Page 68 of Scream For Me
The car moves as if it’s gliding, and the engine rumbles loudly. The world blurs past us as we speed along the road, fields, houses, and signs all disappearing before I can decipher what they say. Everything about this feels surreal, like I’ve stepped into someone else’s life.
Elias’s hand rests steadily on my knee in an attempt to ease my nerves—it doesn’t work. I’d tried to get him to confess the secret as soon as he told me he was taking me somewhere, but trying to get Elias Monroe to break is not a simple task. He just smiled, took my hand, and helped me into the car.
I toy with my necklace as I attempt to read every road sign that we speed past, yet nothing makes sense. Every time I think I know where we’re going, we drive past the exit. It’s like trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing.
Restaurant? No. We passed the town with the good ones.
Beach? Wrong direction.
City? Not even close.
My knee shakes up and down. Elias must notice this because he takes my hand.
“Please, Elias. Where are we going?” I plead, looking at yet another exit pass us by.
“I promise you, little rebel. In about ten minutes, your anxiety will be gone.” He gives my hand a small squeeze.
That answer wasn’t elusive at all. But it did tell me that we are less than ten minutes from our destination--—although at the speed Elias is driving, that could be anywhere from three miles to thirty miles away.
“Trust me, Kat,” he says, giving me a small smirk.
With those words, I realize that, against all odds and despite his elusiveness, Idotrust him.
“I know,” he chuckles.
I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
There’s a look of amusement and anticipation in his eyes, yet a flash of something crosses his face, too quick to really notice.
I return my gaze to the window. The midday winter sun hangs low in the sky, and Elias momentarily drops his speed long enough for one sign to catch my eye. It’s different from the others, anddefinitelywithin the ten-minute window. My palms grow slick with a cold sweat as I put the pieces together.
“Elias, are we going to the fucking airport?”
No answer, but he flips his turn signal for the exit.
“Elias! I don’t have a passport and I’ve packed nothing, I’m still in last night’s clothes, for fuck’s sake!” A bead of cold sweat forms at the back of my neck. I think I might start hyperventilating.
His laugh cuts off my racing thoughts. “We’re not leaving the country, Kat,” he says with a squeeze of my hand. “Although we will need to go shopping to get you some clothes.”
“What makes you think I’ll be staying again if making me break out in an anxious sweat is how you treat your guests?” I ask, even though the thought ofnotstaying again makes my chest ache.
“If I had my way, little rebel, you’d never leave.”
My cheeks heat, even though that’s exactly what I want as well. I give his hand a small squeeze in response.
He turns onto a road heading towards the airport… but this part isn’t connected to the main terminal. There’s a small runway with jets sitting on it, and it’s quieter here, more private. It feels like the kind of place where rich, important people arrive without anyone noticing. The thought seems more normal when I remember who is driving the car.
Where are we going?
Before I can wrestle with my emotions any further, Elias turns into the parking lot of a small building, far from the main terminal.
So he was telling the truth. We’re not leaving the country.
The Maybach crawls to a stop before Elias shuts it off.
“Ready?” he asks with a small smile.
“Ready for what?” I question, but he’s already halfway out of the car.
