I grabbed the last set of keys and hit the unlock button.
The horn sounded and the lights flashed. It was the last car in the row, the one closest to the driveway.
Thank god.
The sound was a bit loud, but since Carter was on the other side of the house with the door shut, I doubted he heard it. I opened the driver’s door and got inside. The keys didn’t slide into the ignition because everything was electronic. I hit the start button and pressed the brake, waiting for the engine to roar to life.
Nothing happened.
I tried a few more times, knowing I was doing everything right.
It still didn’t work.
“What the hell?” I started to hit everything, to put my foot on the gas instead. No matter what I pressed, the engine never came on. It couldn’t be this difficult to start a car, but nothing I did worked.
Shit.
Taking off in the car made more sense, but if that wasn’t an option, I would go on foot.
I’d made it this far, and a stupid car wasn’t going to stop me.
I opened the door and got out.
A hand flew out of the darkness and grabbed me by the neck. I was pushed up against the car, my tits hitting the door. My hands smacked against the windows, and the air was squeezed from my lungs.
My hands were yanked behind my back, like a police officer arresting a fugitive. One of his large hands held my wrists together, while his other hand continued to grip the back of my neck. His powerful chest pushed against me, his hard dick pressing through his sweatpants and into my jeans. He breathed into my ear, his words menacing. “You broke my rule.” He squeezed my neck a little tighter, making me struggle to breathe.
I stared at the wall of the garage, the adrenaline pounding in my ears. I hadn’t seen him in the garage. I’d had no idea he was coming. I really thought I’d outsmarted him, that I was just minutes away from freedom. It was a mistake to defy him, to think I could actually outwit him on his own property.
But I didn’t regret it, regardless of what happened next.
His lips brushed against the shell of my ear. “Now I get to break mine.”
He was too heavy and strong for me to fight. My hands were compromised, and my throat was at his mercy. My ankle continued to bleed, and now the pain was excruciating. All the hope that had once burned in my heart was now gone. I’d never felt so defeated, felt so much self-loathing. Escape had never really been an option. It had always been a fantasy. “Please let me go. You’re a good man.”
“I’ve never given you a reason to believe I am. I wanted you to break my rule, tricked you into thinking you could actually get away. Would a good man do that?” He kept talking into my ear, his thick dick pressing right against my ass.
“Please…” This couldn’t be the end. I would never stop trying. Never stop trying to get back to where I belonged.
“I told you this once, and I’ll tell you again.” He yanked on my hands, forcing my shoulders to stretch back uncomfortably. His arm circled across my throat, and he put me in a one-arm chokehold, having complete control over my body. “Never. I’ll never let you go.”
Two
Vanessa
I stood with Carmen at a high-top table in the bar. It was a Friday night, and after the long workweek, people were celebrating the arrival of the weekend. Music played overhead, the bass thudding in the background. I was in a purple dress with black heels. Carmen looked like a supermodel in a blue dress cut low in the front.
“So what did Griffin and your dad talk about?” Carmen stirred the ice in her drink with her straw. We’d both finished our drinks, and Griffin had left for the bar to get us refills. It was a packed night, so he probably wouldn’t be back for a while.
“He didn’t really say.”
“Does he ever really say anything?” she teased, glancing at him behind me.
I chuckled. “Not with his mouth, no. He usually conveys his thoughts with a look.”
Her eyes moved over my shoulder again, seeing him in the background. “I think I know what he’s trying to say right now…”
I didn’t turn around. “He’s probably staring at my ass.” I could feel his piercing stare against my back, feel him surrounding me even when he was fifty feet away at the bar.
“He’s staring at all of you, hon.”
I finally glanced over my shoulder to look at Griffin. He was leaning against the bar waiting for service, and he killed time by staring at me like the most possessive man in the universe. He staked a claim all the way on the other side of the room, keeping the boys away with his brooding confidence. Just as he did when we were alone together, he wasn’t afraid to give me that look…the same look he showed when he was on top of me, driving my body into the mattress underneath him.