PART 4–CHAPTER 178
JESS
Bryan paced back and forth in front of me, his boots thudding softly against the cabin floor. The gun in his hand swung with every agitated step, his fingers tight around the handle. His movements were restless like he didn’t quite know what to do with himself, but his eyes–those cold, dead eyes–flickered with something raw. He was muttering; almost to himself, like he was lost in a world, I couldn’t reach.
“I’m a good guy,” he said, his voice cracking slightly as he stared at the floor, then up at the ceiling, before his gaze darted toward me. “I always was. I would’ve taken care of you, Jess. You know that, right? You could’ve had a good life with me. We could’ve been happy. We still can be.”
I forced myself to stay still, my body stiff in the chair as his words washed over me. I’could feel the ropes biting into my wrists, but I had to stay calm. Slowly, carefully, I flexed my fingers, trying to work the knots loose without drawing his attention. Each tiny movement sent a dull ache through my
arms.
Bryan kept pacing, his voice rising and falling as he rambled. “We could stay here, in this cabin. It’s peaceful, right? No one would bother us. We could have a family, Jess. You and me. We could raise our kids here. They’d be safe. Protected.”
My stomach twisted at the words. The idea of being trapped here, with him, forever–it was suffocating.
PART 4 CHAPTER 178.
I couldn’t. I had to keep my focus on the ropes, on the small hope that if I just kept working at them, I could free myself. I bit down on the inside of my cheek, trying to keep my breathing steady and not let him see what was doing.
“Jess,” he said suddenly, stopping in his tracks. His eyes bore into me, wide and frantic
“Don’t you see? This is what’s meant to be. You and me, together. I’d keep you safe. No one else can. No one else will love you like I do.”
My fingers fumbled, and the rope tugged a little too sharply before I could stop myself.
Bryan’s eyes narrowed. He saw it. In an instant, he was in front of me, crouching down, his face inches from mine. His breath was hot and sour, and the wild look in his eyes sent a jolt of panic through me.
“No, no, no, my sweet,” he whispered, shaking his head as if scolding a child. “Those need to stay. You can’t go anywhere.. Not–yet.”
I felt the cold barrel of the gun press against the side of my chest, just beneath my ribs. The metal was icy against my skin, even through my shirt. My heart slammed against my chest, and I held my breath, every muscle in my body screaming for me to run, to get away–but I couldn’t move.
Bryan’s voice dropped to a low murmur, “If you’re not going to decide to stay with me, Jess, I have to make sure you don’t go anywhere. I have to make sure no one else touches you. No one else can have you.”
I felt the tears welling in my eyes, but I blinked them away. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.
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PART 4 CHAPTER 178
Not now.
His hand shook as he rested the gun against my chest, and I could see the conflict in his eyes, the madness that had taken over whatever humanity he might have had left. He wiped at his face with his free hand, but the tears kept coming, his sobs turning his words into broken fragments.
“If it’s not me,” he whispered, choking on the words, “then it’s nobody.”
His hand tightened on the gun, and I saw the desperation in his face, the way he teetered on the edge of something dark and irreversible. The tears were streaming freely down his face now, his body trembling with each breath. He looked like he was falling apart right in front of me, and I didn’t know if that made him more dangerous or less.
My pulse roared in my ears as I shut my eyes, trying to block out the terror, trying to pretend for just one second that this wasn’t happening. I could hear the fire crackling and feel the heat of it warming my skin, but the, cold of the gun pressed against me was all I could focus on.
This was it.
I braced myself, waiting for the impact, waiting for the explosion of pain that would end it all. But instead, Bryan pulled the gun away, his sobs growing louder as he stood up. He backed away from me, his hand covering his face, the gun still clutched in his other hand.
“I didn’t want this,” he cried, his voice breaking. “I didn’t want it to be like this.”
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PART 4 CHAPTER 178
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I opened my eyes slowly, my vision blurry from the tears I hadn’t realized had fallen. I could still feel the ropes digging into my wrists, my hands numb and useless behind me. But Bryan wasn’t looking at me now. He was pacing again, his hands running through his hair, his whole body shaking with emotion.
“I just wanted us to be happy,” he whispered, almost too quietly for me to hear.
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