Kill Switch by Penelope Douglas

there with you?” he asked.
I knitted my brow, taken off guard by the tone. Almost
sincere.
I pushed my confusion away, though, and thought fast.
Jerking my head back into him twice, I finally felt it hit his
face, and I didn’t waste a moment once his hold loosened. It
was only a second, but I planted my foot on the wall and
pushed against it, making him lose his footing and sending
him falling backward. He took me with him, but it was enough
to loosen his grip on me, and I scrambled away, across the
floor.
My parents had a landline in their bedroom and bathroom.
I could lock myself in and still have plenty of time to grab for
some kind of a weapon. Hell, I could break the mirror for the
shards if I needed to.
I scurried up the stairs and down the hall to my parents’
room. My legs felt like rubber, my lungs hurt for air, and my
hair stuck to my face and body, a light layer of sweat cooling
my skin.
I threw open their double doors and raced for the bedside
table, hitting my leg on the bed frame as I rushed past.
“Shit,” I grunted, pain shooting through my shin. I
fumbled for the phone, found it, and gripped the receiver.
But just then, he was at my back. A sob lodged in my
throat as he wrapped his arm around my stomach, lifted me up,
and yanked the phone out of my hand.
I breathed hard, my head falling back on his shoulder as he
carried me away. My limbs were exhausted, and the fear had
drained me. Everything felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
He stopped, leaning against what I thought was the wall
next to the closet, and I used what strength I had left to
alternate between pushing at his arms around me, trying to get
him off, and batting for his head behind me, barely able to hit
much while facing the wrong way.
But then he took one of my hands, clutching my fingers
tight, and held it steady, even as I continued to pull and tug at