Page 47 of The Cabin-A Reverse Harem Romance
“You’re not making sense.”
He made a strangled sound in his throat and tried to calm himself down.
“I’m sorry, Elise,” he said, his voice changing to a softer tone. “I want this to work. Just tell me what I need to do. Please, baby. We can get past this.”
The tension inside the car was ramping up. I could feel it. Brad’s mood was fluctuating wildly, and it was starting to really scare me. I had no idea what he was going to do. He was completely unpredictable to me at that point. A wild card. A complete wild card – and a dangerous one at that. I needed to get him to pull over. I needed him to give me a chance to escape.
“Brad, why don’t you stop the car, and let’s talk about this?” I asked.
“Why would I do that?” he asked in return. “We can talk just fine while I’m driving.”
“Given the conditions, it makes me nervous when your attention is divided,” I said. “You know that.”
He appeared to think about it for a minute, and then a darkness passed through his face that chilled me more than the snowfall outside ever could have. He started to beat on the dashboard, then the steering wheel, then everything else around him. He threw punch after punch, and at some point during his fight with his car, I heard the locks on the door next to me disengage. He must have accidentally hit the button that released the safety locks.
“I’m not that fucking stupid, Elise,” he roared. “I’m not as fucking stupid as you apparently think I am.”
“I don’t think you’re stupid, Brad,” I said, trying desperately to keep my voice even. “Quite the contrary. I know how smart you are.”
“Stop patronizing me, Elise,” he said, his voice suddenly low and menacing.
“I’m not –”
“Yes, you are. And I don’t like it,” he sneered. “I don’t like it at all.”
“Okay, I’m sorry,” I replied smoothly. “I didn’t realize I was doing it.”
At that point, I was willing to admit to, and apologize for, anything, just to get him to stop the car. The fear in me only ratcheted up though, when he started to pick up speed. The roads were still covered with fresh powder, and I knew hard ice probably lurked below those fluffy white drifts, which set my heart racing. I felt the beads of nervous sweat rolling down my back, and my breath start to grow ragged with fear.
“Please, slow down, Brad,” I said, cringing at the nervous tremor in my voice.
“Oh, am I scaring you?”
“Brad, please.”
The engine revved as he jammed the accelerator again, and I felt the rear end of the car, despite the chains, start to swerve. It was a weightless feeling – and entirely helpless – to feel the rear end of the car sliding from side to side. Brad fought the steering wheel, a manic look etched upon his face.
Faster and faster we kept going, and I knew if we kept up that pace, sooner or later, something bad was going to happen. My heart was in my throat, and I was on the verge of a panic attack, knowing I needed to something. But what? What could I do?
And then it hit me. It was reckless as hell, but what choice did I have?
Reaching over suddenly, I grabbed hold of the wheel, and jerked it to the right.
“What the hell?” Brad shouted.
It was enough to send the car sliding. The back end came around the front, as we started to spin wildly. I grabbed hold of my seatbelt and closed my eyes tight, waiting for whatever was about to happen. Brad fought the wheel, which was the stupidest thing he could have done, and our slide-spin started to get out of control.
I heard him scream, and for a moment, I felt totally weightless – and then the entire world seemed to come crashing down around me. It sounded like a bomb went off, and we were rolling, the squeal and crunching of metal and glass filling my ears. I was thrown around, my body tossed this way and that, being jerked and pulled, but the seatbelt kept me strapped in.
There was a sudden, final crunching noise, and I was thrown hard against my seatbelt. Then everything stopped. The only sound was the carcass of the car settling into where ever we’d landed, and small bits of debris we’d picked up as we rolled.
Other than that, the world around me was completely still, and completely silent. My entire body felt like an exposed nerve ending, and pain radiated from every single inch of my flesh.
But, I was alive. Thank God, I was still alive.
10
Trevor
I stood at the window overlooking the rear of the property. The snow drifts were piled high, and the howling gusts of wind were only piling them higher. There was no telling how long the storm was going to rage, which meant, we had zero clue how long we were going to be stuck up there in that cabin, with Elle’s drunk, abusive, pissed off ex-boyfriend just a couple of doors down. It would have been so much easier if they’d just let me beat the shit out of him. It would’ve put him in his place and kept him from fucking with us. If he knew what was waiting for him, I guarantee he would have stayed in his cabin, and not bothered us again.
