I drive north a few towns till I reach a tiny village on the outskirts. I find an old truck, hotwire it and drag my stuff out, loading it into the passenger's foot well and stuffing Jacob in the back. I head east and do the same before heading back towards home. I pull up at the safe house in the middle of nowhere and drive into the garage, locking it down and slipping out of the car. I take a deep breath before heading around to grab Jacob.
He's shaking when I open the back door to drag him out. “Hey, let’s get you inside and untied, okay?” He nods but doesn’t say anything.
I slip through the house without turning on the lights and push into the spare room next to the living room. I push Jacob so he’s sat on the bed.
“Give me a second. I need to get something to untie you.”
He nods again and doesn’t say anything. I bend down in front of him and attach the cuff around his neck. He flinches and tries to pull away, but he’s secured now. I can’t have him escaping before I have a chance to explain. And if anyone found him, it would be game over for us both. I cut the bind and jump back out of reach as his hands fly to the blindfold, yanking it down, and he shoves back onto the bed, looking terrified. When hesees me, he relaxes slightly and clearly does not see me as a threat.
“I’ll let you get cleaned up, okay?” I nod to the door. “Bathroom’s through there.”
“Why are you doing this.”
I step towards him, but he flinches back. “I’m doing this to protect you.”
“Why do I need protecting? I’ve never… I haven’t…”
“Get cleaned up, and we’ll talk. I’ll get you some clothes and leave them on the bed.” I turn and walk away. I need to give him some space. It’s not looking good that I’ve rescued him from some thugs only to lock him up again, but I can’t risk him getting loose and someone seeing him. This house is made to look derelict from the outside, but it’s safe, and we have safety measures in place.
I set the alarm and flick the cameras on so I’ll know if anyone approaches within a one-mile radius. I grab Jacob some sweats with a zip-up hoodie for ease from the cupboard. They’re nothing special, but that’s all we have here, and I head to the kitchen to make dinner. We have pasta and sauce, and I grab the freeze-dried bacon to give it a little extra something. I grab some water and head back into the bedroom with his food. I place it on the end of the bed, but he stays as far away from me as he can.
“What do you want from me?”
“I just want to protect you, Jacob.”
“Protect me? Why? For what? Will you let me go?”
“Eventually, when it's safe.”
“If you’re protecting me, why am I chained up?”
“Because we need to learn to trust each other, Jacob, we’re all each other has in the world right now. And unless we learn to trust each other, we’re both dead.”
“I trust you!” He spits out. “You can let me go. I won’t tell anyone.” He drops his gaze. “Please, I just want to go home.”
“That’s no longer an option, Jacob.”
I turn and leave the room because, in reality, if he doesn’t want to trust me, I can’t make him, and I haven’t given him much choice. I know I didn’t behave correctly. I know I handled this thing questionably at best, and Xav helped me see that. We had a plan we were going to implicate to get Jacob and me together, but it wasn’t meant to be like this. How is he going to fall for a murderer turned kidnapper? I sigh. It is what it is.Maybe, if I can sleep…
I hear him tugging at the chains for hours. I lay on my back in the bedroom above him, and I’m alone. I can’t sleep without Xav. I’ve lost everything. I don’t even know if I’ll ever see him again. I stare at the ceiling for hours, and I must finally doze off, but I am startled awake. I’ve only been out an hour at most, but I shower and pad downstairs to the kitchen. At least I have coffee.
Jacob
Chapter XXVI
I don’t know what the hell is happening. I’ve woke up thinking I had a bad dream, only to be chained by the neck to the wall, in a house somewhere that’s not mine, by a woman I’ve never met, who seems to know my name and is deluded enough to think she’s saving me. I can hear her moving about, so I stay silent, hoping she won’t come back in. I need to get out of here. I need to escape and get her to trust me so I can get off this leash. I just don’t have the energy to start right now. I’m exhausted. I tossed and turned all night, only getting a few hours of sleep. I just need to gather myself.
The door cracks open, making me jump and scurry up the bed. She steps further into the room and holds out a tray.
“I brought you breakfast.”
She smiles, but it looks wrong on her face, like she doesn’t know how to do it properly or she’s trying toohard. I frown and stay back, not taking my eyes off her. She places the tray on the bed and returns to the door.
When she goes to leave, I gasp out. “Wait…” She turns to face me but doesn’t say anything. “What’s your name?”
“Erm… Vic.”
“Vic…” Fuck, fuck, fuck. I paste a slight smile on my face while I freak the fuck out internally. Vic as in V, the stalker. “Erm… thank you.” She nods and walks away, clicking the door shut, and the whoosh of breath that flies out leaves my head spinning. I feel lightheaded and nauseous. My hands tingle, and my eyes water.
