I shook my head quickly.
He let out, a low, dark chuckle. “Look at me, darling.”
I didn’t want to be punched again, so I swallowed back my terror and looked up at him. He smiled down at me...a thin, sinister smile.
No. No, no, no. He couldn’t be.
“Ah, you do know who I am. I’m not sure if I’m happy or disappointed it took you so long.”
Cold, hard, soulless blue eyes glimmered down at me.
Snake Eyes.
Daniel was Snake Eyes.
Oh, God. Panic burned through me. I writhed and bucked and kicked, fighting with every bit of strength and adrenaline I had, but he just laughed, the most terrifying, evil laugh. His arm around my legs tightened, his fingers biting into my thigh. He pulled his leg out from under me and pinned my legs down with it. Trapped.
A whimper crawled up my throat, and he squeezed my jaw, his already painful grip clenching. Suffocating.
His other hand, now free, so big it spanned from hip to hip, slid over my body. I squeezed my thighs together. Braced to feel him between my legs.
He barely touched me before his hand moved between us, against the outside of my thigh. It was in his pocket, I realized, and then he was holding something white. A sock.
He dropped the sock on my stomach and shifted his grip to hold my wrists, his fingers biting into me in an unbreakable grasp. My mouth was free!
“Help!” But it came out small and useless. With the music so loud, no one would hear me. I sucked in a breath and tried again, and I tried to twist away, but he yanked my arms to the ground over my head, arching my back painfully over his other leg.
“Beautiful.”
I swallowed back my sob and opened my mouth to scream then slammed it shut as he brought the sock to my face.
“Open up.”
I shook my head frantically, my jaw clenched tight.
“No worries. I’ll wait until you’re ready.” His smile was scarier than his anger.
He held the sock over my mouth and nose and pinched my nose shut. My chest burned and black dots danced across my vision. My heartbeat pounded through my head, heavy and demanding.
“Are you ready yet, Jenna?” Slowly, so slowly, like he was relishing my pain, he eased off my mouth, but tightened his grip on my nose.
I tried to breathe through clenched teeth, but I couldn’t. My mouth refused to stay closed. As soon as it opened, before I could even take a breath, his fingers plunged into my mouth, the taste and feel of him nearly gagging me, and then he was shoving the thick cotton in too.
He pulled his hand away, and I tried to push the sock out, but somehow, he had duct tape, and he quickly bit the edge and tore a big piece off. He jammed the sock back in and covered my mouth, the tape stretching from ear to ear.
“I’m sorry to have to do that, darling. Sorry we’re in here. I’d love to hear you scream for me.”
I looked away and tried to breathe. In. Out. I didn’t know how I could stop him, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of watching me gag and choke and cry.
His hand slithered down my body, squeezing my throat, then my breasts, and then he lifted my shirt and dragged it up, pulling my bra up with it too, exposing me to his beady blue eyes.
“So beautiful, darling.” His voice was almost reverent and his touch was gentle, and it was even more sickening than if he’d just pawed at me. “I’ve been waiting a long time to see you like this.”
His hand was gone suddenly, and I couldn’t help but look up at him, bracing for what was next. “That’s right, Jenna. Watch me like I’ve been watching you.” Terrified, I did. I watched as he pulled off a wig, revealing a brown crew cut under his long gray hair, and plucked contacts out of his eyes. Black, soulless snake eyes stared down at me.
I pulled and jerked and writhed, but he just tightened his grip, pinning my arms and legs to the ground, and he laughed sinisterly. He raised his leg under me, arching my back, straining my shoulders and hips painfully and pushing my breasts up in a grotesque display.
I tried to ignore the feeling of being torn apart. Tried to breathe through my nose and ignore the feeling of suffocating. The chill of his cold stare slid over me. I tried to ignore his hand on me. On my chest, my stomach, my hips, my thighs. Between my legs.Just breathe.