Very Bad Things Read Free Page A

stared at her.
In one hand he held a glass with dark amber liquid inside. He didn’t look drunk
as he observed her.
    “ Strange,” he said.
    “ What is?” Her words came out croaky.
    “ Most women in your situation scream or do something to try to stop
what’s going on. You, you’re not even crying.” He tilted his head to the side,
watching her. “Interesting.”
    Fiona licked her lips trying to figure out if that was
a good thing or not.
    She looked around the room or as much of the room as
she could see, which wasn’t a lot . There was no way
she was getting out of here alive.
    He killed Jake.
    He’s going to kill me.
    I don’t want to die.
    Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, making no sense to
her at all. Why wasn’t she screaming for help? What was the point in screaming?
No one would save her. This man didn’t strike her as the kind to have people
waiting for him. Wherever she was, they were alone together.
    He killed Jake.
    She couldn’t get away from the thought or the image of
Jake dead on the floor. They’d not been great friends. He was just the only
person she felt comfortable enough to ask to borrow sugar. They didn’t really
know each other. He’d not really been a friend to her, just a neighbor.
    “ You’re still not screaming.”
    Again, she licked her lips, not knowing what to say to
him.
    “ Why are you not screaming?”
    “ Would it matter?” she asked.
    “ No, it wouldn’t. If you feel the need to scream, go ahead. You could
scream as long and as loud as you like and no one would answer you. I’m the
only one here.”
    “ Then why should I do it?”
    Why are you questioning a killer?
    Do you have a death wish?
    Ryker smirked. “Good point. You’d just be wasting your
voice.”
    “ Are you going to kill me?” She didn’t want to ask the question but knew
in her heart she couldn’t handle not knowing what was going on. What was her
future? Would she be looking down the barrel of a gun very soon?
    He was scary and not just because of his scars. She’d
never seen a man so large, muscular, and menacing.
    “ At last, she asks something sensible.” He took a sip of the dark liquid
in the glass. His gaze didn’t move away from her. What was he thinking? What
was he planning?
    Would she beg for death before he allowed her to
finally die? She hoped for a quick and clean death. Fiona hated pain of any
kind and wasn’t afraid to beg if it came to it. He tensed, and she couldn’t
help but wince, closing her eyes so she didn’t see anything.
    He chuckled. “I’m not going to kill you.”
    She blew out a breath and forced herself to open her
eyes, staring back at him. “You’re not?”
    Another sip of his drink and he once again tilted his
head to the side. “Well, it depends on how you answer my next questions.”
    “ Please, I promise I won’t say anything. I’m nothing. I’m no one, please.
I don’t want to die.” Her life was miserable. There was no one in her world who cared about her, yet she knew she didn’t want to die at
his hands or any hands. She hoped to one day marry a man she loved or at the
very least cared about. Maybe in time have a couple of kids and dogs and they
could all grow old together. If this man wished, he’d take everything away from
her. She’d have nothing but the few memories she’d managed to create for
herself.
    The pain of losing my family.
    Great life, Fiona, great fucking life.
    The sound of a chair scraping along the floor filled
every one of her senses. She tried to move away from where he sat, but there
was no give in the bindings. He’d secured her well.
    “ Now, I don’t want you to bore me with your begging. I’ve never been into
begging so it won’t do you any good.” He placed the glass on top of the drawer
beside the bed. “What’s your name? If you lie, I will know and then I’ll punish
you. I’m not scared to hurt you. I heard him call you Fiona back at the
apartment. Is that it?”
    The image of Jake dead on