The masked man stands in front of me in a hoodie, jeans, black gloves, and his mask. His contacts seem to glow in the middle of the night while he stands before me. My heart races when my eyes drop to the chain that is in his right hand.
Was he at the party?Had he seen me with Sin? Mack? Is he mad? Jealous? He left me. I’m not going to play this game with him anymore. I will not rely on him. “What the fuck do you want?” I yell, jumping to my feet.
He reaches out, his hand shoving my chest and knocking me back down onto the white seat that I now realize is a boat. Taking a quick look around, I shiver at the cool air and see the speed boat rocking back and forth on the waves. No other boats are in sight, but I can see the marina to the right of us. We’re far enough that if I yelled, no one would hear me. But close enough that the lights help us see out here in the middle of the lake.
I go to open my mouth to tell him to fuck off, but his hands grab at me. Gripping my hair, he holds my head down while his other hand shoves me onto my stomach. He straddles my back and wraps the chain around my neck. I hear a clicking noise, and his body weight is gone.
My arms are all of a sudden free, and I stand to face him on shaky legs. “What the fuck?” I reach up and feel the chain wrapped around my neck. It’s not tight enough to cut off my air, but it’s also not loose.
I slam my hands into his chest. He grabs my dress and rips it clear off my body. The fabric gives way to his strength like tearing a piece of paper, leaving me in nothing but my thong. I didn’t have a bra on, and my heels are long gone. I lost them at some point when I was kicking and screaming with the hood over my head.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I scream, my hands lifting to cover my naked breasts as if he’s never seen them before.
Then he reaches up and grabs the top of the skull mask. I hold my breath as he rips it off his face. I stare wide-eyed at Sin, heart pounding, pulse racing, and blood rushing in my ears. My hands drop to my sides like deadweight, no longer able to hold them up at what I see.
“Hello, little demon.” He smirks. Lifting his hand, he runs it through his hair, giving it that messy look I love so much.
“No,” I breathe, shaking my head. “It can’t be.”
He steps into me, and I don’t retreat. He cups my face, and my lips part, trying to make sense of it all. How much did I have to drink? A lot. But I didn’t take any drugs. How is this possible?
“Sin?” His name trembles on my lips, and my knees threaten to buckle.
“Surprise.” Then he grabs my waist and throws me over the front of the boat.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SIN
I HEAR HER splash into the water, then a gasp follows. “EASTON!” she screams.
I place my shoe on the side of the bow, my forearm resting on my bent leg. I turn on the spotlight to see her better in the water. Her hands grabbing at the chain I wrapped around her neck that I secured with a padlock.
She manages to swim over to the boat; I didn’t throw her too far out. Her hands slap at the front of it, trying to grip anything so she can crawl out of the water, but the bow sits too high for that. “Sin…” She’s gasping.
“How long do you think you can swim until you get tired, Elli?” I call out.
“I…fucking… hate you.” She starts crying. Her hands continue to slap against the bow.
“You didn’t last night. You told me I was your savior,” I remind her. “Oh, wait. That was the other man you thought you were fucking.”
She bares her white teeth, gripping the chain around her neck. I freed her hands, but the added ten pounds to her neck is going to wear her out real soon. I made sure not to secure it too tight, but enough that she can’t just lift it over her head.
“Speaking of last night—I hope your ass isn’t still bleeding. I’d hate for you to attract a shark,” I lie, trying to scare her. There aren’t any sharks in these waters.
“EASTON!” she screams, her hands slapping the water, making it splash up in her face.
She tries a new position, floating on her back to give her body a second to rest, but her head goes under. She gasps, righting herself once again. I locked the chain at the nape of her neck for that very reason. To pull her down. If the excess chain was in the front, she could hold it in her hands to loosen the weight pulling on her neck while her legs tread water. I want her to be using both her arms and legs. It’ll wear her out faster.
I look over to the back of the boat where the swim deck is. She hasn’t thought to swim over to it. I’m not even sure if she can see it at all. The spotlight I have on her is blinding. People in life-or-death situations don’t usually stop and think rationally. They panic.
“Pl-ease,” she chokes out.
“Please what, little demon?” I ask, removing my black gloves and throwing them to the side, getting comfortable.
I didn’t plan on doing this tonight, but I decided she needed to know who I was. The real me. That I was the man she’s come to need. I’m the guy who saves her. Even if I’m the one who puts her in these life-threatening situations.
Her head ducks under water, and she pops up a second later, sucking in breaths between sobs. It goes under again, and this time when she pops up, she’s a little farther away. The distance enough to make me start worrying.