A Hand in Hell

Chapter 5

"Is this the place?" I asked as I eased the car to a stop in front of an old brick apartment building. The windows caught the glare of the noon sun, and even behind my sunglasses, I had to squint to see the building. It certainly looked like somewhere a couple of college girls would live…

"Y-yeah," Dexter stammered from the passenger's seat. When I turned to her, I found that she had her eyes focused carefully on the floor, and I grinned broadly.

"You should look at me more often, baby girl," I said brightly, my fingers snaking beneath her jaw and jerking her face toward me. "I'm much prettier than the floor, I can promise you that."

"Will you take this off, please?" she asked softly with a tug at the leather collar around her neck, and my fingers fell away from her chin. Her gaze immediately dropped back to the floor. "It's uncomfortable…and embarrassing…"

I took hold of the leash that rested upon her lap and gave it a sharp tug, pulling her body over the middle console and to my side. Our faces inches apart, I murmured, "That's the whole point of it, you know — dominance and humiliation. Haven't you ever heard of BDSM?"

"I'm not in a relationship with you," she grated between clenched teeth. "You kidnapped me and forced me to be your 'pet.'"

"Well, if you ignore the topic of consent, our relationship is really just a very elaborate role-play," I remarked cheerfully, then gave the leash another jerk to bring her face even closer to mine. I could hear her teeth grinding now; I could see the anger in her eyes. If she didn't spit in my face soon, I would be thoroughly surprised — and maybe even a little bit disappointed. "But whatever relationship or lack thereof you may think we have, it doesn't matter right now," I said lowly. "Right now, our problem is the girl waiting for you inside that apartment building." Her rage faded into the familiar uncertainty of fear, and I felt my smirk grow just a bit more wicked. "Together, we're going to walk into that building, take the elevator to the third floor, then go into your apartment and kill your roommate — and you're not going to make a sound. Do you understand me?"

"I could get you caught," she said boldly, though the light tremor to her voice undermined her attempt at a threat. "I could tell the first person we pass to call 911. I could tell Vicky to run while I hold you off in the apartment. I could —"

I put my hand under her chin and squeezed her face to silence her, jerking her trembling lips close to mine. "You could, you could, you could," I murmured, "but you won't. The more attention you draw to us, the more people I kill. Do you understand me?" She pursed her lips but nodded obediently, and I grinned happily as I released her cheeks and leaned back. "Good! Let's get going, then." I held the end of the leash out to her and said smilingly, "Bring this along for me, would you?" She pulled it from my fingers and opened her door with unnecessary force, and I laughed to myself as I pushed my own door open and slid out of my seat.

The heels of my stilettos clicked against the asphalt as I started around the car, pushing the door shut behind me. "What number is the apartment, again?" I asked, taking the looped end of the leash from her.

"312," she answered as I began to lead her across the street. All was silent for a moment but for the sound of my heels on the pavement and a distant honk from down the street, but just as we reached the glass double doors at the front of the building, she asked softly, "Why do I have to come?"

I tossed her a beatific smile over my shoulder and pulled the door open. "Because you would try to run off if I left you alone, of course," I answered, stepping aside to force her in ahead of me. "And because I'd really like to see the look on your face when I kill her, but that one's just for funsies." I followed her into the small, sparsely decorated lobby, where she stopped and turned to face me, her expression empty but her jaw working as she ground her teeth in frustration. "Well, don't stop now, silly. Lead the way to the elevator."