Page 112 of Animal's Reformation
“I’m sorry. I just thought—”
“You thought wrong.” His voice was frost.
“Okay. I’ll just go.”
He pulled his arm away. “You’re not going anywhere, bitch.”
Hunter’s strong hands tightened around her throat, squeezing and pulling her back further into him. Rena tried to scream but only hoarse croaks escaped through her parted lips. Clawing at his hands, she tried to loosen them from around her neck, but he was too strong. Dark spots floated before her eyes, and her lungs felt as though they were going to burst. Hunter squeezed tighter.
Panic set in and she became feral. With waning strength, Rena lifted her leg, bent it at the knee, and pushed it backward with all her might. Hunter cried out and loosened his hold on her for a couple of seconds, but in that brief time span, her arms reached above her and she scratched his face with her long nails. Rena aimed for his eyes, and Hunter let go of her as he tried to grab hold of her hands.
“You fucking bitch!” He screamed.
“You bastard!” she yelled back as she twisted around and saw him for the first time. Before she could even take all of him in, he lunged for her, but Rena’s pointed-toe shoe landed a perfect shot right on the jerk’s balls, and he howled as he doubled over.
Taking the window of opportunity, she dashed for the door, not stopping for anything.
“Get back here, cunt!”
Rena turned the knob and jetted out the door, rushing to the stairwell without even a glance backward. She kicked off her high-heeled shoes and scrambled down the stairs as the sound of her panting bounced off the concrete walls.
As she flung the door open to the lobby, she just stood there, gasping in an attempt to catch her breath while tears trickled down her cheeks. Rena glanced around but there was no sign of Hunter, so she hurried over to the front desk and leaned against it.
“May I help you, ma’am?” the reception clerk asked.
“No, I’m fine,” Rena responded as she slid her phone out of her dress pocket. She tapped in Animal’s phone number.
“What’s up, Mom?”
She hated calling him, but there was no way she wanted the police involved in this. The car keys were in her purse in the room upstairs, and there was no chance in hell Rena was going to go back up to get it. Animal was her only choice.
“I’m in a bit of trouble.”
“Whaddaya mean?”
“I don’t want you to lecture me, okay? The guy I hooked up with just tried to kill me. I made—”
“What the fuck?” Where are you?”
“At a small hotel near Aspen Grove Valley. I’m scared shitless.” Her voice hitched.
“I’ll be there soon. I gotta call Olivia to see if she can come over and stay with Lucy. I’ll have some of the guys get to you now. Text me the name of the hotel, okay?”
“All right. Thanks. Who’s Olivia?”
“Really, Mom? You were almost murdered and you’re asking me that?”
“I was just curious. Who is she?”
“My woman. Gotta go. Don’t leave the lobby.”
Rena stared at the blank screen then looked around the reception area. She doubted Hunter would come after her with people around. Had he intended to kill her regardless of the fib about her age, or did that set him off? She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. Now it was beginning to make sense as to why he wanted her to make all the arrangements inhername: he didn’t want to leave a paper trail. “The bastard planned to kill me,” she muttered under her breath. Hunter was probably waiting for her to come out of the hotel so he could finish off the job in the dark of night.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” the fresh-faced young clerk asked again.
“Yes, I’m sure. I’m waiting for someone.” A dry cough seized her, and she struggled to breathe. “Some water,” she managed to croak out.
The clerk rushed over to a table holding paper cups and a large glass container of water and poured her a glass. Rena gulped it down and pressed her hand to her sore throat; there would no doubt be some bruising. She padded over to a wingback chair, and the marble floor felt cool beneath her feet. Maybe when Animal arrived, he’d go to the stairwell and retrieve her shoes. She’d paid more for them than she normally did for a pair of high heels, and Rena hated to lose them.
