Deadly Vows - Chapter 36 (Patreon)

Three. He keeps three guns in his bedroom. Under the bedside table, under the bed, and in his clothes drawer. The dining room always has a knife. Just one. A knife and a fork. Set out for me to eat with. His office has four guns in it. One underneath the desk, one inside the bookcase, one under the windowsill, and one he keeps on him. The bathroom has no weapons. These are the only rooms in the house I am in consistently. And the only one that he ever lets his guard down in with me is the bedroom.

As for keys to the car, they are located in his office, in the third drawer in the desk. If I am to escape, I will have to kill him then take the keys. Not only that, but I will have to ransack his closet for warm clothes. There is no way I am escaping in lingerie when it is snowing outside. This is by far the craziest plan I have ever implemented. But to protect the life now growing inside of me, I will have to grow up and make things happen on my own.

“Elise, you look so focused.”

I look up, and Alexander is standing in front of me with a look of amusement on his face. I have been so focused on my thoughts I hadn’t heard him enter the room. He is leaning against the door frame, watching me intently.

“You’re not planning to kill me, are you?” he says jokingly. He walks past me and into his closet, not waiting for a response. If only he knew.

He steps out of the closet in nothing more than a pair of shorts and no shirt. He crawls into bed closer to me, never breaking his gaze.

“Elise, you know I like it when you sleep naked,” he says, his gaze moving down my body.

I almost cringe in disgust, but if there is something I’ve learned living with him, it’s that showing my true emotions is not a good idea.

He traces a pattern on my arm, reaching around to undo the clasp of my bra. He reaches out to touch my breast, but I immediately flinch back.

“Please, Alexander. I’m really tired.” I keep my gaze down so he can’t see the true emotion in my eyes. He is silent as he studies me closely. I feel his fingers trace from my throat to my heart and back.

“Are you nervous about something, Elise?” His fingers guide my face up to meet his. “You’re avoiding my gaze.” He looks at me knowingly.

It is men like this that scare me to death. They can read emotions like it is nothing. Even when I do my best to hide them. I have gone over this plan in my head several times, but as we get closer and closer to it being time, I am having second thoughts. All the times I disobeyed Luca and made him angry flash in my head. The punishments, the torture I endured, and then living with this man. These are the types of men that if you are going to do something to escape, you have to implement it perfectly. Because if you screw up even a little bit, they will make you pay. I have the scars and bruises to prove it.

I meet Alexander’s gaze head-on.

“I’m just tired.”

A smirk crosses his lips as he turns off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness. I feel his hands on me, and he begins to whisper in my ear.

“Well, I’m not.”

* * * * *

It takes everything in me to stay awake. Alexander never gets tired. I haven’t even the slightest idea what time it is. He doesn’t care when I beg him to stop. He doesn’t care when I cry in pain. He loves it, and it drives him more. Even if I try to stay silent, he will do everything in his power to make me scream. His breathing evened out a long time ago, and I stay still to make sure he is in an even deeper sleep. I can feel the dried tears on my face from him being so rough. This is what fuels me out of my fear.

I slowly move out of the bed, careful not to disturb him. Men in this business are light sleepers. So even the tiniest thing can wake him up. Which is why I need to act fast. Once I am out of the bed, I immediately begin to feel under the bedside table. But the gun isn’t there. Only the clip that usually holds it into place. I try not to panic as I move to feel under the bed. I breathe in relief when I feel the gun.

I press it to make sure the safety is off. I stand and aim the gun at Alexander’s sleeping form. As soon as I can, I squeeze the trigger.

Click.

Oh god.

Click click click.

Tears of frustration begin to well up in my eyes. The same deafening sound I heard when I aimed that gun at Luca’s head, I am hearing it now. Over and over.

A deep chuckle sounds in the darkness. I gasp and take a step back. Alexander sits up in the bed and turns on the lamp, illuminating the room. My heart pounds at a thousand miles an hour as he aims a gun at me.

I step back wide-eyed and frightened as hell.

“You never fail to amuse me. You think I don’t know what’s going on? Elise, you are like an open book. When you’re planning something, I can see it. I know what’s happening, and I gave you the chance. I moved the gun under the table so that you would realize the error of your ways. But it’s obvious that you wanted to kill me.” He cocks the gun in his hand.

“At least I got one last fuck out of you. I can’t wait to see the look on Luca’s face when he finds your impregnated body floating in the river.

The gears in my head are turning a mile a minute, the plan I had in my head all going to shit. I hadn’t thought this through well enough. Then an idea comes to me. Before he can pull the trigger, I throw the gun in my hand with all my might at his head. I don’t even stay to see if it hits him; I sprint into the bathroom just as I hear the sound of his gun going off and slam the door behind me, locking it.

