lia

But Brandt

pressed his weight down on the handles. The steel blades dug into my

uth, you wort

and stared straight i

me, his eyes trying to piece together a shattered puzzle-the sewing thread, the sca

ging his nails into my bruised cheeks until he forced my lips apart through sheer mechanical l

you talk

down my throat, and blood instantly flooded my mouth, choking off my air. I looked past Br

e it yet. One sc

t firmly on the hardwood, and drove my

p slipped, and the steel teeth of the pliers dragged violently across the side of my tongue, tearing th

th a heavy clang. He clutched his jaw, blood leaking thro

unged forward and kicked me full-force

skidding across the slick, blood-covered floorboard

e velvet tray wobbled. The dented pink iPod Classic slipped from its indent an

transformed

t look at me. He didn't look at the blood. He lunged forward with terrifying speed,

is heavy combat boot lashed

rag doll, smashing into the heavy leather sofa with enough force to cave in the wooden frame

are Brandt a

y, demonic fury. He reached down, grabbed the collar of my torn shift

vibrating with absolute madness. "You dar

actical combat knife slid from its sheath. The seven-inch black steel

f flat against the double doors. Dennis and the hedge-fund

. Nobody dar

vered less than a millimeter from my left eyeball. I co

tting my bloody cheek. "I will skin you alive and feed your meat to the harb

e blade, staring straight into the

laugh bubbled up f

s, and three years of Brandt's abuse, only to have m

n grip. I opened my mouth, letting the thick, dark blood

into his wild, m

the blood. "You always did have a te