Chapter 30

His hand lay calmly on the steering wheel, occasionally turning it to the side.

A long and empty track through a deep dark forest was all there was.

Blue eyes looked ahead and all his attention was focused only on the road. I tried not to look at him, but my gaze still returned to him.

It was interesting for me to watch him smoke a cigarette.

It was interesting for me to watch how he let out the smoke, completely relaxed.

I was interested in looking at him.

He was just like a picture that I wanted to look at.

'I can…' But he interrupted my flow of words by turning his head in my direction.

His eyes stared at me, and I seemed to have forgotten what I wanted to say. I was literally taken aback, taking a deep breath of air and looking away to the side, if only not to him again.

Because when he looked at me, for reasons unknown to me, I was lost.

'What?' His tone was strict and I nervously swallowed the lump in my throat, fingering my fingers in my hands.

'Can I turn on the music?' My voice was quiet, which showed my uncertainty.

'No.' He turned his attention back to the road, calmly exhaling smoke.

'I just want to listen to music.'

'But I just refused.'

'Why can't I turn on the music? I don't like this silence. If you please!'

'I don't care if you don't like it.'

I turned away from him, touching my forehead to the window. Goosebumps again ran through the body due to the persistent wind.

'I’m cold,' I looked at him with a look of request, sighing heavily, the guy still closed the window, not forgetting to throw out the cigarette butt.

The entire car interior smelled of cold freshness. I liked the fact that he smoked these menthol cigarettes because they always left a pleasant smell.

Noticing a small building in the distance, more like a public place, a plan immediately formed in my head.

'James!' My voice broke into a scream, but then I realized that I overplayed a little and I needed to calm down.

'What?!' He glared at me, clenching his hands on the steering wheel even tighter.

I fidgeted in place, trying to fake need.

'I want to use the toilet, I ask you to stop the car near that cafe.'

Jay pursed his lips, shifting his gaze to the café ahead. There were a few meters to this building, and I simply could not allow the guy to drive through it.

'You will be patient,' the blond growled affirmatively, refusing me.

'No, please. I can not anymore.'

There were five meters to the white building, and I prayed that he would stop the car. And when all my hopes were lost, the guy abruptly parked the car in a small parking lot.

'Look at me now,' the blue-eyed man said roughly, taking my chin in his hand and turning it in his direction. 'Listen to me carefully, understand?'

I nodded, looking into his eyes, which were no longer blue.

'You'll be quiet and you'll only go to and from the bathroom, okay?'

I nodded again and he let go of my chin. James got out of the car and opened the door for me, holding out his hand for me to help. I took his hand and stepped out into the fresh air. He slammed the door behind me and set the alarm on the car.

Jay took my hand and walked quickly into the room. There were not so many people here, but all the visitors turned to look at us.

Well, not on us, only on him.

He walked towards the bar and I followed him like a dog. I was not comfortable when all the heads were turned in our direction.

The bartender greeted him and his next step amazed me. They bumped their fists like best friends.

'What do you want, friend?' The guy behind the bar asked him easily with a smile on his lips.

'I’ll sit at that table, tell the waitress to come over to me, okay?' The bartender nodded and got to work.

'Let’s go,' James let go of my hand and when I began to walk in the right direction, he grabbed my hip, pulling me back to him. 'Just don’t be stupid, angel.'

I ignored his last word, just nodding my head and walking away from him. I was burning with the desire to get out of here. Get away from him once and for all.

I prayed that there would be a window in the toilet or something else that would help me escape.

Looking back one last time, I saw the bartender pushing the frightened waitress over to James's table, and I understood why she was afraid of him. Her eyes were filled with fear, and she held the menu tightly to her until she gave up and walked over to him to take his order.

Opening the door, I quickly went to the toilet.

And what was my happiness when there was a window in a small room.

Hands trembling nervously, nevertheless managed to close the door with a lock so that no one could enter here. The window was without a handle and I needed to knock it out with something that could break it. Eyes searched for some object, but there was nothing there. I ran to the booths, opening each one, but it was empty, nothing that could help me.

