Page 76 of Wicked Dares
The monster is coming.
The door creaks open, and then he’s inside.
“There you are, my angel,” he coos lovingly, his voice smooth as velvet.
Bile rushes to my throat.
“Look at me.”
My stomach twists.
A faint light flickers briefly. Fire maybe. Then darkness swallows it again.
Reece moves toward me and my body locks in place.
His breathing fills the room, hot and uneven, the sour scent of sweat mixing with bleach.
“Please,” I beg. “Let me go.”
“Never, my angel. Never.” Reece’s voice cuts through the darkness, calm in that terrifying way that always used to make my blood run cold. “After everything I gave you? You want to leave me? You’ll die here with me.”
I shake my head violently, but suddenly his hand is around my neck, squeezing.
His hands are too tight.
Oh my God, he’s going to kill me.
“Please—”
Suddenly he throws me backward.
Wood slams against my spine.
Then I realize where I am.
A coffin.
“No—”
I scream as the lid crashes shut above me, sealing me inside.
And then I jerk awake with a gasp.
I bolt upright, breathing so hard my lungs burn. I drag in a round of frantic breaths, trying to calm myself, but my chest is still tight.
I screw my eyes shut and opt for the next best thing. Counting.
One… two… three… four… five.
My pulse finally starts slowing and the tightness loosens.
I open my eyes again and take another breath. This time inhaling and exhaling through my nose.
The room swims into focus in pieces, the morning light helping me to put them together.
A dark ceiling.
A 1920’s style lamp on the nightstand.
