and terrified.
He didn’t say anything else, but he pulled a new water bottle out of his pocket and rested it right in front of her. Without further acknowledgment of her existence, he headed back up the stairs, closing the door behind him and plunging her back into a world of solitude. She cried, traumatized with the reality seeping into her heart. She wasn’t going home ever… Nothing was ever going to be the same again.
​
*********
Two times the sun has left, and the basement has turned pitch black. Two nights have passed since Roman came in, cleaned her, fed her, and showed her the outside world through a television screen.
Then he left without a word.
She didn’t know when he was coming back, and that scared her. The food and water were long gone and only gave her enough energy to continue existing. But she was still starving and thirsty, and he was the only way she had access to more food. Hunger and boredom were a maddening combination. It made you pray for anyone's presence to make you feel human again.
At least when he was there, her body coursed with adrenaline. It made her feel alive when she didn't have the energy from nutrition.
It was the waiting that had become torture—not knowing her fate, suffering, and growing weaker. Sometimes there were footsteps, and her heart skipped with a jolt of excitement and dread. But then the house would go quiet again.
Her mind and body were constantly confused by him. He terrified her but was also the person with whom she had two children, who was a wonderful loving father.
What has become of him?
This time, when the footsteps came towards the door, it opened. Her mouth produced what little saliva it could, like a Pavlovian dog, in response to his presence. He came down the stairs, a milk crate stuffed with random items in his arms. The smell of food instantly hit her nose and her heart rate accelerated.
Marlena tried not to look too eager. It made her feel pathetic.
What she would do to feel the sun on her skin again. She hated that despite all the horrible things this man has done, she felt sorry for him. He made another trip with a soapy bucket of water. She watched in skeptical suspense as he went about this business without acknowledging her.
He handed her the water, and she chugged down as much as she could without getting sick. Instantly, life returned to her body.
“Can I watch the news?” She asked.
He didn’t answer. “I just want to see if Belle is okay. She wasn't at the news conference.”
He shook his head. TV was not on the table today.
She sucked back a sharp sob; she didn't want to cry in front of him anymore. He walked over to the milk crate and pulled out a thick blanket.
Softness.
Texture.
Warmth.
What she wouldn't do to be able to sleep on that tonight. The floor was so cold and unforgiving.
“Roman, please…I want to see Belle…What do I have to do? Just say it. I don't understand why you won't talk to me.”
“You will stay here until you choose me. Until you’d be willing to accept the fact that we belong together and agree to marry me.”
He walked over and laid the blanket on the floor behind her. Then he came back to face her, close, and that was when she saw the bulge in his pants. It was menacing. He leaned in close enough for his hardness to graze her.
“I'm gonna taste your pussy,” he whispers in her ear. Roman had never used that word before, and that alone startled her. His voice was gritty and low, the auditory equivalent of gravel.
Marlena shook her head.
“No. Never.”
She won't do this.
This wasn’t who she was.
She was not his wife anymore; she was not.
He had no right asking her that.
He could strip her down, starve her, isolate her, but she was still Marlena Evans. He shrugged, pulling the blanket off the floor. Tossing it in the milk crate, going through the motions for a grand exit.
It was so unfair, this was all nothing to him, but this basement was her world. That blanket could be her bed. It could shield her naked body so she could maintain a shred of dignity. It could hug her.
A simple hug, even from a blanket, would be a lifeline right now. A sense of panic rose in her as he walked towards the stairs. He was the only person she could talk to.
I didn’t want him to go. She didn’t want to sit in this cold basement, staring out the tiny window that was far out of reach.
She didn’t know how much longer she could keep going without food. She felt like she was hanging onto her sanity by a hair. She has to stop him from leaving her there.
“Roman, Wait! Can we bargain? Can I have one more thing?” He stopped but didn't face her.
He was listening.
“Food. I'm so hungry. I can't keep going like this: the blanket and the food. I know you have some. I can smell it.”
He was silent for a few moments. Probably to fuck with her more than trying to mull it over. Then he shook his head.
“Roman! If you love me…if you really love me, you’ll grant me that.” She shouted, hot tears falling down her cheeks. She was so angry she was letting herself cry over such mundane items. She’d been reduced to an infant, relying on someone for her most basic needs and unable to communicate through anything but tears. He came over and stood a foot away from her. Without a word, he looked me up and down, scanning her naked body like it was a meal. She’d gotten somewhat used to the nudity, but the way his eyes scoured her felt intrusive.
