Chapter 78

Valerie

I could feel his breath on my nape. His lips brushing the back of my neck. His fingers trailed up my arms, casting chills over my skin.

Bile rose in my throat.

My entire body seized up there, my back pressed against his chest. I wanted to thrash and claw, I wanted to escape him. But I was afraid to move. Afraid to breath.

He leaned into my hair and inhaled, filling his lungs with my scent. “You smell like a virgin,” he said.

Finally, adrenalin hit me. I struggled against him, screaming against his palm, trying to claw his hand from my mouth. But he was far stronger than me, and he muffled every sound I made. Then, suddenly, he crushed me back against his chest and gnarled lowly in my ear, “Stop your crying or I’ll rip you apart.”

He was squeezing the air from me. It felt like every bone in my body was about to collapse under the strength of his embrace.

I was going to die.

This corridor was too dark. Too far from everything else. No one would hear my muffled cries. No