The Psychopath's Prisoner

Chapter 49

She snapped back to attention and saw the gun pointed to her head. She looked up at him. His face was bruised and bleeding. He was angry and ready to shoot.

"Get up," he shouted. She hesitated and he repeated, "GET UP!" He snatched her by the arm, yanked her up in a fit of rage and threw her against the wall so hard she felt it dislocate her shoulder.

Cheyenne howled. "If you're going to kill me, do it. Get it over with. I'm sick of you, sick of looking at you and playing your warped games."

He glanced at the empty recliner. "Where is he?"

"I don't know and if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

He hit her with the butt of the gun and she dropped like a hammer hitting a nail. She lay there pretending to be unconscious hoping he would go away. He stood over her and aimed the gun at her head. When she heard the click, Cheyenne leaned up and bit his leg. He screamed. She shot up and knocked the gun out of his hand, grabbing it. Tears were streaming down her face and her hands were trembling. She wasn't sure if she would be able to fire the gun if he moved to attack her.

He stood there holding his leg. A twitch at the edge of his lips curled into a mean smile. "You're definitely a tricky, yet brave one." He paused. "Or stupid. You really should think before you do things like this."

"Shut up. For once, just shut up." She couldn't hide the trembling of her voice. "You picked the wrong one to mess with."

"If that's true, why don't you shoot me then? Get it over with, Cheyenne." He started to move toward her and she took a step back. "Come on. Don't be a chicken. Do it. Come on, Cheyenne. Do it! Come on! Do it! Do it! Shoot me!"

Cheyenne shook her head. "No. You're not worth it. I'm not like you. I'm not a murderer. Nor am I psychotic. You think you can just take anything or anyone you want, but you can't. What you believe we have isn't real. I feel nothing toward you. Nothing. No love. No respect. No fear. No anger or hatred. Nothing." She could see his expression change. Fearing what he might do next, she took another step back.

"What are you going to do with that if not shoot me? Huh?" He lunged at her, causing her to drop the gun. A skirmish ensued before he overpowered her. He had his hands around the throat, squeezing. There was no room for her to kick him. His legs pinned her down. Her hands were on his arms trying to pull him off of her, but he was too strong to fight and she passed out. Her eyes closed as she saw a shadow come up behind Eric.

~

Cheyenne saw light, but her sight was blurry. She struggled to regain focus. Familiar voices. She was confused. Where was she? What happened? Her vision cleared and she saw Raina and a nurse talking.

"But she will be okay, right?"

"Yes. She'll be all right, but she will need time to heal."

"When can I take her home?"

"My guess is within a day or two, but I'll have to ask the doctor to be sure. Anything else?"

Raina smiled wearily. "No. Not at the moment. Thanks." The nurse walked out and Raina quickly wiped her tears away when she realized Cheyenne was awake. "Oh Chey!" she said, making an attempt to hold the tears back.

"Michael called the police and knocked Daniel... Eric... whoever he was, out. Then he passed out."

"Michael?" she asked and attempted to sit up.

Raina rushed to her side. "No Chey. Just lie there. You need to rest."

"But Michael... where... how is he?" Cheyenne stammered. "Is he okay?" The look on Raina's face revealed too much. "Oh no!"

"No, no, no." Raina grabbed Cheyenne's hand and squeezed. "No, honey. He's not dead, but he is in ICU, in critical condition due to a massive amount of blood loss."

"Is he going to be all right?" Cheyenne's voice a mere whisper.

"I don't know, Chey. I don't know. The police have Eric in custody. He's been charged with murder, kidnapping, and rape. The police were ecstatic that they finally caught him. Detective Lawrence, especially."

"Poor Michael. It was so hard to find him like that. So hard, Rain. He is such a good man. I love him. If he..." Cheyenne burst into tears and began to fear the worst. Please God. Please don't let him die. I love him.

Raina was quiet. "How's your arm?"

She sniffled. "It's okay, but Michael has it worse. I'm less worried about myself than I am about him. I need to see him. How's Mrs. Warner?"

"She's not handling it so well."

"Poor woman. She probably blames me. Though I can't blame her if she does. It's my fault entirely. I should've never moved in with him. Michael would never have gotten hurt."

"Sweetie, it's not your fault. I'm sure she doesn't blame you," Raina encouraged as she stroke Cheyenne's hair.

Cheyenne sighed and closed her eyes. "Yeah. Well. If I were her, I would."

"Chey, she doesn't." Raina's face held a somber expression. "She's angry with Daniel or Eric, whatever his name is, but we're glad they caught him. In fact, we both are."

"I don't know, Rain. I just don't know. I'm so scared for Michael." Cheyenne sobbed, making the bed shake.

"Oh, honey. I know, but you have to think positive. He'll be okay once they get more blood in him. He's going to be fine."

"I put him in here," Cheyenne wailed.

"No, Cheyenne, you didn't." They looked over to see Mrs. Warner walk in. "I can't and won't blame you for this. It was that psychopath's fault. How are you feeling, my dear?"

"Mrs. Warner. I'm so sorry. I should never have been with him. He should never have gotten involved in my problems. No one should have."

Mrs. Warner gently patted Cheyenne's hand. "Don't worry, my dear, he's going to be all right. He'll be in ICU for a little while getting blood transfusions and his wounds monitored."

"I tried to protect him. I tried." Cheyenne became hysterical. "Nurse! Nurse!" Raina called out.

The nurse came in quickly with a sedative and a needle, injecting Cheyenne. Within minutes, Cheyenne mumbled, "I'm sorry," before blacking out.