A split second later, he is banging on the door, screaming at me. I could just pull my hair out. I am such an idiot! Why the fuck did I run into the fucking bathroom? I should have taken off out the door! There are absolutely no weapons in here. I frantically look around as he charges into the door once again, causing it to rattle. Shower curtain, toothbrushes, hair products. But there is nothing in here to defend myself with!

“Dammit!” I shout, punching the wall.

That’s it. I go to the mirror and glance at my battered, bloodied, and bruised body. Using all the strength I can muster, I smash my fist into the mirror, ignoring the pain of the skin around my knuckles being shredded from the impact of the glass. Shards fall everywhere, and I pick up the sharpest-looking ones, ignoring the pain of the glass cutting through the skin of my palms. I stand ready at the door as Alexander continues to beat on it. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath.

The door splinters open, and in comes Alexander with crazed eyes. I don’t hesitate; I charge at him with the glass in hand, letting all the anger and pain I have been feeling fuel me. I cut at his wrists and chest and legs. I hear the clatter of the gun as I slice through his flesh. I stab him deep in his gut, dragging the glass across the bottom of his stomach. Blood is spilling and splattering on me like a waterfall. When Alexander collapses in pain, I grab the gun off the floor and sprint to the closet. I find an oversize shirt and roll up a pair of his pants about five times as fast as I can. I peep out of the closet, and he is still on the floor, trying to hold his intestines in place. I grab his large coat off the hanger and place it over my body. I am sweating now, but once I step outside, I will be cold. I quickly tiptoe over his body toward the door but pause and look back at him. He sounds as if he is suffocating.

I stand over his body with the gun in hand, and he opens his eyes, staring at me in agony. His breathing is shallow. I slowly raise the gun, aiming it at him. There is blood seeping from my hands where the glass has cut me from holding it too tight. It’s dripping over the gun and into the floor.

“You know what? I want to hear you beg.” I cock the gun at him. “Beg me, Alexander.”

He narrows his eyes at me, and I take that as his not wanting to say anything to me. I squat down next to him and place the gun right next to his temple.

“I said, fucking beg!” I don’t feel an ounce of pity as I stand over him. His breathing is coming out in uneven pants. He opens his mouth.

“F-fuck you.” His words come out muffled.

I give him the sweetest smile I can muster. “That’s not begging.” I am about to pull the trigger when I experience a sharp pain. I recognize the pain instantly. Alexander must have shot me when I ran into the bathroom. But it feels like a graze. I have to get out of here before I lose too much blood. I look back at him.

“A quick death would be too merciful for you.”

I tuck the gun away in the pocket of the massive coat and sprint out of the room to find the keys.

* * * * *

I jump into the car that the key I’ve grabbed onto is for. It is a big SUV. My breathing is hard, and I can barely see. Probably from all the blood loss. And now that the adrenaline is no longer pumping through my veins, the pain I am feeling is excruciating. I need to get to a hospital fast. I start the engine and speed out of the garage to my freedom. I am so glad Alexander doesn’t keep people guarding his home.

The fight to stay awake is so hard. I am losing so much blood that I can feel it soaking the clothes. The snow outside is thick, and I can’t drive as fast as I want to. I have to think about the safety of my child. I crank up the heat because I am growing so cold. I don’t know how long I have been driving for, but my eyes are getting more and more heavier by the second. As hard as I try, my eyes eventually close on their own accord.

A violent shaking wracks me from my sleep. I am jolted awake, and I can feel even more pain exploding over my body. I look up, and the front of the car is smashed into a tree. I passed out and wrecked the car. I’ve wrecked my only chance at escaping! The glass around me is shattered, and I can feel blood trickling down my forehead. I open the door and look around me. Snow. There is snow everywhere.

I jump back in the car, but it won’t start. Dammit! I hit the steering wheel in frustration. I have to survive. I have to get out of here for not just me but my baby as well. But I am losing more and more blood by the second. My struggle to stay awake is a stark reminder of that.

I have to get somewhere. I trudge through the knee-deep snow, making sure to get off the road just in case anything happens. I don’t know how long I have been walking, but my breathing is becoming a struggle. The snow behind me is tinted pink from all the blood I am losing. So this is it, then. This is how I am going to die. Walking through the snow in some bastard’s clothing, trying to protect my child when I can’t even protect myself. I can feel the tears of frustration begin to well up, but I blink rapidly, trying to push them back. I have to be strong. The world around me is swaying bad. Not only that, but it is also becoming blurry. Before I can think of anything else, I fall face-first into the thick snow, passing out.

