But not yet.
Not yet.
He had his hands around her neck, and she let out choking sounds, desperate to tell him something, but that look on her face told him more than he needed to know. She was joyful, for a woman on the brink of passing out. Her hearing was starting to go, and her eyes fluttered closed, but she was still silently laughing. Still smiling that terrible gash of a smile as he choked the life out of her.
It was poetic. It was horrific. It was exactly what she'd always wanted.
Her failing ears began to ring, and she opened her eyes just so she could watch the world narrow down to a pinpoint. When she did, movement caught her eye. She couldn't hear them, but she could see just beyond Pedro's shoulder, the face of two others staring in horror at the scene before them.
She struggled, suddenly desperate to get free. Pedro was not enough. He wasn't enough. But it was too late to escape from the grip Pedro had on her. So her eyes flickered, focusing on Haddy for a single, terrifying second.
Her. She, whoever she was, Riley wanted to hurt her most.
And then, as if a light switch had been turned on (or off) behind Riley's eyes, that boiling hatred transformed into sudden overwhelming terror. She was waking up from what felt like a dream, only to be forced down into another one.
Haddy's eyes were the last thing she saw, before she blacked out entirely, and slumped in Pedro's arms.
huni pi
beejoux
Miliardo Kason
