“Wakey wakey, sunshine,” John Mullens waves his fingers at me as Jodi shuffles to the side with the empty bucket.
I blink the water out of my eyes and try to wipe it when I realize that my hands are bound to the chair I am sitting on. I struggle, but the ropes only tighten.
John laughs. “Don’t fret, sunshine. They will only dig deeper into your skin the moreyou try to get out of them.”
My eyes take stock of myself, my heart pounding. At least my clothes are in place.
Calming myself, I scan my surroundings. The place looks like an empty construction site, which means it might not be too far from the city. And the dark outside indicates it hasn’t been too late either.
I concoct a plan to escape. Begging him won’t do shit. I could appeal to Jodi, but I think it would hardly make a difference.
A slight movement of my leg makes my eyes widen. My phone’s still in my pocket. These idiots didn’t think to get rid of it, lucky for me.
Ezra might find me if my phone is still transmitting my location. I have to believe it is, or I might not survive this.
“Cat got your tongue?” John walks over to me and grabs my hair, tilting my head up. My face scrunches in pain, but I don’t let a sound escape. He will not get the satisfaction of hurting me.
“Oh, this bitch is acting strong,” he mocks me. “You looking at that, Jodi?” he turns to Jodi, and she nods, the bucket now on the floor beside her.
“Let’s teach her a lesson, shall we?”
I remember what he means by fucking lesson.Stall.
I need to stall him and buy some time for Ezra to reach me. He will find me.
I know he will.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask.
He chuckles, the sound hollow. “Why am I doing this?” He steps back and paces the concrete floor as I heave a quiet sigh of relief. “I’m doing this because you ruined my life!” He claims, pulling at his gray hair.
“You had me disgraced and fired from my job. For months, I tried to find a new job, but no one would hire me. I begged them, but no response, only cruel rejection.”
He stops pacing and glares at me. “And then you had the audacity to file a restraining order against me?” My heart jumps to my throat as he comes closer. “Oh, yeah, sunshine, I heard about all you and your boyfriend did,” he whispers.
“You live a life of fucking luxury with that player boyfriend of yours while I struggle to make ends meet? All because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut,” he hisses.
I don’t see the slap coming until it stings my cheeks and has my face jerking to the side.
Jodi covers her gasp as John laughs. Tears linemy eyes as I grit my teeth. “Not so strong now, are you, sunshine?”
“Fuck you,” I spit at his face.
His eyes harden, and his lips set in a straight line. “Let’s get this over with,” he says with a clenched jaw, pulling a gun from his back.
Fuck! He truly is going to kill me.
I need more time. Damnit, Ezra, where are you!?
Frantic, I look around for something when my eyes fall on Jodi. “What did you do to Jodi? Why is she here?” He must have blackmailed her or something to get her to his bidding.
John throws his head back and laughs maniacally. Confused, I look between the two of them, waiting for one of them to explain.
“Oh, sunshine…tsk tsk tsk.” He shakes his head. “You’re not as lovable as you think.”
“What do you mean?” I look at Jodi and repeat, “What does he mean, Jodi?”
“This is gonna be good. I’ll start it for you,” John says, pressing a hand to his chest. “I was at the arena one day, stalking you, trying to scare you, you know, the usual.” He waves the gun in the air like it’s a fucking toy.