“You'll have to let me lick you for the blanket. But if you want to eat food, you'll have to swallow my cock first.”
He reached down and unzipped his pants, pulling out his penis.
Sustenance, company, sex, it was all becoming intermingled. One associated with the other. If she had to guess, she'd been there for many days, maybe weeks.
She’d had one high-calorie meal, she was weak. She was tired. She had just enough water to keep herself alive, and she wondered if her kidneys might go soon.
The blanket was nice. It was a luxury.
But food, food was life.
And she was going to do anything she could to survive and go back to John and her family. She didn’t have any more energy to bargain or even speak, simply nodding in consensus.
He pointed to the blanket.
She lied down, watching him stand over her, making her feel so small. He finished undoing his jeans and let them fall to the floor. He was not wearing underwear, and now he was completely naked.
You're still Marlena; she reminded herself.
But was she?
She had traded sexual favors for a meal and a blanket. That was not who she was. She clenched up, thinking about her family and John. John, who she was betraying by agreeing to this. She should have fought more. She should fight this raw deal.
Roman, completely naked, except for the black t-shirt, rested his hard body against hers. His cock pressed against her, and she wondered if he was going to penetrate her instead of following their agreement.
“I changed my mind,” she said. “I don't need these things; please let me go….”
He ignored her words. “I gave you a choice, and you made it.”
She didn’t know anything anymore. She was weak, weaker than she thought.
She bit her lip as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Fuck, Marlena, keep it together.
But keeping it together required energy she had to conserve.
He watched her cry.
He licked a tear, like her sadness sustained him. “I'm gonna fuck you with my mouth. I'm gonna make you cry, but not like this. I'm gonna make you cry for me.” He lowers himself along her trembling body, grazing his teeth against her skin, alert to his touch. His skin and mouth were warm and forgiving compared to the harsh concrete. He sucked on her breasts, and her hips swiveled.
She opened her mouth to object, but instead, short, tense breaths escaped. She shook her head no, but he didn't see; he was entirely fixated on the rest of her—her body, her skin, her taste, her breasts.
She was entirely coveted.
She realized he was starving too, consumed by hunger so deep that he couldn't control himself.
A hunger, he will do anything to sate.
He had been watching her.
Craving her.
The hunger intensified so that it was all he could think about. He bit her stomach, hard enough for her to flinch. She held in her whimpers. She didn’t want to give him a reaction.
“I know so much about you, Doc,” he breathed into her pelvis as he worked his way down. “So many things. But watching you with John was never enough. Now I'm finally going to be able to taste the flavor of your pussy when you come on my mouth.” His perverse words burnt through her like shrapnel.
She reached down to push him away just as his hot mouth honed in on her pussy, but her hand clawed into his eyes.
“Don't even fucking try it,” he said, pinning her hand down to the side.
She wasn't.
He made gentle strokes with his tongue, his head weaving as he made good on his promise to taste her. She writhed around him, fighting the swelling sensation his mouth brought. Her mind resisted what her body wished to grant: Pleasure. Relief. Comfort.
She was still Marlena.
Her squirming only made him work harder, finding her clit with his tongue, massaging it, his lips suctioning softly. It only took seconds before she gasped for air, her body contracting every muscle in anticipation for a release. But he stopped just seconds before, leaving her breathless and enraged.
“Tell me you want me to make you come.”
“No,” she protested through clenched teeth.
“Your pussy is flushed and open. I can smell it. Taste it.”
“Fuck you,” she said.
“You want to be a stubborn little bitch, fine by me,” he said, pulling away and kneeling in front of her. “Get up and suck my cock.”
She gave him a snarl befitting the animal she had become.
“Sounds like you don't want to eat,” he added sardonically. She had come too far in this whole twisted deal to be left empty-handed. She knew what was to come, but she protested with stillness.
He grabs her by her hair, pulling from the roots, onto all fours. “Earn your fucking meal, Doc.”. His cock awaited at attention inches from her face. She could bite it. But that was just a fleeting thought. She wanted to survive this, not get her head bashed in by what this man had become.
“Take it in your mouth. Take it all the way, Doc,” he rasped, pushing his hips so that he hit the back of her throat. She gagged, which prompted his chuckle. He pulled back and then in again.
Out and in.
Out and in.
Fucking her mouth.
“I bet John fuckes you like this,” he mocked. “And now you do this for me.” Tears leaked from her eyes, but at this point, she couldn’t tell if it was from choking or despair.
