Page 70 of Wounded Beast (Gypsy Heroes)

; ‘You’re awake,’ a man’s voice says.

And it all comes flooding back.

Oh God!

My blood runs cold. A pair of jeans-clad legs and badly stained sneakers come into view. I raise my frightened eyes all the way up to his face. Oh, dear Jesus! My mouth opens.

‘Surprise!’ he says.

My voice is hoarse; a shocked whisper. ‘What are you doing?’

Rob’s cold, mean eyes regard me steadily, pitilessly.

‘What do you want from me?’ I cry desperately.

The question seems to infuriate him. His eyes flash, but he controls himself. ‘What do you think I want?’ he asks menacingly.

I stare at him with startled, terrified eyes.

‘I know you like big cocks. I’ve watched you take it all into your dirty cunt. All of it being stuffed into Ella Savage’s greedy, greedy cunt,’ he says in a sing-song voice.’

‘Please, Sir,’ I say automatically, my mind and eyes unable to believe the transformation of the man I knew for more than a year to this dirty, crazed man and the hateful words that are pouring from his mouth. How could he have hidden this from me? From all of us?

His eyes widen mockingly. ‘You don’t have to beg, Ella. You’re a dirty bitch but I’ll fuck you.’

I shake my head to clear it, but it causes a flash of pain to stab at my temples. I’m too confused to be able to comprehend my situation. I look at him pleadingly. ‘Why are you doing this? I haven’t done anything bad to you.’

‘You know,’ he says evenly. ‘You are the most self-absorbed bitch I have ever had the misfortune to meet. I was in love with you, you shameless slut.’

‘What?’ It is like being in the twilight zone. Nothing makes sense. Rob was in love with me!

‘Unbelievable! She didn’t even notice,’ he notes in wonder.

‘How was I to know?’ I cry defensively. ‘You were always rude and cold to me.’

‘If I had not been rude and cold would you have loved me back?’

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I’ll never be able to reason with him. ‘Maybe.’

He walks up to me and viciously kicks me in the stomach. The wind is knocked out of me. I gasp for breath and automatically curl myself protectively, but there are no more blows. I need a strategy. I need to keep him from getting angrier. I need to calm him down.

‘That’s for lying. No more lies.’ He stands over me. ‘Have I made myself clear?’

Unable to speak I nod.

‘You haven’t answered the question.’

I turn my face and look him in the eye. ‘No.’

He explodes with laughter, a bitter sound that rings around the empty flat. ‘I thought so. Too good for me, are you?’

‘No,’ I try to explain. ‘You were my boss. I never even thought about you like that.’

He turns his back to me, his palms clasped over his head, before suddenly swiveling around to face me, grotesquely angry. ‘You didn’t think of me like that,’ he shouts. ‘Do you know that I’ve been taking care of you and protecting you from the moment you appeared for the interview all round-eyed and dewy faced. You were never good enough for the job, too weak and indecisive, but I took you in, taught you everything, and gave you a chance. And what do you do? At the first opportunity you turn your back on me for that stinking gypsy brute.’

He spits on the ground.