see him get his comeuppance, beating him to a pulp would serve no
purpose. This time, miraculously,
Noah listened.
I turned to Josh. “What are you doing here?” I
demanded. “Why were you watching
me?”
“Because you’re sexy,” he said, all cocky
like, and Noah pushed forward and punched him in the stomach.
Josh doubled over and groaned. “Fuck,” he swore. He spit onto the ground, a thick pool
of red blood and dark grit.
“You called me,” I said. “You called me and you killed Katie.”
“What?” Josh said. He was leaning against the wall now,
still holding his stomach. “I
didn’t call you.”
“Stop lying!” I screamed. “You called me and you threatened me
and you said you were going to kill me.”
He shook his head. “You’re crazy. I didn’t call you.”
“Then how did you know I was here?” I had my hand on Noah’s arm as he stood
there, silent, the rage radiating off of him so strongly I could almost see it,
hazy and shimmering in the air.
“I followed you,” Josh said.
Noah took another step toward him, but I
tightened my grip on his wrist, and he stopped. But I wasn’t sure how long I would be able to keep him
calm. Calm wasn’t even the right
word – he was anything but calm. He was pulsing with heat and energy and violent hate.
“You followed me?” I repeated.
“I was worried about you, Charlotte. Julia told me how much time you’ve been
spending with Noah, about the reporter that showed up at the apartment. She told me she’s afraid for you.”
Noah pushed his shoulders back and a vein
throbbed in his neck.
“So you followed me here because you were
worried,” I said, not believing it for a second.
“Yes.” Josh shook his head. “I saw you come in here with him and I wanted to make sure you were
okay. When you went into that
room, I thought he was going to hurt you.”
“And you were so worried that you went
into the room next door to watch?” I asked sarcastically.
“It was an accident. I went into the room next door to see
if there was anything in there I could use to help you. And then I saw the holes in the wall,
so I looked.”
“How long were you watching me?” I
whispered.
“A while,” he said. And then he gave me a look, that same
depraved, controlled look he’d given me the night I’d caught him in my room,
jerking off into my panties. The
industrial lights flickered overhead, illuminated his face and making him look
even more sinister and perverted than he had that night. Then his voice softened and he looked
at me. “You looked so beautiful.”
That was it.
Noah snapped.
He wrenched out of my grasp and pitched
forward, punching Josh square in the jaw. Josh fell back to the ground as Noah descended on him, punching him in
the face over and over, until bright red blood covered Josh’s skin and
spattered the concrete floor.
“Stop!” I yelled. “Noah, stop!”
Noah punched him a couple more times
before I was able to get him to stop, then stood up and kicked Josh in the
ribs. “You sick fuck,” Noah growled. “You sick little bastard.”
“Noah,” I said quietly. “Noah, please. Just… let’s call the police.”
Josh staggered to his feet, put his hand
to his mouth, and pulled it back, looking at the blood. He shook his head. “Oh, I’m the sick fuck? What about you two? Fucking in public like that? Blindfolded and chained up? You’re the sick one, Charlotte. You’re a fucked up little whore,
wanting to be with him.”
Noah went after him again, but I grabbed
him and held him back.
I was really scared now.
Scared of what Noah might do to him.
Josh must have been too, because a second
later, he took off down the hall, hobbled over and limping.
“You sick little whoooorreeee,” he yelled
as he went, the singsong tone of his voice echoing off the walls.
I started
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