“Oh, now you want to talk,” she brushed at her hair, her chin tilted up like she was some kind of aristocrat. “Well, unfortunately, I no longer feel in the sharing mood.”
“Wait, you can’t just keep me here like this,” I wriggled in the chair, trying in vain to untangle my wrists from the thick rope. “Tell me why I’m here.”
“Darling, you will find out at the right time. I have weekend plans and a trip I can’t avoid. We’ll be moving you to a morecomfortablelocation,” she glanced around in distaste and I got the impression it was more about her dislike than my comfort.
With that, she headed for the door, her stiletto heels clicking on the concrete floor. Then she said something that made me question her motives again.
“See no harm comes to her, I do not want to hear about anyone in a room with her, but you.”
Mace’s shoulders tightened but he nodded as she stepped out without another word. I couldn’t understand how dad had got it so wrong about Danica. Why did he think she was dead? And why would she slap me, tell me that she is responsible for all the shit that has gone down? Then ask this stranger, a member of the club causing all the trouble, to ensure no one hurts me.
How long is she planning on keeping me before she decides to tell me what is going on? Everyone would be out looking for me. I had no clue where I was, or if they even knew how I had been taken off the compound. I couldn’t rely on anyone else to get me out of here but myself. How could I do that tied up without the ability to even speak to my captor?
My God damn mother.
Mace had started to follow her out.
“Wait!” I shouted. He paused halfway through the door and looked at me. “You can’t leave me tied up like this,” I said, fear welling up again.
I couldn’t be left here completely helpless. If I’m untied, I can at least try to figure out how to get out of this, but he just stared at me, then stepped out and shut the door. He didn’t slam it, the infuriating bastard. But the snap of the lock clicking into place was loud and clear.
I choked back a sob. I didn’t know what happened to Connor, or if he was okay. Had he sounded the alarm, let my dad and the othersknow? Did Rosa come back and help him? Now I knew Lily, thatbitch, created some sort of diversion to get Rosa out of the house.
The more I speculated, the harder my nose burned with the attempts to stop myself from crying. I wouldn’t show any weakness to them. I was glad Danica left pissed off. Fuck her, it didn’t matter what she said, nothing would make me believe the woman who disappeared from my life when I was a baby. No excuse was ever going to make me forgive or believe her bullshit.
I let my mind wander as I sat there, wriggling my wrists trying to get some slack between the rope and the wooden sides of the chair. Warren didn’t tell Connor how bad Declan was when they got to the hospital. All I knew was he was there, and he was safe from the Kingsmen.
We thought they wouldn’t be able to trick us again, but no one could have predicted Lily and Omen were working on the inside. Why had they waited so long to show their hand. Shit, Lily was a good actress. She completely changed the moment she injected that needle into my neck. She was definitely no church going, God fearing Christian woman.
I spent what felt like an hour working on the ropes. The back spindles on the chair had started to give some. My nails were fucked up and painful and the slickness I was using to my advantage was definitely blood. I wouldn’t think about that. Itwashelping but my shoulders were screaming at the odd angle and the rope was burning and tearing at my skin.
My mind kept going back to Hudson. He was hurt, that much was obvious but he went after Declan for me. Would he have done that if he hated me? I definitely didn’t hate him, not anymore. I was shocked when my wrist slipped upwards. The rope was around the base on my thumb, it had slipped over, and I was able to start lifting my arm to get it out of the rope. My shoulder spasmed and cramped as I tried to lift, and something in my neck pinched, making me cry out in pain.
“Deep breath,” I grimaced to myself. It’ll pass and then I can pull my hand out. It wasn’t much but it was a small victory.
The door opened and I was too surprised at how quietly he had appeared, to actually be able to swing my arm around and do anything. Mace came towards me with another syringe.
“Don’t,” I pleaded, my feet scrambling against the concrete floor as I willed my muscles to work and bring my arm round to fend him off.
“Sorry.”
He didn’t sound in the least bit sorry, but he didn’t ram the needle in like Lily had, although you couldn’t really say drugging anyone with a hypodermic needle was gentle. Still, it only pinched this time, rather than feeling as if I’d been stabbed. I stared at him as my eyes began to droop. He had one hand on my arm, stopping me from slumping sideways. I couldn’t be sure, but I think he may have repeated his apology, this time with more sincerity.
My mouth was dry, and my stomach cramped with hunger when I woke up for the second time in captivity. At least this time my hands weren’t tied, and I was lying on a bed.
Slowly I raised myself up to a sitting position and looked around, my head pounding and that lingering feeling of nausea made me squeeze my eyes shut for a second. I was in a bedroom, the overhead light was on, but the bulb must have been low watt because it was fairly dim in here, which I was grateful for right now.
I swung my legs over the side of the single bed, which was pushed up against the wall. My feet touched plush carpet and I frowned. How had I gone from a dingy basement to this? It was a small room and sparsely furnished, just the bed with a single pillow and duvet. There was a table pushed against the wall at the end of the bed, which was where a dresser or wardrobe would normally be.
A TV with a remote control in front of it was the only thing on the table besides a bottle of water and a sealed sandwich. The water called to me, but I wasn’t sure about the food. Although it was all sealed. I assumed it was Mace who brought them in and it scared me he was in here while I was unconscious. I’d come back to the food later, even though my stomach was growling at the thought of eating.
I walked to the door, grabbed the handle and twisted but it didn’t budge. I thought about banging on it, but why alert them I was awake? The window was another bust because it was boarded up, on the outside. I couldn’t see even a sliver of light, so I had no idea what time of day it was. I tried to lift the sash anyway but it was nailed shut. I poked at the nails but they were so embedded in the wood, I would never be able to pullthem out.
I walked around the room, testing the rotation in my wrists, which were still sore but I had good mobility, although the rope burns were stinging. Any blood that had been there was cleaned up. I frowned and stared around the room again. As I looked up into the corner of the ceiling over the door, I saw a small white box with a blinking light. I walked closer, peering into the dark corner.
“Motherfucker,” I whispered. It was a camera. They were watching. I raised my middle finger. I didn’t know if the camera was being watched but it made me feel better anyway.
I was getting really thirsty, my mouth so dry, from the drugging as much as not having had a drink for hours. I grabbed the water bottle and snapped the seal as it opened, so much for being cautious, I downed the whole thing in one go. It barely sated my thirst, and I kept eyeing the sandwich.