With quick steps, I made my way to the washstands, quickly washing my face with cold water to remove the sweat and cool my face. His gaze began to run around the room again, trying to find anything.

'Please, please,' I prayed to the Lord to find at least some object.

The only option was to smash the window with my fist, but that would be difficult since I have far less power than any guy. I went to the window, starting to look for the smallest detail on the frame in order to somehow be able to pull it out.

'Come on!' I screamed, slamming my fist against the glass.

Immediately removing my hand, I whimpered in pain, seeing the reddened knuckles.

Gathering my courage, I clenched my hands into fists again and pounded them against the window, closing my eyes to try and ignore the pain.

'Crash, damn it!'

Stepping away from the window, I grabbed my hair in annoyance. I whimpered even harder, I didn't know what to do.

Startled, I realized that crying would not help me in any way, I needed to act quickly and right now.

Sitting on the last washbasin, I reached out with my feet to the window, hitting it with force. Half of the glass fell to the floor, catching a few shards in my shoes. Quickly removing my shoes from my feet, I carefully walked around the broken pieces on the floor so as not to hurt myself. Taking the sneakers in my hands, I knocked out the rest of the glass with them. Quickly tossing my shoes aside, I looked out the window to make sure I could jump out there.

A persistent knock on the door made my heart literally jump out of my chest.

'Hale, open the door! You can't stay there too long!'

The doorknob began to fall and rise with force, trying to open the door.

'I know you're there! Don't be stupid, I'll still get you!'

My legs were already dangling from the window sill, and my hands held on to the frame, driving the remaining fragments into the skin. I moaned in pain as I jumped out the window. Finding myself on the pavement, I huddled with a small blow and scratched by a couple of glass fragments, ran away from the cafe.

Small stones were painfully driven into my bare feet, but I kept running to save myself. Running out onto an empty highway, I ran along the paved road, praying that at least some car came across to me.

'Hailey!' I turned around to see that James was following me.

My heart was pounding so loudly in my chest with excitement and fear that a quick rhythm of beats beat out in my head. The wind blew in my face, causing my eyes to water. My legs hurt and it seemed that I was about to stop, because I could no longer run.

'Stop, you bastard!' Foster's angry voice made my palms wet with fear.

The track was still empty, and I understood that I could not run for so long. He will catch up with me, and my life will be for a moment even worse than it was. I felt his body behind me, which was literally two meters behind me, and it was then that my heart sank into my heels.

A moment and a heavy body from behind knocks me onto the asphalt. My cries, his growls, my sobs, his formidable voice all mixed up into something terrible. He sat on top of me, rudely grabbing my hands with which I tried to fight.

Its heavy weight pressed down on my fragile hips. His dark blue eyes stared at me, and his brows were furrowed, and I knew that the next few minutes would be much worse than terrible for me.

'Did you think you could run away from me?' A growl escaped his throat like an angry beast.

I remained silent, just staring at him stupidly as tears formed in my eyes.

'Answer me!' He yelled, slapping my cheek so that my face turned to him in profile.

A strong blow made me cry loudly again. The cheek burned so strongly with fire that it was unbearable. I moved under him, trying to push him off me, but the attempt failed.

'Bitch, you will learn to listen to me!' His strong fist, with all the anger that was inside him, crashed into the asphalt next to my head.

My face was on fire from the slap. I grabbed his hands, trying to remove his fists from me further, but he was stronger than me many times.

I felt how my lip was cut after his assault, how a bruise remained on my cheek. I sobbed out of fear and asked him to let me go, but he did not hear.

My head did not think much after the incredible stress that I experienced. My eyes were closed, and my mind seemed to be in weightlessness, lagging behind thinking what was happening at the moment.

'You will receive your punishment!' His gruff voice faintly reached me, echoing in my ears.

A man's hand tightened tightly around my fragile neck. I heard his roar in my ear and felt his power on me ever weaker.

In the eyes, everything gradually turned white, after which darkness abruptly set in.