THIRTY FOUR. Don't Kill Me, Logan
"Why are we stopping here?"
Riley turned to Logan warily. The car suddenly pulled over on the side of a deserted country road. No other vehicles passed besides them. The place was very dark and quiet. The only source of light was Logan's car lights. There was an empty clearing on the right side of the road overgrown with very tall weeds. Riley guessed the height of the weeds was around her waist. As the south wind blew fiercely around the place, the weeds swayed eerily and created a hissing sound that sounded like the hiss of a cobra.
"Get down."
“What are we going to do here? Your house is still halfway to go.”
"I said get down and don't ask too many questions."
Logan unbuckled his seatbelt, threw it away angrily, and jumped out of the car in a hurry. Riley remained where she was. She didn't move at all and just stared around in horror.
Why did Logan tell me to get down here?
Riley shifted restlessly in her seat. Her palms clenched tightly gripping the seat belt. She didn't want to go down in a dark and lonely place like that.
But suddenly Logan yanked his car door open. He removed the seat belt from Riley's body roughly. He grabbed Riley's arm to get out of his car. He half-dragged Riley's stumbling steps towards an open field.
“Logan, what are we going to do here? Let me go."
Riley struggled, trying to release Logan's grip on her right hand, which was very tight. The sound of rustling grass being stepped on loudly accompanied Riley's every step and every cry. She begged Logan for forgiveness. She shed tears and cursed her unlucky fate of having to deal with Logan Hatcher.
"Please, Logan, don't hurt me. You hurt me a lot today."
"You're the one who made me have to hurt you. Shut up, bitch!"
When they reached the middle of the field, Logan pushed Riley's arm hard. Half threw Riley's body forward until Riley almost fell on the ground. Part of her body was swallowed by the tall weeds that grew wild around her. Riley turned to Logan quickly as she heard the click of the gun.
"You've seen too much and heard too much tonight. There's no way out for you, Riley."
"Oh God, you're going to kill me here?"
Riley's face paled as she saw Logan pointing the muzzle of his gun at her. The hole where the bullet came out was right in front of her left eye. She shuddered at the thought of the bullet being shot right into her eye.
"Didn’t we agree?" Riley tried to negotiate for her life.
She didn't want to end up miserable in Logan's hands. Especially after what she had done under Logan's pressure.
"We were. You ruined everything, Riley.”
"No. I... I will bear your child once I recover. Please, let me live, Logan."
She bit her lips tightly to hold back the unstoppable sobs. Her crying couldn't stop and instead turned even more hysterical when there wasn't the slightest change in Logan's expression. He kept the gun pointed at her, looking more and more ruthless and cruel.
"I'm not interested in you anymore, Riley. I will find another woman who is better than you. A submissive woman who won't mess up my affairs."
"I apologize. Please give me one more chance. I will never do it again. I will do whatever you ask me to do."
"It's too late to regret anything. You know, I never give second chances."
"Please forgive me."
Riley knelt in front of Logan and let the weeds swallow her. She would not only kneel, she would even kiss Logan's feet so that Logan would give her one more chance.
Logan's gun muzzle moved following the movement of Riley, who suddenly knelt in front of him. He wasn't even affected by her pitiful, frustrated face and the tears she had shed. To him, it was all just goddamn bullshit that he didn't need to believe. The decision had been made. He had to get rid of Riley, so he could continue his life normally. There was no guarantee that Riley would remain silent about all his actions. One day, Riley could report him to the police and make his life even more difficult with all the chaos she caused.
“Even if you cry blood, it still won't change my decision. You must die tonight, Riley."
"No! Don’t do this, Logan. Please give me one more chance. I promise I’ll be a good woman for you.”
"I'm not taking any chances, Riley. You can’t be trusted."
The corners of Logan's lips pulled into a cruel grin that shook Riley's heart. She no longer had any hope. Her life would end there. Now. No one would come to help her. She had to fight alone if she wanted to survive Logan's cruelty.
“I… I think you're right. I really can't be trusted.”
Riley leapt forward and tried to grab the gun from Logan. She tried to keep the muzzle away from both of them. She wrestled with Logan, who was three times bigger and stronger than her. But if Riley wanted to live, she had to fight.
“Get off my hand, you damn bitch! I'll shoot you."
"No. I won't let that happen.”
Riley pulled Logan's hand up. She tried to snatch the gun from Logan's hand, who was gripping the butt of the gun tightly. Logan's free hand grabbed her waist roughly and tried to push her away. They then tumbled onto the cold, damp, steep ground. Her satin dress was up to her thighs, but she didn't care. She was about to grab the gun, but Logan suddenly grabbed her hair, then slammed her head into the rocky ground.
It was so hard and merciless. Riley was hit by a very strong dizziness. Her vision blurred for a few excruciating seconds. Something wet ran down her temples and dripped on the dusty ground as she tried to stand up.
“You must die, Riley. We can't go on with our deal anymore."
"Wait. Wait. Don't kill me. Please. Don't kill me, Logan. DON'T!"
