“Anton, don’t move.”His eyes were filled with tears, but he was still as a statue.Good boy.Harper hurried toward the open doors of the dented brown van and got inside, throwing Anton’s backpack ahead of her.
She spun her legs around, and peered back into the alley in time to see Nathan shove Anton to the ground.He landed on his shoulder, his head hitting the concrete with a thud.Nathan marched the few footsteps to the van.Get up, Anton.Move.Anton started to sit slowly.He was okay.
The rear doors to the van slammed shut.She had moments before Nathan would climb into the driver’s seat.Think, think.If she screamed, he might turn back and kill Anton.Cooperating with Nathan was the best way to ensure Anton was safe.She ripped open Anton’s backpack and riffled through it, finding the phone Frankie had asked her to text on when she’d collected Anton.She started to dial 911, but the door opened and slammed shut.Nathan got in alone.She stuffed the phone down her bra.Her loose workout hoodie would hide the shape.
Nathan climbed between the seats, knife in one hand, tape in the other.
“What did you do with Anton?”she hissed.
He put the point of the blade to her throat.“Don’t make me hurt you, Taylor.Put your arms behind your back.”She winced as he wrapped the tape tightly around her hands, trying to flex her fingers to keep the circulation going.
“Where’s Anton?Please tell me you didn’t kill him.”She eyed the knife he laid down on the seat next to him as he climbed back into the front seat.The blade was clean except for the tiny bit of blood on the tip.Nathan rocked on the seat, cursing in a whisper before turning the key in the ignition.The old van spluttered and vibrated to life.
“Sit up here near me and don’t move,” he shouted, adjusting the rearview mirror until she could see herself in it.He was incredibly agitated, a fresh high.
Harper shuffled across the floor until she sat behind the passenger seat, positioning herself so that she could see a little out of windshield.“Nathan, you know this isn’t going to end well.Please, just let me go.We can figure this out.”
“Figure it out?”he spat.“Figure it the fuck out!Are you kidding me?There’s nothing to figure out, Taylor.You’ll always be mine.I told you that.Believe me now?”A staccato burst of laughter burst through the van.
“Now shut up.You scream and this gets worse.How you behave determines whether this goes quick or slow.So you remember that before you start trying to outsmart me, bitch.”
Harper scanned the inside of the van, hoping for something she could use, but it was so dark.If she jumped on him now, without the use of her arms, they’d likely both be killed or he’d grab the knife.
A leather jacket and silver helmet were tossed in the corner.The bike.Of course.It had been Nathan on the bike that was so similar to the designs he and Reid used to work on.He must have kept one of the ones he made.He’d biked to find her.
Nathan steered jerkily away from the curb, and Harper lurched violently.Unable to use her hands to stop herself, she had no way of stopping her head from banging against the metal wall of the van.Her vision blurred upon impact.
Harper squinted to help focus on the road ahead of her.It was crucial that she know where she was being taken.Buildings went past too fast in the dark, but she was relieved to make out Allison Park on their right.They were definitely heading north.Where could he be taking her?Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them back fiercely.They would not help her get out of this.She needed to focus, come up with a plan to get away from Nathan, and then alert the police.If she didn’t, well, she couldn’t afford to dwell on that option.
The Canyon Ranch Hotel, with its unique wraparound of white stone and wavy river of dark glass, went by.At a red light, Harper eyed the rear doors.
“Locked.”She looked toward Nathan, who was studying her in the rearview mirror.He sounded almost regretful.“Why did you have to make this so hard, Tay?I just wanted us to be together.”
Harper estimated fifteen minutes had gone by when the van suddenly pulled to a stop and Nathan exited.
When the rear doors were yanked open, Harper saw they were parked next to the skeleton of what had once been a classic hotel or apartment building.Its windows were boarded over, and a wire fence with Caution signs rattled in the cool breeze.
Nathan dragged her roughly from the van.Her foot hit the ground at an awkward angle sending a shooting pain up her leg.
He pushed her through a gap in the fence.“Let’s go,” he whispered fiercely, pushing the tip of the knife into her back.“Don’t make me have to use this sooner than I intend to.”
The knife cut into her skin and Harper gasped, the pain intense.“Mmm, I like a little fear these days, Tay.The way you fought me those years ago—huge turn-on.”The thought sickened her.He was trying to scare her, and it was working.Her heartbeat raced at the horrifying familiarity of him behind her, knife in hand.Dizziness overtaking her as she gulped down breaths.Trembling, she starting counting to ten, focused on her breathing.Focus was the only thing that could save her.
The point of the blade left her back, but the fingers digging into her shoulder directed her around the back of the property.Dusk had shifted to night, and there was little light from the street.As they moved through the overgrown landscaping toward an empty pool, the grounds were even darker.Nathan shoved Harper into a small outbuilding, causing her to fall forward.Without her hands free, she fell face-first into the torn and faded blue linoleum.A sharp pain rushed up her cheekbone as the side of her face made contact with hard floor.
A hand grabbed the back of her hoodie, and she was dragged along the litter-strewn floor before being turned and propped up against a cold, gray, cinder block wall.
She was in a deserted poolside bar that was backed with speckled mirrors and empty, corroding optics.Broken light fixtures and wires hung from the ceiling, swaying in perpetual motion.
Nathan was breathing heavily, pacing back and forth.“Why did you do it, Taylor?”he whispered.
Harper remained silent, shaking her head to clear the aftershock of hitting the ground.She took the time to review her surroundings.She heard Frankie’s voice in her head, loud and clear.You have to know you are worth defending.
“I rotted away in that place for four years, and you were prepared to let me stay there for another four.”Spit collected at the corners of his mouth as he ranted at her.His sunken eyes, ringed with black circles, centered on her.
“Fuck, what to do, what to do,” he mumbled as he paced the length of the room, running his hand through his short hair over and over.If she didn’t figure something out soon, he was going to kill her.This wasn’t about some sick, messed-up reunion.This was about revenge, pure and simple, and the thought terrified her.
“Nathan, this isn’t you.It’s the drugs talking.You can get help.”
