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Nora felt all the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She wished, more than ever, that there was something she could do to free herself from this maniac. Maybe there was still a way. Maybe she just needed to be craftier.
"Listen to me, and listen good," Paul practically spat in a low voice. "You're gonna behave yourself in there." He pointed toward the building toward which they were heading. "One word to anyone - anyone - and the only way anyone is gonna be able to identify you is by your dental records."
The brunette cringed, flinching at his cruel, horrid words. She wondered, really wondered if he were really capable of murder. For some reason, she kind of doubted it. He was certainly capable of tormenting a person, but murder? Then again, she recalled that he'd tried to kill Adam years earlier, when Stephanie's father had hired him to do so. Not for the first time, she couldn't believe she had ever been in a relationship with this man. It seemed so buried in her past, and he had always been a jerk... What had she ever seen in him she'd found redeemable in the least?
Levesque parked the car in the medium-sized lot and unbuckled his seatbelt. He shot Nora a warning look.
"Consider yourself lucky I'm doing this for you."
She glared at him but said nothing. She couldn't say anything, anyway, since she was currently gagged. The bastard did that as well as bind her wrists and ankles every time they went driving. It was just her dumb luck that he'd gotten a car with heavily-tinted windows.
Paul smirked as he reached over at her, untying the bounds that constricted her. If only there were some way he could keep the gag on her... Then again, she barely spoke to him at all.
Once she was free, the man exited the car, limping around to the other side as she got out. He wouldn't hesitate to do something they'd both regret if she tried to run or scream, or do something else that was stupid.
Nora couldn't fix her facial features so that they appeared neutral. She knew she had to try, or else she would feel his wrath later on. She was no good at faking her emotions.
A thought suddenly struck her as he grasped her upper arm as they started for the building just ahead. Yes... An idea was shaping in her mind, and again, she knew it was a chance she had no choice but to take. She suddenly cried out a little as Paul squeezed her arm enough to hurt her.
"What do you want?" she moaned.
He gave her an especially hard look, the already deep frown lines in his brow even more pronounced.
"Just remember what I said - no funny business." He smirked again, leaning down closer to her ear to whisper into it. "You do anything stupid and I might just kill your little husband."
The brunette shuddered and blinked back the tears she felt coming. Stop it! she told herself. She couldn't afford to cry at the moment, as they were coming upon the hospital's entrance.
She wondered if anyone would recognize them. She was still a professional wrestler who appeared on TV at least every other week. Paul had been one, and a main eventer at that. Surely someone would recognize them... And, in spite of the threat he had just given her, that was just another reason why she was going to have to risk telling someone - a doctor, a nurse, a patient - anyone - about her plight. She knew she would get help if she asked for it.
They entered the building, his grip still tight on Nora's arm as they wended over to the front desk.
A woman looked up at them and didn't even react. The brunette supposed that, in her line of work, the nurse was used to seeing patients with bruised faces.
"Yeah, hello," Paul said in his normal, gruff tone. "My girlfriend here might have a broken nose." He made a face and shrugged. "She walked into a door in the middle of the night."
The woman's expression stayed neutral as she stared at him silently for a beat. Then, she turned to Nora.
"Okay, Miss... We need you to fill out this form, and we'll admit you to the E.R." She handed her a clipboard with said form attached.
Although the brunette reached for it, Paul snatched the clipboard before she could get it. She gave him a look and was on the verge of protesting as the nurse told them to take a seat in the waiting room.
"What are you doing?" Nora asked in a whisper.
"What do you think I'm doing?" he snapped back. "We can't have you filling this out with your real information." He glanced around like a thief, making sure that no one overheard him.
She shot him a look. There was no way she was going to take part in some insurance fraud scam! She was the victim here, so she would be damned if he forced her to become a criminal!
"I'm not giving them false information," she whispered.
"No, I guess you're not," the burly man agreed. "Allow me." He offered her another smirk as they took a couple of seats in the room. He snatched a pen from his pocket and opened it, instantly beginning to write. Naturally, being a fugitive, he had a fake I.D. He might not have had one for Nora, but he did have a whole persona in mind for her. He grew annoyed as she snuck a peek at what he was writing.
"'Stephanie Dumas?'" she whispered, one brow arched as she stared at him. He truly was sick... He'd given her a combination of two of her friends' names.
"Shut up," Levesque ordered her between clenched teeth. He glanced around, satisfied that nobody was paying them
any heed. He continued with the form.