Page 38 of Bloodstained Chrome

Sibley

I hear nothing but the sound of the night wind hitting the side of the clubhouse when my eyes pop open. Not even the crickets or cicadas outside the window.

I turn to see Primal sleeping soundly in the bed next to me. Too soundly.

I breathe deeply and can smell the distinctive tinge of medication wafting through the air.

There’s a sedative.

Kakos is making his move.

All the visions I had of him made it clear he would try to take me while I’m with Primal. He couldn’t decide how to do it. At one point, he settled on ripping me out of his arms while we were out in public. The next, he decided he’d wait until Primal had me on his bike and then run us off the road.

Kakos didn’t know it, but no matter which method he chose, he’d have emerged victorious in the situation. There was no possibility that I wouldn’t end up in his grip.

I guess sedating the entire club was the best option he could come up with. This option means he or I are less likely to get injured. Primal still has a chance.

Kakos needs me in one piece. Needs me pure. Little does he know I am no longer the pure, scared seer woman he once knew.

Instead of waiting for him to come in search of me within the clubhouse and take me, I decide to get this over with. I’m not going to play the victim. I refuse ever to be seen that way.

I climb out of bed, dress in something to ward off the October chill, grab my shoes and put them on, then lean over and press a kiss to the side of Primal’s face. It’s only a matter of time before he wakes and realizes I’m gone. He’ll find me and save me. I’ve already seen it.

I grab Primal’s hoodie and pull it over my head, wanting a part of him with me. It’s going to be chilly where he takes me. Though the weather rarely affects me this way, I need something of my mate’s to keep his warmth with me as I get through what will happen next.

I brace myself for the blow I already know is coming as I step outside. He won’t expect me. It’s as if I’m acting out a movie I’ve already seen.

As I push open the door, I hear Kakos gasp and curse.

“You bitch! You’re screwing it up.” He lunges forward and, in the process, drops the large tank of gas he was pumping through the building’s vents. Kakos reaches forward and grabs my hair.

“You don’t need to drag me. I’ll come with you. I’m not going to fight you.”

“That’s too bad. It’s a better sport when you fight back.”

Another vision pops into my head as I think more about the man holding me. It won’t take him long to realize he can’t get what he wants, and then he’ll go from desperate to furious.

I know Primal will find and rescue me, but now I’m worried about what he’ll find when he does.

I thought I was ready for the pain Kakos’s hand would deliver, but I hadn’t realized that by playing right into what he wished for, I changed the outcome.

The fear I thought was nonexistent inside me rears its ugly head, and I fight to get out of Kakos’s grip.

“There she goes. My little fighter. Don’t worry. I won’t make this hurt too much.” He drags me away from the clubhouse and into a small car. He shoves me into the passenger seat, securing me so I can’t move, then closes the door. He keeps his eyes on me as he walks around the car to the driver’s side.

Once he’s behind the wheel, Kakos starts the engine, and I still hear the Spiked Raiders, deep in their medically induced sleep.

I’m officially on my own.

Hopefully not for long. Primal will come for me. I know he will. I saw it. I just hope the outcome is what I’m praying for and not before it’s too late.

“No. This can’t be. I did everything right,” Kakos screams out as he lifts the free chair over his head and smashes it on the ground. It crashes and splinters, landing exactly as I’d seen in my previous visions.

My face hurt.

I’d been wrong. He isn’t worried about keeping me in one piece. From the minute he brought me to the small, wine-cellar-like space in the middle of nowhere, not far from the clubhouse but far enough away, he began to beat me. He said I needed to comply with his desires.

It didn’t matter how many times I’ve told him it didn’t work that way. He refuses to believe me. The more he tries, the more he gets nowhere. The angrier he gets. The more battered I become.