"Five!"

"Wait, what? No, you cannot do a countdown."

"Four!"

"Stop it." This could not be happening. Her time was being taken away from her. There was no way she could think past the panic. It was all happening too fast.

"Three!"

"Xavier, please, stop this. I know you're angry with me. I do." The entire town was, but this wasn't the answer. It couldn't be. There's no way she could allow this to be all she had to—

"Two!"

"No, wait longer, please. You have to see you're wrong about so many things. So very wrong. Please, Xavier. You have to see reason."

"I like hearing you say please. Believe me, you'll be begging for a lot more by the time I finish with you." The fingers that had caressed her so gently found their way to her throat, and he wrapped his hand around her neck, applying gentle pressure. He didn't cut off the air supply, but the possibility was there. He was fully in control, and she was powerless to do a thing.

"One!"

There wasn't time. She couldn't let him make such a life-changing choice.

"Yes!" She yelled the word. The moment she did, she wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole.

This could not be happening.

But with each passing second, there was no denying exactly what was occurring. Xavier was going to utilize her. One of the men from her past had used her for Xavier. Everything she had with Pennywise wasn't real. She had wondered what had happened to him. He traveled a lot for work. At least that's what he said. After having sex with him, they went out a few months before he broke up with her, and that was the end of everything. The end of them.

"Yes?" Xavier replied. He tightened her neck again before finally easing up and letting her breathe.

"Yes, I'll do anything you want me to do. Just don't release them. Please, kill them."

"There is that little word again. It means so much to so many individuals. Please. You never said it to me before," he said to her. "I rather enjoy hearing you say it now." He took a step back from her and eyed her up and down.

She was wearing jeans and a shirt, but the way Xavier was gazing at her, she might as well have been naked. Exposed for his pleasure.

"Strip!"

"What?"

If you think I'm going to allow you to return home, when I have knowledge that you had plans to leave town, you have another think coming. You're here. You're mine, and I'm not going to release you. Now fucking strip."

"Xavier, please."

"That word again. It was nice, but now, until I'm in the mood to hear it, it's gone."

"Gone?"

"You're not allowed to say it or you will be punished.".

"I don't know what twisted kind of revenge you desire—"

His hand was once more at her throat. "Let's make one thing clear here, sweetheart. You're not the one in charge here. I am. I give the orders, and what I order now, is for you to take off your clothes and do as you're told."

She looked toward Stephen. The other man stood by the door, looking as if this was a regular nighttime activity for him. It wasn’t something she was used to on a Monday night.

“Don’t look to him for help. In fact, don’t look to anyone for help. The sheriff won’t come for you. No one in this town will, and the first person who does, I’ll kill them.”

Is that what you are now, a killer?"

"I'm a lot of things. I've had to be in order to live. Maybe someday you'll have a chance to see some of my new facets. Now, enough talk. Strip."

He stepped away from her.

She covered the region of her neck. He'd held her a little too hard. It had been teetering on the edge of pain, but now she was free. Would his marks be upon her in the morning, or disappear?

Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she removed her shoes. She hadn't paid much attention to the best kind of running shoes. These were slip-ons, and at the first sign of danger, they wouldn't do. Not to run in, at least. Then she didn't know what to do. Her jeans or her shirt? Either one would leave her underwear visible to his eyes.

Come on, hurry up. I am not interested in waiting all day for you to decide what is necessary." He tapped his watch.

It did not matter which one she removed first. They were both coming off anyway. She began with her jeans, unsnapping the button and trying to ignore both men in the room, looking at her. Were they looking at her? She wasn't in the habit of undressing in front of anyone, and here she was doing exactly that in front of two men. Her last lovers, she'd known for a time and always assumed her time with them would be lifelong. Relationships had always been important to her. She had tried to move forward from what had been done to her, but the men in her life hadn't remained. Nothing had worked.

Again, they were thoughts she did not need or require. This was of her own making.

She pushed hair behind her ear, playing with the hem of her shirt.

"Time's getting away here."

She pulled the shirt over her head, throwing it to the floor.

Hoping he wouldn't ask her to get completely naked, she stood before him. She wore underwear that saw better days. She wasn't made of money, and she only purchased new underwear when absolutely necessary. It hadn't been the situation at the last mall trip.

"Nice try. All of it."

"Why have you become this person?" she asked.

Being falsely accused of something and having your reputation ruined will do that to you, oh, and getting sent to jail."

"How? What were you charged with that's causing you to take this out on me?