Readers: Sorry I had to fix her age in Chapter 19 she is still 16 years old!

Chapter 20

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Katrina? Open the door." Taker demanded about a half hour later.

I was still laying on my bed wiping my wet eyes and sniffling. My door handle shook violently as Taker twisted it, trying to get the door to open. I knew he would eventually kick it open and once again break my lock, so I sat up and called out to him.

"Go away!" I yelled.

"Excuse me?" he snapped. "Girl you better open this damn door before I-"

"-Before you what? Kick it open? Break it down? Go ahead Taker, it's not going to faze me." I snapped back.

A moment of silence came after my outburst and his footsteps shortly after. I listened as he walked to the steps and went down them. Strange…he never gave into my outburst before. I sniffled again before getting up to fix my make-up. Taker hated it when I had sloppy make-up and ruffled hair….unless he had something to do with it. Unfortunately for him we were far from that point. The only thing I let him do nowadays was hold my hand.

As I was fixing my face, I heard three motorbikes come to life just outside. I ran to my window and saw Brock, Hunter, and Jeff leaving with Taker standing in the yard watching them. His arms were folded over his chest signaling to me that he was very upset with them. I guess we weren't going anywhere that night….

"Katrina! You've got about three seconds to get your ass down here now!" he yelled.

I balled up my fist and marched to the door, opening it up without hesitation. I walked to the top of the steps and stood there with my arms folded over my chest. He was standing at the bottom of the steps with his hands on his hips and an evil glare on his face.

"What." I asked.

He raised an eyebrow at me and then tightened his jaw. "Come here."

"No." I said almost in a whisper.

He cracked his neck, "I'm only going to ask you one more time….come….here."

As much as I wanted to argue with him I knew what my consequences would be. I slowly made my way down the steps keeping my eyes on his. When I got close enough, he gently took my hand and pulled me to the living room. Just as we reached the large black sofa, I pulled my hand from him making him turn around to face me.

"Is it true?" I asked. "Was my uncle really seeing Sara?"

He folded his arms, "Yes it's true."

I shook my head as more tears started to form, "Lies…you'll tell me anything to make me trust you more."

"I could care less if you trust me or not Katrina. What matters is that I'm getting my revenge on your precious uncle by having you here. And soon we'll seal the deal when I put a ring on your finger."

"NO! I refuse to marry a piece of shit like you!"

"Watch your mouth." He said firmly.

I chuckled, "No! I'm tired of you saying I'm going to be your wife but you treat me like a child. I'm 16 years old Taker! I'm too young to be your wife!"

He laughed, "My thoughts exactly."

"What do you mean?" I asked as he stepped closer to me.

"You're too young to handle a life like this…and way too young to be my wife." He said. "I guess that means…there is no reason to keep you alive any longer."

I gasped and turned around to run, but he grabbed the back of my hair and tossed me into the wall. I hit my head hard enough to put a dent in the wall and slide down on the ground.

"Your uncle knew a lot more about me than he let on Katrina. I admit…I was planning on killing her and him together…but then I spotted you." He said as he walked up to me and kicked me in my side. I laid there writhing in pain as he knelt down on his knee and stared at me.

"I thought…what better way to break this punk than to torment his precious niece he loves so much." He said.

I looked up at him with tears in my eyes. "W-why? Why hurt me still? He thinks I'm dead now!"

"Oh you thought I wasn't going to punish you for trying to make a pass at Brock earlier?" he asked.

"What!" I screamed, "Taker I would never-"

"Don't you fucking lie to me!" he screamed as he grabbed my hair and pulled me up until I was face to face with him. "My men wouldn't lie to me about women! Sara was a cheating whore and Brock was right about that! So what makes you think he would lie to me about you hm?"

"Taker I begged him to stay away from me unless you were around I swear!" I cried as I fought to get out of his grip.

He shook his head, "We'll see."

I screamed as he stood up and dragged me towards the basement door. The last time I was put in the basement he had left me there for an entire day, shrouded in darkness. It was so cold and strangely quiet…an environment that could make any sane person go crazy.

"No! Taker please don't! I won't do it again I swear!" I cried as we got closer and closer to the door.

"I won't do it again I swear!" he mocked. "Yeah well I'm going to make sure of that sweetness believe me!"

When he released me for a moment to open the door, I turned over and tried to crawl away from him, but he grabbed my leg and pulled me back. I yelled for help but forgot that the guys had been sent away. I turned over on my back out of desperation and kicked him in the chest. The kick was hard enough to knock him down the steps of the basement. Surprised by that, I got up and slammed the door shut and locked it. This was it…I had to get away from him as fast as possible.

I ran towards the front door as he started pounding on the basement door. I wasted absolutely no time dashing out the front door, barefoot and in a mini skirt and a tank top. I ran down the dirt driveway, running as fast as I could to the road. I knew I had to hurry and get as far away from his house as possible. It would only take him a few minutes to get out of that basement and he would probably send out a signal for the guys to come find me. Instead of running on the road, I ran across it and into the woods. Lucky for me there was enough sunlight out for me to see where I was going.

I wasn't sure how long I was running but I soon came to a cliff that dropped off into a deep river. I looked back over my shoulder before making a jump for it. As soon as I landed in the river, I floated on my back and let the river carry me to the next city. I had to get out of the river a few times to warm up before I could continue. Lord knows I couldn't afford to get hypothermia. It was about a thirty minute trip to Lake Jackson but I made it there no less. When I got there, I saw a few ferries getting ready to depart. I swam over to one of them and yelled for the guard to help me. He blew his whistle and yelled that there was a girl overboard. More men showed up to help me out of the icy cold water making me feel safe.

"Where does this boat go?" I asked.

"Tampa Bay, Florida. We're leaving here in a few minutes." The guard said. "Do you have a ticket?"

"I did…but it's in the water somewhere." I said before beginning to cry. "Please don't make me get off the boat."

"Oh no sweetie, we're going to keep you somewhere so you can rest." He said as he directed me to one of the rooms below deck. He wrapped me in blankets and placed my feet in a bucket of warm water before going to find me new clothes. For once in the past month and a half I was safe…away from Taker.