* * * * *

There is a fire. I can smell the wood burning. I slowly open my eyes, and an excruciating headache begins pounding at my skull. My head feels so heavy.

I look around the room I am in. It is small and cozy. There is carpet on the floor, and directly in front of the bed is the fireplace with a TV mounted on the wall. The windows are open, and I can see the snow falling outside, which means I am still somewhere in the mountains. I look at my arms and hands to see them engulfed in bandages. I reach up and touch my forehead, and there is a bandage over the scar I received from wrecking the car. I am still in the same clothes, but my jacket is gone, which means so is the gun.

The door to the room is cracked open. Where the hell am I? What is going on? I look around the room for the coat because it has my only weapon in it. I slowly get out of bed and walk to the cracked door. I pull it open slowly and walk up the hallway.

The smell of bacon wafts to me. And I am starving. I step out of the hallway, which reveals a nice little living room that overlooks the kitchen. And in the kitchen is a man. He is turned around, focusing on cooking. He has light-brown hair, and that is all I can see from here. But he does have a nice build. He turns quickly, as if sensing my presence, and pauses when he sees me.

I stare him down untrustingly. He slowly raises his hands in the air.

“I mean you no harm. I was just out going for a walk when my dog picked up your scent.” He is looking at me with wide eyes that I notice are a dark blue. Like the ocean.

I open my mouth to speak, but the headache is too much and I sway on my feet.

He rushes over to me, helping me take a seat on the couch.

“Whoah, there. You shouldn’t be up with your injuries.”

I jerk away from his touch, and he flinches back at my abruptness. “Who are you? Where am I?”

“My name is Eli. You’re in the mountains in my cabin.” I jump in fear at the mention of being in the mountains still.

“I’m still in the mountains? Oh god, I have to get out of here.” I am pretty sure I look like a crazy person whispering to myself. I have no idea if Alexander is dead or alive. If I am still in the mountains, he can come after me at any moment. I have to get out of here. I look frantically at Eli. I can feel myself beginning to hyperventilate, and I begin frantically running my hands through my hair in fear.

“Wait, miss, just calm down,” Eli begins, but I can’t hear him.

Fear has enveloped me completely. I feel hands over mine and am pulled out of my panic as I stare into a pair of deep-blue eyes. He is speaking to me, but I can’t hear him. It is like my head has been submerged underwater.

“Just breathe …” His voice breaks through, and he slowly breathes in with me, trying to get me to calm down. Tears are welling up in my eyes and falling down my face. I have risked so much. I’ve come too far to be caught.

“Look, I found you outside barely alive. Judging by the scars and bruises you had, I figured you were running from someone. And knowing who lives up the mountain, I’d say I made a pretty good decision by saving you. I was going to call the police, but they won’t be able to make it up the mountain in this weather—”

“No! No police,” I interrupt him. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that the police can’t be trusted. It’s the justice system that got me into this mess in the first place.

He raises his hands again as if in surrender. “Okay, okay, no police.” He watches me with careful eyes, but I don’t say anything at all. I just need to think.

“Where’s my coat?” I ask quickly.

He points toward the door, and there is a rack with coats on it. “Right there,” he says. “Look, why don’t you just go take a shower? I have some clothes around here somewhere that you could fit, and when you’re done, I’ll change your bandages and we’ll get you some food. Okay?”

I eye him skeptically. “How do I know I can trust you?” I ask him wearily.

He gives me a confused smile. “Ma’am, if I was trying to kill you, I would have done it a long time ago. Where I’m from, if somebody is in need, you help them out.” He stands from his seat and offers me his hand. I lightly take it, and he leads me up the hallway to the bathroom.

“You can go ahead and shower. I’ll leave you something to wear on the toilet.” He then exits the bathroom.

I turn on the shower, letting the steam waft in the bathroom as I take each of the bandages off. I strip my clothing and stare at my body in the mirror. Hideous bruises litter my skin, as well as cuts. I look at my palms, and they look as if they need stitching. They sting in pain as I take the bandage off, because the gauze has crusted to the wounds. I slowly peel back all the bloodied bandages, cringing in pain each time one is dried to my scabs. I check the sweatpants for any blood or signs that I’ve lost the baby and smile in joy when there is nothing there. I slowly rub my hands over the area that is now elevated with the life growing inside of me. Tears of joy fill my eyes and spill over.

