Series: The Moretti Crime Family Series by J.L. Beck
Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 111428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Spinning my body around, I take off. As fast as my legs will carry me, I run across the yard and into the forest surrounding the property.
I hear the man following close behind, his heavy footfall getting closer and closer. I push my legs, forcing them to go faster. Adrenaline feeds my muscles, numbing my feet from the pain of rocks and sticks digging into the bottom of my feet.
Thin tree limbs whip into my face and arms as I dash through the darkness of the woods. I slowly start to register the pain, but I ignore it and keep running.
One moment, I am whizzing between trees, and the next, a body slams into me from behind, knocking the air from my lungs as he tackles me to the ground.
Gasping in pure terror, I try to free myself. With everything I’ve got, I buck, hoping I can get him off me, but he is just too heavy, too strong. Turning me in his hold, so I’m lying on my back, he straddles my chest and snatches my wrists, rendering me completely immobile.
“Stop!” I croak, pulling on my arms with all my might.
“Funny, that’s what your sister keeps saying too.” He chuckles, and the ache in my chest expands. My sister, my poor sister. It’s all my fault. I should have tried harder, done more. I should have helped her. I let this happen to her, just like I’m responsible for this happening now.
Why didn’t I stay in the closet like Markus told me?
After a moment of struggling, I free one of my wrists. Using the momentum, I lash out at my attacker, scratching across his face. I dig my nails into his skin until I feel warm blood running down my fingers.
“You fucking bitch,” the man groans before pulling his arm back. With a closed fist, he hits my face. Pain erupts across my cheekbone and spreads out all over my face like a wildfire.
My eyes roll back, and the dark night becomes even darker. I feel myself passing out, my vision blurring, but I force my mind to stay awake.
Suddenly, my wrists are free, and a hand wraps around my throat while the other tears my shirt from my body. I can’t breathe, my head feels like it’s about to explode, and I know I can’t keep myself awake any longer. I’m going to die. I failed my sister, and now I’m going to be violated before I die. Worst of all, this evil man is the last thing I’ll ever see.
Just when I think all hope is lost, the man on top of me is gone. All the weight is lifted from my body, ripped away like a tidal wave, leaving me on the forest floor, gasping for air.
It takes me a few seconds to regain my bearings, to even realize what’s going on. Grunts and groans are coming from somewhere close by. I sit up and look around, and what I find has me both sighing in relief and shaking to the bones with fear.
Markus has the man who attacked me shoved up against a tree, pummeling his fist against his face and body like he’s a sandbag. Like a wild animal, and without mercy, Markus beats the man to a pulp.
He continues his attack even after the man stops moving and slides down to the ground. Even after I’m sure, he is dead. Markus is crazed, unhinged, and without humanity. He keeps punching the now dead body until there is only one thought left in my mind…
I’m going to be next.
26
Markus
Warm, sticky blood coats my bare chest as if it’s a second skin, and it takes me a moment to get my ragged breathing under control. War wages beneath the surface, threatening to eat away at my control. In my mind, I still see that fucker touching her, hitting her face while she is helpless on the ground, and I want to bring him back to life just so I can kill him again.
I quickly search his pockets, but there isn’t a wallet or even car keys. My anger intensifies but diminishes a bit when I find a phone. It’s not a complete loss. I shove the device into my pocket and return to Fallon’s side.
The sight of her as she sits on the cold ground, her knees pulled to her chest, her arms wrapped protectively around them while she sobs, is enough to do me in. I have to get us out of the woods and back into the house. I know the last thing she wants me to do is touch her, but she’s not going to move on her own, so I have no option but to pick her up.
“We have to get into the house and get cleaned up,” I tell her, my voice thick.