“Your ass from this angle…fuck, Doc.” Underneath his intensely throaty voice was the soft hum of relaxed pleasure. She peered up, remaining on all fours, like an obedient pet, as he took her mouth for his pleasure. “One day, I'm going to fuck that ass and watch my cum drip out of it. And you'll be begging for it.”
She wanted to clamp down so badly, especially as her jaw tired.
But she battled through.
Eyes that reveal no soul or depth, clear as a demon's. His eyes framed by anger. So many times, she watched them with love. So many times, she imagined a version of this as John was inside of her, never thinking it could be a reality. Thinking she was safe from her own twisted fantasies.
He groans, extending his neck and hips, increasing the pace of his thrusts. “Your fucking mouth,” he grunted, pulling out and gripping his cock in his calloused hand, pulling her hair to angle her upwards. He jerked faster and let out a deep groan as he came on her neck and breasts.
Marlena didn’t fight him, it was far too late for that now.
“You look fucking beautiful,” he moaned. It was not sarcastic or mocking; he said it the way a man would after his girl has made herself up.
“Lick your lips, Doc,” he ordered, still holding his cock and her hair. “Lick,” he repeated, rubbing the still-hard erection against her nipple, dripping with his cum. She darted out her tongue, tasting a little of the saltiness.
“More.” She did it again, this time taking a little more. He looked down on her with pure lust.
She ached. But I also ache at the fact that, at this moment, she could feel a smidgen of anything but total and utter rage.
She wished he would relieve her and send her back home to John.
She didn’t like him.
Oh no—she hated him.
He stood up, his normally grounded stance a bit wobbly. He wiped her face, breasts, and neck of his semen. He put his pants back on and grabbed a brown paper bag and a jug of water, dropping them in front of her. Despite starvation, her nerves were too taut to eat. All she could think of was the man who was waiting for her at home. He collected everything, so that he could make it in one trip, and without saying a word, he walked up the stairs, leaving her to enjoy her earnings.
But she couldn't.
Not until she made the sensation of being on the precipice disappear.
*********
Two days later.
A grating sound cut through John’s ears as he woke up, unsure what was happening. His vision was foggy, probably a side effect of a drug or some sort. Trying to rub his eyes, he noticed his hands were tied.
Perfect.
His body was so cold. His skin felt wet, and his hair clung to the back of his neck. He didn’t understand why his bones ached so badly. His eyelids were heavy, as though someone had taped them shut. When he finally opened them, it felt as if they were still closed. Darkness surrounded him.
Not a dark gray.
It was pitch-black.
The light hit him hard as a fabric had lifted off his face.
What was happening?
Where was Marlena?
Was she hurt?
He blinked, waiting for his eyes to adjust.
One, two, three, four seconds passed.
He remembered seeing Roman, he was right on top of her, then everything went black.
Where was Roman?
Then he saw her.
Raising his gaze, he almost jumped out of his skin when he saw her. She was bound, just as he was, to a chair, her mouth was gagged, but the panic in her eyes could not be missed.
“Tell me you’re willing to give her up,” he said, cocking the gun and swerving it toward Marlena.
“Marlena.” Her name was the only word he could force past his sandpaper tongue.
“She’s safe, for now, and she’ll stay that way as long as you do what you’re told. Understand?”
No.
He didn’t understand anything, except that he’d been drugged. Another fist connected with his face, and he didn’t have the ability to fight him. “I asked you a question. Her life depends on your cooperation. Do you understand?” he nodded, though his head drooped more than bobbed. “Yeah.”
Little by little, consciousness settled into his bones, though he still felt weighed down as if ten wet blankets covered him.
“What are you doing here? You gave us your blessing... Why are you doing this?”
“You don’t ask questions. You shut your mouth and follow orders, got it?”
When he didn’t answer, two hands banded around his neck, fingers pressing hard on his carotid arteries. Spots danced in his vision, and he tried to lift his bound arms to ward off the assault, but he couldn’t. Roman pulled away before he lost consciousness.
“I'm getting tired of this game, John. Tell me you’re backing away,” he said again.
“Backing away? Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about-” If he was untied, he could fight him. He might even hold him off for a few minutes, but what if he shot her? This was Roman, would he really shoot her?
No, no, he wouldn't; he couldn’t.
Could he?
“John. Come on, wake up; I’m waiting.” Roman’s bitter laugh made him sick to his stomach.
“Wait! We love each other; when you came back to town, we were about to get married. Kristen, she fooled -” he told him, hating how his voice quaked.