“Yes!” I squeal in happiness. I jump up and down and do a little happy dance naked in the middle of the bathroom. I am just glad I am free. Free at last. On my own accord. I’ve saved myself. I’ve saved my child. I’ve done it all on my own. I’ve fucking done it.

“Yes, yes, yes!”

I push all my hair back away from my face as I step under the hot spray. Even though it is stinging all my open cuts and sores, I am happy. Beyond that. I don’t have to worry about anyone coming in the bathroom unwelcomed to have sex with me. I eventually just sit in the shower and let the steaming spray wash all the dirt off. Due to the fact that my hands are sliced open, I can’t put any soap or shampoo in them.

I turn off the water and step out, grabbing the towel that is waiting for me on the sink. After I put on my clothes, I step out into the hallway, making my way back to the kitchen. Just as I enter, Eli is stepping toward the table with a plate of pancakes and eggs. He smiles when he sees me. But it isn’t that possessive smile that Luca has or that sadistic smile that Alexander has. It is a genuine smile. That he is glad I am in the room.

“Nice to see you. I was beginning to think you fainted in the shower,” he jokes with me. He walks to the counter, pulling out a metal box and sitting down at the table, pulling a chair out in front of him. He pats the top of the chair.

“Come.”

I slowly walk toward him, brushing off the uneasiness I feel from him giving that command. He takes out a needle, and I can see that he is going to stitch me up. I sit in front of him.

“So your hands were pretty bad. I couldn’t stitch them earlier because they were dirty and you needed to clean them. A shower is just what you needed.” He gives me a warm smile, but I don’t return it. Why is he being so nice to me?

I hold out my hands to him, and he begins the stitching. I hiss in pain as he does it.

“I’m sorry, miss. If I had any sedatives here, trust me, I’d let you have one.”

“Elise,” I say.

He looks up, startled at me speaking. “Excuse me?” he asks in confusion.

“My name is Elise.”

A warm smile slowly spreads its way onto his face. “Nice to be of service, Elise.”

We eat the food in silence, but it isn’t a fearful silence. It is comfortable. And I am starving. I eat about five pancakes and drink several glasses of milk. Eli watches me carefully the whole time.

“So what’s a girl like you doing all the way out here? Looking the way you do, no less?” he asks, genuinely curious.

I slowly set my fork down as an uneasiness washes over me. “I was sold. To the highest bidder,” I whisper quietly. “I finally worked up the nerve to escape on my own, and almost did, but I lost too much blood. Which is how I wrecked and passed out.” A lump forms in my throat.

“I’m so sorry,” Eli’s voice comes through. “Look, I really appreciate your hospitality, but I’ve got to get going. I need to get out of here.”

“I swear I’m not trying to keep you here, but we’re expecting a storm coming in. It’s actually, in a way, a good thing that you stumbled upon me, because if you kept driving, you might not have ended up in a good place. The drive to get down the mountain takes a while, so the storm would have caught you.” He is watching me with genuine concern in his eyes. “I can tell you’ve been through something big. But my cabin is all but remote. No one can find it, and that’s the way I like it. You’re safe here. So you can stay here as long as you like. I’m always willing to help someone in need. Once the storm passes, I can take you into town.” He smiles at me.

I slowly nod. “Why are you doing this for me? You don’t even know me,” I ask, genuinely confused by his hospitality.

“Like I said, where I come from, it’s a sin not to help those in need.” He stands from the table and grabs my plate along with his, clearing it. “You can go get some rest. I know you’re probably exhausted.”

I stand and nod wearily. Just before I head to my room, though, I step to the door, grabbing my jacket. I look in the pocket, and my heart jumps when the gun isn’t there.

I look at him accusingly, and he is watching me intently with a look of focus.

“Looking for the gun?” he asks.

I nod frantically as I watch him through narrowed eyes. A small smile plays at his lips as he walks to the living room and opens one of the drawers, revealing my gun. He takes it out.

“You don’t have to tell me now, or ever, for that matter. But I know you’ve been through something big. Especially since you were bloodied in the snow with this.” He holds the gun out to me, and I take it immediately, checking the bullet chamber. I relax when I see the bullets in there. I look up and see Eli looking at me in amusement.

“You can sleep with it if it’ll make you feel better. Just please don’t try to kill me in my sleep,” he says, walking away.

I quickly head to my room, closing the door behind me and locking it. I crawl into the soft, plush bed, pulling the covers up to my chin and setting the gun underneath the pillow next to me.

I don’t know why this stranger is being so nice to me, but I will have to accept his hospitality for the time being. He is literally all I have right now. I stare at the fire crackling in the fireplace, and eventually, my eyes grow heavy. I finally let a peaceful sleep overcome me.