Riley jerked up in a sitting position. Her breath hitched. Her forehead was covered in heavy beads of sweat. The pajamas that stuck to her body were soaked with sweat. The surrounding air was damp and cold. Riley gasped as she looked around. Her room was brightly lit. The wind blew hard through her wide open window, making the white curtains in her room flutter brutally and dramatically.
It took Riley a moment to get her bearings. She was in her bedroom, not in an abandoned vacant lot with giant weeds that almost drowned her tiny body. She sat alone on her warm bed. Her body was wrapped in a blanket. A peach silk pajama wrapped her body. There was no longer a tight satin dress covering her body. Someone had changed her clothes when she passed out.
Passed out?
The thought made Riley frown in confusion. She wasn't sure how she ended up in her room. When they got home from Logan's elite club, she kept crying non-stop in the passenger seat. She poured out all her sadness by whimpering like a child. Logan scolded her loudly, telling her to shut up, but she kept crying. She didn't care about Logan's anger. Her palms hadn't stopped shaking since Logan took her out of the back garden. She replayed the memory of when her palms were forced to hold the gun and her index finger pulled the trigger to kill Alan.
Riley pulled her knees up to her chest. Tears streamed down her eyes. The nightmare was truly horrifying. The guilt and regret would haunt her for the rest of her life. She couldn't stay there. She had to get away from Logan and hide. She didn't want to live with a monster and even have his baby. She didn't want to deal with Logan anymore.
Riley suddenly jumped out of bed. She whimpered at the throbbing pain in her ankle. She fell back onto her bed with a soft groan. Her foot was slightly swollen and red. She remembered her left foot being sprained when she tripped over an oak tree root. Riley took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. She tried to get used to the pain and slowly lowered her foot to the floor.
She rushed to her closet and rummaged through her pile of clothes at the bottom of the wardrobe. She hid Wren's number there. When Wren slipped the paper in her hand, she was confused, but now she was grateful that Wren had given her his number. She just needed to find a phone to call Wren.
Kaella.
Riley pulled a small tattered paper from her pile of clothes. She hugged the paper to her chest like it was her only valuable possession. She then glanced at the clock on the wall and found that it was four in the morning. She had to hurry to Kaella’s room and ask her to lend her a phone because she had to call Wren.
Riley walked out of her room quietly. The hallway looked quiet and a little dark. The only light came from the window at the end of the hallway. Riley hated the dark, but she would compromise with the darkness because she needed to find Kaella and ask for her help.
As she walked past Logan's room, Riley's heart beat very fast. She imagined Logan standing behind his bedroom door, preparing to ambush her and arrest her. Then Logan would drag her back to her room and Logan would lock her up like she was an animal.
Riley quickly shook off the stupid thought. She held her breath as she walked hastily through Logan's room. The pain in her leg throbbed as she forced her leg to walk faster. But she kept walking and ignoring the pain until she unconsciously bit her lip too hard. It was like the two most excruciating seconds of her life. A very unpleasant feeling of fear and alertness. But once she passed Logan's room, things got easier. The stairs to the hall looked very dark and quiet. She kept her pace in the dark so she could hide at any moment when someone appeared around her.
In the kitchen, Riley heard footsteps like heavy boots hitting the floor. Riley quickly hid behind the pillar. She held her breath while peering to the left. There was a large black shadow standing in front of the kitchen counter. Riley narrowed her eyes to identify the shadow. One of Logan's men was probably making coffee. There was the sound of a spoon clinking against the rim of the glass as Riley hid behind a pillar. The man then put the spoon into the sink and walked out of the kitchen whistling.
Riley pressed her back closer to the surface of the pillar. She held her breath as the man walked past her holding a cup of coffee in his hand. It was Jacob, the gatekeeper, who always wore a headset on his head. This time Jacob also wore a headset on his head. Riley breathed a sigh of relief because Jacob couldn't possibly hear her as long as the headset was still attached to his head.
After Jacob exited the kitchen through the back door, Riley jumped out of her hiding spot and walked briskly toward the back door that connected Kaella and Betty's bedroom. Their room was outside the main building.
Riley pulled the knob slowly. She faintly heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs with proud steps. Riley knew who the owner of the footsteps was. Logan Hatcher!
Riley quickly slid out of the main building and closed the door behind her very quietly. She jogged through the wet and damp ground, then she came onto the terrace in front of Kaella's and Betty's room. Their room was separate from the main building, and was much like a West Coast motel room.
Riley felt confused as she was about to knock on one of the doors that should be Kaella's room. She had never been to their room. Kaella had shown her this building from the kitchen window when she was helping them cook.
Riley hesitantly moved to the right. There was no sign or nameplate on the surface of their bedroom door, indicating who the room belonged to. Riley just followed her instincts. If she knocked on Betty's door wrongly, she would come up with an excuse that sounded plausible, like that she was lost or that she needed Betty to make her a hot chocolate.
When Riley tried to knock on the door three times, no answer or sound could be heard from inside the room. Riley then knocked three more times. There was still no sign that Kaella or Betty would come out to open the door. She was getting frustrated and suspected that Betty or Kaella wouldn't open the door.
But then Riley heard the rustle of the latch chain and the door slowly opened. Riley's heart skipped a beat as she waited for someone to emerge from the gap in the door.
Is it Kaella or Betty?