“Kristen, Kristen, Kristen…I'm going to count to ten . You're going to tell me you’d leave her the fuck alone and let her be with me, or she dies.”
He gestured at Marlena with the gun, putting it against her temple, she cringed, tears poured down her cheeks as she sobbed.
“Marlena, It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. Do you understand?” John said, his voice strained, void of emotion, catching her eyes, she nodded quickly, whimpering slither through the dirty cloth.
“One,”
“You listen to me. What good would it be to kill her, huh? If she’s dead, you’d be left alone, without her-”
Marlena… he swallowed hard.
If he fought him, he’d hurt her…or worse. The idea sickened him, made him want to lash out and pound into him. His mind was fully alert now, demanding he do something, but his tied body wouldn’t…couldn’t fight. Sweat slicked down his back, though he trembled from the chill of the late night breeze.
“Two”
“Listen, talk to me, we can talk Like a gentleman-”
“Three”
“Roman, don’t do this.”
Another blow to the face shut him up. His chest squeezed, and he tried to brand his mind with every detail his beautiful lady. The fuckers were going to kill him.
“Why are you doing this?” A boot shot out and struck him in the kidney. He grunted, back arching, and held his breath.
“Shut the fuck up!” he shouted.
John clenched his jaw, and his hands fisted within the restraint of the rope. She caught his gaze, and he noticed her fingers curling around the chair handles, knuckles turning ash-white. Roman licked his lips, eyes glazed over with anger. There was no talking, and he held back any sounds of pain, or God forbid, fear.
John’s breathing came fast and hard, “All right, All right, all right, I’ll back away, I’ll leave her alone… I can help you.”
“The way you helped me five years ago? That way? The way you lured my wife into your bed?”
“You put the gun down; I'm not talking to you like this.”
“That's your choice. Four.”
John blinked, horrified by what he saw. He’d survived a lot and had never cried, but the thought of watching her like that gutted him.
“Don’t do this. I can give you whatever you want.” He risked looking up and met the dark gaze of someone who struck a cord of recognition in him, though he couldn’t place where he’d seen him before that week.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“I want you to suffer the same way I suffered, and if I have to spend all of my itinerary in jail, I’ll know she’s not with you.”
John opened his mouth, about to talk, when his fist slammed into his nose.
Marlena wailed up against the restraints, sobbing, she gasped for air, coughing uncontrollably through the fabric, and trying not to hyperventilate.
Staring at her, John looked back at the second hunter in the room, “I will leave town. Then let her go because you will not-”
“I don’t believe you. Five.”
A sob escaped her mouth as she recognized the truth in his words. Even though he was angry, a gun evened the playing field. He was much too close, and it wouldn’t take a straight shot to hurt or even kill.
“You’re not touching her. You want to shoot me, do it, but you’re not laying a hand on her.”
“Don’t test me, Black!” Roman roared, raising the gun a few inches to her head.
“I’ll leave tonight, but if you kill. Her, if you do this-”
“Six”
“Are you listening to me? The only way you're going to get what you want is for you-”
Roman fired a shot over his head, making her squeal with fear, “You think I'm playing!?” he shouted, steadying the gun at her head, his finger on the trigger again.
“NO! Son of a bitch!”
“You think I’m playing? You don’t think I’ll do it?”
“Sweetheart, look at me,”
Her eyes.
He remembered how absolute her fear was earlier.
Fear, the kind that made your heart beat so fast, your mind tricked you into believing you were seconds from death. He had to put an end to this.
“I don’t believe you, Black, and I won’t ever believe her. She will never be truly mine.”
“Stay with me, Doc.”
“Seven”
“Roman! I will kill you. I swear to god, I’m going to kill you!”
“Eight!”
“Please” his fists banged the chair, he closed them so tightly, he started losing blood flow in his arms. Her whimpers tore through him as he stared at her, heart pounding so fucking hard, he thought it would rip from his chest and tumble to the floor. Taking a long breath in, he tried again, his voice calmer, making sure Roman could hear the words and understand their meaning.
“Please, don’t do this, just let her go...I promise you, I promise you, I can help get what you want-”
“Nine.”
“Listen to me, I want to help you get whatever you want, but you gotta do what’s right.”
Her sobs tore the night air, her eyes flattered quickly, clearing the tears from her sight
“You know what’s right…. Please... No…. No.”
“Ten.”
Then a gunshot, it sounded so loud that he was absolutely sure that his heart was going to gallop out of his chest. He stopped breathing all at once.