She bit her lip. She didn’t want him to risk himself. Especially when she didn’t know what sort of threat this was. And when he wasn’t committed to her. Perhaps if they were dating, it would be different.
And she didn’t want him feeling obligated to do something or getting hurt. She needed to keep him safe.
Telling him the truth wasn’t an option.
Moving out of the room, she headed downstairs to the landlady’s room. She wasn’t the nicest person and Maeve was tempted just to slide the key under her door.
Yeah, that’s what she’d do.
Getting there was a problem, however, since it was on the basement level.
God, she hated it down here. The whole place was creepy. She held back a whimper as she moved to the door. Then she tried to push the key under the door. Shit, it didn’t fit. Crouching, she pushed it under the door as hard as she could.
“So you decided to run, Little Birdie, interesting.”
Oh, fuck.
The voice wasn’t one she recognized.
She tried to turn, but he grabbed her, his arms wrapping around her.
“That isn’t as much fun, is it?” he murmured in her ear.
She attempted to fight him off, to elbow his gut, step on his foot. But he was so much bigger than she was and strong. The scent of body odor hit her and she gagged.
“Let me go. I’ll scream!”
“Doesn’t matter, Little Birdie, no one is going to help you now.”
Crap! She couldn’t reach her knife in her pocket, because he held her arms.
She let out a scream. Which was quickly smothered by one of his hands. He shoved her into the wall. The side of her face slammed against the hard concrete and a wave of dizziness rushed through her and she cried out in pain. But he’d loosened his hold on her.
Knife. Get your knife.
Reaching into her pocket, she grabbed her knife out and flicked it open, stabbing back with it. She thrust as hard as she could, knowing she needed to get through clothing to skin. The first swipe didn’t hit anything and she bit down on his hand in frustration.
Gross. The taste of sweat and dirt filled her mouth.
Now isn’t the time to be squeamish.
“Fucking bitch!”
With his free hand, he slammed his fist into her tummy.
Ow! Fuck! She let go of his hand.
“Stop fighting, Little Birdie, you’re mine. If you’d stayed and played this wouldn’t be happening. But naughty birdie decided to run and now she needs to be punished.”
This asshole was fucking delusional.
Which made him even scarier.
Pulling her hand back, she attempted to stab at him again. This time, she aimed for his thigh.
A roar of pain filled the basement as he made contact. Where was everyone? Why was there no one down here? He let go of her and she didn’t waste a moment. She took off. She had to leave her bag there, but thankfully she was wearing her backpack. She raced for the door and found it had a bar across it, locking it.
She shoved the bar up, expecting him to chase after her at any moment. But there was nothing. No yells for her to stop. No hands reaching out to grab her. Turning, she shoved the door closed and ran for the front exit.