Page 19 of The Predator

“Protect me?” She shakes her head. “Protect me so you can kill me later? No, thanks. I’d rather spend my life on the run.”

“I won’t hurt you, Elyse. I want to help you, but in order to do that, I need you to calm down. Lee gave me a Xanax to give you. I’d prefer you take it of your own free will, but if you won’t I will do what I need to do to get it in your mouth.”

This time she glances up at me and then away, like she fears meeting my eyes for too long. I’m waiting for her to react, for her to start fighting, but there’s nothing in her eyes now, only a brief glance at me and then back down at her hands.

"Ely, do we need a replay of the last time we did this? I think you’ve been through enough today. Take the pill, lie down, and sleep for a little while.”

She gives me another furtive glance. “You’re no better than him or my father, and you might be able to make me marry you, but you can’t make me love you.”

I can tell she means it, but it doesn’t matter. Her feelings and opinion mean little to me when it comes to her safety. It fucking hurts, but I’ll deal.

Almost viciously, she snatches the pill from my fingers and shoves it between her lips. Her throat bobs as she swallows it dry, before I can give her the bottle of water in the front seat cup holder.

“I know you’re upset, but it will help. I promise.”

“No. Nothing will help me. I’m damned no matter what I do. I’ve freed myself from one monster only to be captured by another.”

I hate her projection of me, but it’s what I get for waiting until her memories of that night returned. Does she remember everything? Is that why she hates me so much now?

“If you think I’m a monster, then so be it. I’ll play whatever part you want me to if it means you’re safe.”

“I don’t think anything! I know you’re a monster. We’re all monsters now. ” She spits the words at me like she thinks they’ll hurt me, but she doesn’t know the half of it. Nothing she says will ever have the impact that realizing she was kidnapped had on me.

I grab the door handle, opening it while maintaining my hold on her. As much as I hate to let her go, I have to if I want to get us back to the Mill. So while it pains me, I push the open passenger door, arrange her on the seat, then rush around to the driver’s side, climb in, and start the Jeep.

To my surprise, Ely remains unmoving where I leave her. Either she’s exhausted or she’s devising a plan for escape. I put the car in drive, and we roll forward. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Drew standing in the open door of the hotel room while Lee wanders down the motel sidewalk, maybe hunting for witnesses.

I tighten my grip on the steering wheel. I should stay to help them, but I can’t. Even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to focus. Now I've got her back, every cell in my body is demanding I make sure she is safe and reclaim her as my own. The only thing that matters to me right now is ensuring no one touches her again.

As I continue driving, I glance over at her, noticing the way her chin is tucked into her chest. Even with blood caked beneath her nails, she looks so fucking vulnerable and tiny.

I try to ignore the tears staining her cheeks, but they’re all I see.

Her tears kill me. They make me itch with violence and the need to destroy whatever is causing her pain. How did we get here? From last night, which was the most amazing night of my life, to this point right now? Everything was perfect, until Yanov, and Tanya.

Tanya.

I grip the steering wheel so hard the leather creaks.Was this all part of her plan?Distract me long enough for Yanov to get inand steal Ely away? I don’t even have to think about what I’ll do if I find out that’s what she did. By the time I’m finished with her she’ll be begging for death.

Something sinister unravels inside of me. The predator lingering beneath my skin calls for revenge, for desperate measures to ensure Elyse remains at my side. It’s fucked up. I know it. Morally, what I plan to do is wrong, and it doesn’t make me any better than Yanov or her father, but I gave her the opportunity to escape. I told her to run, told her to stay away, and she didn’t.

Now she’ll suffer the consequences. She’ll have no choice but to be my wife, and once all the plans are in place—maybe a fertility drug, and finally putting my baby inside her—will ensure she’ll forever be mine.

I hadn’t realized until I saw that test that a baby was even something I might want. With Ely, though, I want it all. And I’ll do whatever I have to do to get it.

The speedometer climbs as we hurtle down the road, and all I want is to get her home, somewhere I can make sure she is safe.

A few minutes later, I pull into the Mill driveway with a screech of tires and a swirl of dirt in the air. When I hop out and walk over to the other side of the car she’s only half lucid, the pill already working. Even so, she still fights against me, batting my hands away feebly as I try to reach for her.

"Come on, Ely. Let me help you out of the car. There’s no need to be stubborn." She shakes her head, her eyes foggy with fear.

"Relax. There is no need to look at me like I’m going to hurt you. I could’ve done that at any point before now.”

"No, you’re right. Instead, you’re gonna force me to marry you. How long before you grow tired of me and make the decision to kill me, too? Since it doesn’t matter if you’re family or not. Murder knows no boundaries, right?” Her words slurslightly, and while I know she’s trying to give me a dirty look, that’s not what she achieves.

I clench my hands into tight fists, fighting against the desire to drag her from the fucking car by her hair. But her words sink in.She doesn’t remember everything."That’s where you’re wrong. I’ll never grow tired of you, Elyse.Never.And I’m not forcing you to do anything. We both know you’ll be the one to sign your name on that marriage certificate. And not only because part of you still wants me, but because you need my protection, and you know it. Now get out of the car, or I’ll remove you myself. I’m trying to be patient with you, but even I have my limits.”

Tires sliding over rocks catches my attention, and Aries pulls into the driveway behind us. In seconds, he’s standing beside the Jeep, his chin length curly hair damp, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans.