Chapter 3

Jimmy took a step toward me and I took one step back. He sucked in a deep breath and grabbed my waist. I stumbled as he pulled me toward him. His one hand ran up my back and into my hair. My hands were pressed against his hard chest and I tried to push myself free. Jimmy kissed the top of my head.

There was a pounding noise as someone ran up the stairs. Jimmy let go of me and took a step back. He was acting like he was not supposed to be near me. Strange.

The door flew open and Tommy was standing there. His face was red and sweat was dripping off of his temple. He was bent over and panting for breath.

“Come on, Jim,” he said. “There’s two down by the lake.”

Tommy turned around and ran back down the steps. Jimmy followed him, but stopped and turned in the doorframe. He looked over his shoulder and then back at me.

“Stay here,” he said. “No matter what you hear, do not leave this room. And I mean it. Don’t open this door.”

He closed the door and I could hear him run down the steps.

I looked through the bars on the window. Jimmy and Tommy were running across the large field outside. They disappeared behind a large barn.

I wondered where they were going. Tommy said they found two, but two of what? I assumed it was some kind of animal. They must be hunters. They seemed to be like the family that hunted for their food.

I shifted my weight from foot to foot as I waited by the window. I kept glancing over at the clock on Jimmy’s nightstand. About twenty minutes passed before I saw Jimmy and Tommy again.

I squinted to try and see what they were doing. Jimmy was walking backward and was carrying something in his arms. When they got closer, I could see that he was holding a girl. Jimmy had her feet and Tommy was holding her arms. The girl was screaming and thrashing around in their grip.

I was right. They do hunt, but they do not hunt animals. They hunt humans.

My heart sunk in my chest and my body trembled. I don’t know why I was so surprised. They kidnapped me and brought me to this house. Of course, they would kidnap other women. This girl was probably supposed to be a wife for Tommy.

I watched as they entered the house. I ran across the room. I put my ear against the door, but it was not necessary because her screams rang throughout the house. Her shrieking was muffled when a door slammed shut. Every scream caused my body to flinch.

I was shaking when I walked back over to the window. I looked through the bars to see Jimmy running across the field again. Tommy said there were two, so there must be another person.

If I ran downstairs, maybe I could get them to stop doing whatever they are doing to her. The two of us would be able to escape and call the cops.

In my head, it seemed like the perfect plan for me, but I could not move. I was stunned and my body was numb.

When Jimmy came back, he was dragging a man by his leg. The man lied there lifeless as he was pulled across the grass. As he came closer to the house, I could see that the man’s throat was slit and he was covered in blood.

I covered my mouth, and I don’t know if it was to stop the sobs or the screams that were building up in my throat. I turned and pressed my back against the wall. My knees gave out underneath me and I slid down onto the floor. I let go of all the tears I have been holding back all day.

They kill people. I was in a house full of murderers. If they kidnapped me, they would have no problem murdering me. Charles talked about punishments, but what if one of those punishments were death?

The girl downstairs continued to scream. I sat on the floor sobbing. I dug the palms of my hands into my eyes and my fingernails curled into my scalp. I knew that they were killing that girl. Why could they not make it fast like the man?

Ugly sounding sobs left my mouth. I wrapped my arms around myself and rocked back and forth. This had to be some kind of awful nightmare.

The girl’s screaming stopped.

She must be dead.

I had to stop crying before Jimmy, Charles or Tommy saw me like this. I took in a sharp breath, but the tears continued to roll down my cheeks.

The door creaked as Jimmy walked into the room. I buried my face in my hands. His jaw dropped when he saw me crumpled on the ground. He hurried over to me and got down on his knees. He tucked a piece of my tear-drenched hair behind my ear.

“Juliet, it’s alright,” he said.

I pulled my sleeve over my hand and used it to wipe the tears off of my cheeks. I tried to slow down the quick shallow breaths that I was taking. Jimmy’s large brown eyes were looking at me softly. It was hard to believe that they were the eyes of a killer. I looked down to avoid his stare, but what I saw was much worse. His hands were covered in blood. I brought my gaze back up to his face. He grabbed my chin and the wet blood spread across my skin. He pressed his forehead against mine.

“It’s okay,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “You need to know that I would never hurt you.”

He kissed my temple before getting up off of his knees. He went into the bathroom that was connected to his bedroom. There was a steady flow of water, and I prayed that he was washing the blood off of his hands. I needed to get the blood off of my face.

I stayed on the floor because I could not find the strength to stand. When Jimmy came out of the bathroom with a black case in his hands.

“I’m going to give you something to help you sleep,” he said.

He turned his back to me. I could hear him unzip the case. I tried to see what he was doing, but his body blocked my vision. When he turned around, he had a syringe in his hand.

I sucked in a deep breath. This must be whatever Charles drugged me with. I did not want to be knocked out again. I had no idea what they would do to me while I was unconscious.

“No,” I said. “Please, you can’t do this.”

“It’s going to be alright,” he said. “I just want to help you.”

“No,” I whined. “Please, don’t.”

“Juliet, stop it.”

I kicked my leg out and hit Jimmy in the shin. He took a step back. I pushed myself onto my feet. Jimmy put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me back down onto the floor. I put my hand out to stop myself from falling. I screamed when my hand, which was torn from when Charles took me, connected with the ground. Pain shot up my wrist. I cradled my hand to my chest and pushed myself across the floor with my other arm. Jimmy leaned over me and put his hand on my hip. There was a sharp pinch in my thigh.

“Wasn’t that bad, was it?” Jimmy asked.

I rolled onto my side. My eyelids were heavy and crashing down. Jimmy put the syringe back into the case and set it down on the nightstand. I propped myself up on my good arm. My wrist was throbbing and I struggled to move it. My arm shook as the weakness crept into my muscles. I was passing out much quicker than when Charles drugged me last night.

Jimmy reached down and wrapped his arms around me. He pulled me off the floor. I cried out as I used my injured hand to push him away. Jimmy’s grip on me loosened. My knees buckled and he tightened his arms around my waist.

“You can’t walk, can you?” he asked me.

“Fuck you,” I said as I shook his arms off of me.

My knees gave out and I crumpled onto the floor. Jimmy sighed and kneeled next to my body. He grabbed my throbbing wrist and twisted it at an awkward angle. I screamed and my vision went blurry with tears.

“Watch your language,” he said. “We don’t swear in this family.”

“Go to hell,” I said.

“Juliet, don’t make this difficult,” he said.

He held onto my wrist and squeezed it. A firey pain ran down my arm. I gritted my teeth together to try and stop myself from crying.

“Let’s get you to bed,” he said.

Jimmy scooped me off of the floor in his arms. He curled me toward his chest. I could no longer move my muscles. I could not keep my eyes open anymore. He carried me over to the bed and set me down. He pressed his lips against my forehead. My heart was pounding in my chest. The bed dipped when he sat on the edge.

“Just behave,” Jimmy said. “I never want to hurt you again.”