Deep (Heavy Hearts Book 2) by Sarah Duncan (reading tree txt) 📕

screaming for help. I’m nearly at her place. Call the cops and ditch school. Meet me there!” I don’t know why I called Ayden and not the cops, but all I know is that I want him here, and I know he will do everything he can to get help to me.

I hang up, cutting him off. The word “No” made it to my ears, though.

I skid to stop in Val’s driveway. There are no cars in sight, but her front door is wide open. I don’t hesitate; I bolt forward, and when I reach the threshold, I hear Val whimpering.

“Val?” I call, and her whimpering gets louder, coming from the back of the house where her kitchen overlooks their backyard and orchard. I move fast, looking around cautiously as I go past a formal living room that doesn’t look like it’s ever been used and a small office that looks like it’s used too much.

The whimpering gets louder as I approach the back of the house. I stop briefly at the bottom of the U-shaped staircase to listen for any sounds upstairs, but it’s silent up there. The only noise is straight ahead.

I don’t wait any longer and bolt into the large space, glancing from a small living area to the grand dining table and the oversized Tasmanian Oak kitchen.

My breath catches, seizing in my lungs when I see my sweet innocent twelve-year-old neighbour tied to a chair in only a pair of knickers.

“No.” The whisper escapes, finally letting air in, and I lurch forward towards Val. She is crying, her voice muffled by a gag tied around her head and shoved in her mouth.

“Shit Val. It’s okay. I’m here.” I cry, reaching to pull the gag free in her mouth.

Her eyes widening over my shoulder is the only warning I get before my head is ripped back by my hair, and I’m thrust into the corner of the island bench. I hear myself scream, and my vision wavers before I fall into darkness briefly. Once the moment passes, I try to focus on who is in the room.

“You fucking little whore. Did you really think you could get away from me?”

“Mike.” The whisper falls from my mouth, and my half-brother smiles like he’s proud. He’s looking a bit worse for wear. Scratches that look like they were caused by fingernails run down his left cheek, and a bite mark is bleeding badly on his arm.

Good girl, Val!

“You and I have unfinished business, little sis, and this time, no one is coming to save you!”

That’s what he thinks. How dumb does he think I am? I mean, yes, I’m stupid enough to not call the cops and wait for them instead of storming in here. I never claimed I was perfect!

“Let her go!” I demand as if I have bargaining power. I know I don’t, not with Mike, but I need time. Time to keep Val alive and drag this out so the cops can get Mike. I can do this. For Val. For me.

The sickening laugh that haunts my dreams fills the room, and I let him see my cringe. I hate this motherfucker!

“Oh no, little Valarie here is going to watch what I do to you, so she knows what’s to come, and then you will swap places and watch me break her in.”

“Fuck you!” I scream and launch myself off the floor at Mike like I’m a crazed, bloodthirsty monkey. I clamp my knees to his waist and shove my hands into his hair, fisting them tight and pulling hard as I throw my head back and then slam it forward to head butt him.

It sounds good, right? Head-butting someone. I’ve seen it on the badass movies, and while it manages to render him useless briefly, it has the same fucking effect on me.

I see stars, and my grip on him falters, sending me to the floor while he stumbles back into Val, knocking her chair over. The sickening crunch of her head hitting the hard tiled floor echoes in the room and brings me back to the present.

Mike is holding his head, trying to shake free the stars he’s obviously seeing, but I can’t focus on him because my eyes are locked on Val’s unconscious face and the blood pooling from the back of her head where it impacted on the floor.

No! Val!

I scramble across the floor to get to her, but a choking hand wraps around my throat from behind, and I’m pulled up against Mike’s body.

“Look what you’ve gone and done. Now the little snitch can’t watch what’s going to come her way.” Mike’s vile breath hits the side of my face before he drags his tongue up my cheek, just like he did last time in my bedroom.

As much as I want Valarie to be okay, part of me hopes that if I’m not able to get us out of this situation before Mike gets to her, that she dies, so she doesn’t have to experience what Mike is promising.

Mike’s grip on my neck tightens, “Time to play Ali.”

I struggle to get air in as Mike uses his free hand and slips it up my hoodie, grabbing my breast and squeezing so tight that I cry out, pain shooting through the sensitive flesh. I kick out my legs as I try to pry his hand loose from my neck. When that fails, I reach back and do what Val did. I use my nails and try to scratch his face and neck.

I succeed in getting him to loosen his grip, and the moment I’m free, I use my new punching skills and aim for his nuts, giving him the dick punch I’ve dreamed of doing for weeks now. I move quickly out of the way as he tumbles to the ground, and I launch myself towards the other bench where the knife block is.

Just as I’ve slipped one free, which is disappointingly very small, Mike’s heavy weight slams into me from behind,