Page 70 of Chill

Gerard snarled in my face as he dragged me up by my hair. “I fucking told you, Meadow. You’re paying the debt.”

“Go fuck yourself, Gerard. I’m doing nothing until Twitch has help.”

Gerard didn’t bother arguing; he raised a hand and slapped me hard. Tears sprang to my eyes. Gerard began dragging me across the road to his SUV. Swiftly regaining my senses, I fought back. A sinking feeling hit my stomach, and I realised how desperate Gerard actually was.

If these people were as bad as Gerard claimed, I was in serious trouble. I didn’t expect for one minute that Gerard was panicking over paying a doctor or fireman back. Whatever Gerard was involved in was illegal, and I had to survive this. If Gerard got me in that car, I might never see my children again. If that occurred, what happened to them?

“Gerard, let me go, and I’ll transfer the five million you want,” I tried pacifying him.

“Too late, Meadow, now you pay in kind.” Gerard punched me in the head, and I went down hard.

I kicked out, knowing how dire this was, and Gerard pulled his foot back and kicked me in the head.

With a jolt, I woke up tied to a chair, with dried blood on my cheek from the cut on my temple caused by the kick. I peered around, scared, trying to figure out where I was. It looked like an abandoned office block. Afternoon sunlight filtered through the dirty, cracked windowpanes. It appeared I was on the ground level. The floor was covered in leaves and rubbish, and I saw small animal bones. This place had been deserted for a long time, which lessened my chances of rescue.

A shuffling noise sounded, and Gerard walked into view.

“Finally awake, are you? Mr Locke will be here soon. Be nice to him, Meadow; he’s your new owner.” Gerard looked smug and self-important.

“Gerard, what do you mean? You can’t sell me; we’ve kids together. What will happen to them, Gerard?”

“Why the fuck should I care? I never wanted children; they were just a way of keeping you controlled and under my thumb.”

“What is the matter with you, you self-entitled asshole? They’re our babies, and you treat them terribly. Cassian is right, you’re a deadbeat father.”

“Cassian is a prick; he’s too far up his mama’s ass to be a real man. You turned Cassian and Zion into mama’s boys. Neither will become true men. And as for Poet, she’s nothing but a whiny brat. I couldn’t care less what happens to any of them.”

I wanted to say Gerard’s attitude shocked or hurt me, but it didn’t. Ever since the news about him and Judy landed, Gerard had been showing his true self constantly. My ex-husband was a total asshole and one of the worst men to walk this planet.

“You won’t get away with this, Gerard. I’ve people who’ll come looking for me.”

Gerard laughed, and his face twisted into a sneer. “Do you mean those thugs in that motorbike gang? You’re just pussy, Meadow, not even decent pussy. Gotta say, babe, you were the most boring lay.”

Anger spiked, and I wanted to hurt Gerard like he’d done me for the last two years. “Chill is ten times the man you’ll ever be. I was boring? Take a good look at yourself, Gerard. You shoved your minuscule dick inside me and thought that was enough. By the way, Gerard, three point five inches is not the standard size. Chill claims he’s average, and eight inches is far bigger than fuckin’ five. But shoving your teeny weenie in a woman with no foreplay, banging her, coming, and leaving her unfulfilled is not conducive to a great sex life.”

Gerard snarled. “You let yourself go, Meadow; our sex life is on your head.”

I began laughing, and Gerard’s expression twisted. He hated being mocked; it pricked his ego in the worst possible way.

“Chill tears my clothes off because he’s so desperate to be inside me. We have wall sex, bath sex, plus using handcuffs and toys. Chill showed me exactly how a guy should please a woman. What would you know about that?”

A growl left Gerard. I’d just hit the fool where it hurt by announcing how crap he was in bed. No man liked to be told that. Naturally, Gerard had twice the ego of a normal guy. His eyes narrowed on me, and he looked me up and down.

“I admit, Meadow, now you’ve lost some weight; you don’t look bad. Might be worth giving you one for old times’ sake.”

“Should have guessed you’re not beyond rape.” As we talked, I worked at the knot, tying my hands behind me. Slowly it was loosening.

“Ain’t rape, Meadow, you’re my wife. A man can do what he wants with her—she’s property.”

Property? What the fuck? I was unsure which statement to challenge first. I went with the divorce. “Divorced, remember, asshole?” No way Gerard was touching me sexually again. The mere thought made me sick.

“How’s Judy?” I sneered.

Gerard’s face darkened, and his fists clenched at his sides. There it was, the truth. Judy had left him, just as I had expected. No doubt that bitch was looking for her next mark. The one person it definitely wouldn’t be was Lyle; he was done with her. I barely held back a sigh of relief as the rope loosened, and I wriggled a hand free.

The quandary now was: how did I untie my legs and escape while Gerald watched?

And then my luck ran out. A vehicle pulled up outside the building, and moments later, a tall, well-built man entered.