More chopping. Each slice cut through her, and she had to force herself not to jump each time.
“You were wearing a small blue skirt, white T-shirt, and girly flats,” he said.
Small skirt? She blinked. Nothing came to mind. “What’s your favorite color?” she asked, trying to listen for any other sounds. Nothing but the wind and an occasional rattle of ice against the windows.
“Red. The color of your stunning hair.”
Nausea rolled through her stomach. “Favorite television show? Video game? Movie?”
Something slammed down on a counter. “If you would’ve been true to me, you’d know the answers to those questions.”
True to him? “Sorry,” she said, tears filling her eyes again. “I just wanted to talk about something, and being blindfolded is confusing.”
“Why are you making me doubt you?” he yelled.
She cringed. Her mind spun so quickly she could barely catch a thought. “I told you to come get me, remember?” That had to make some sort of difference.
He remained silent for a few moments. “That’s true. You did.” Now he sounded thoughtful.
“We haven’t really talked in a while. You know that.” She pressed her advantage. “I likeThe Big Bang Theoryon television. Sheldon is hilarious.” She cleared her throat, her stomach cramping so badly she wanted to bend at the waist. “I don’t have a favorite video game, but I love the X-Men movies.”
“Those are fun to watch,” he admitted.
Was there any chance the FBI had a clue where she was? If Heath had survived, he and his brothers would be looking for her. She just knew it. Her only goal, her only chance, was to stay alive until either they found her or she could make a break for it. Loretta was a trained agent, and she hadn’t escaped. Anya had to use her one advantage. “I thought you’d come for me earlier than you did.”
“I wanted to play the game for a while. It’s fun to build the anticipation.” His voice was almost familiar as it lost the hoarseness. How much gas had he taken in? Apparently not enough to make much of a difference.
She cleared her throat again. The guy wanted to impress her. She could use that. “How did you find the safe-house apartments tonight?”
“I piggybacked the GPS tracker on your phone initially,” he said conversationally. “I saw Carl Sparks with you at the funeral in DC, and I quickly learned everything about him. It was easy from there.”
Who was at the funeral? She went through everyone she could remember. “Did you, ah, kill Carl?”
“Of course.”
Adrenaline flooded her system, making sitting still difficult. “Why?” she croaked.
“I had reasons. For one, he was in the way. Two, it’ll come in handy.”
What did that mean? Poor Carl. Sure, he made a lot of mistakes. But he didn’t deserve to die like that. “Did I know you were at the funeral?” She brushed aside thoughts about Carl and her sister’s funeral and tried to focus.
“I think you’ve always known where I am. You feel me, right? Always with you?” he asked.
She faltered. Though lying would be a mistake, the truth might get her stabbed. “I don’t think I’m as intuitive as you are.” Probably true. “I like to study and learn, which is why I went into psychology. But that’s statistics and knowledge . . . not instinct.”
“What do your instincts say?” He was back at her ear, his voice a low drone now.
That there was no way to keep up with his fantasy. She coughed out, “I’m foggy from the gas. Kind of confused.”
“I’m sorry.” His sigh was regretful. “Also, I guess I should say I’m sorry I killed your sister. That was wrong of me.”
The words sliced right into her. Her body jerked as if she’d been hit. Her stomach cramped hard. “Loretta was a good person. I loved her.”
“Until I started our game, you only talked to her periodically—maybe once a month,” he said, his breath brushing her face. “Only saw each other once a year.”
Anya jolted. “That’s true.” How long had he been watching her?
“So I brought you back together—got you close again. You owe me,” he said.
