He gets closer, and I brace, but he just stares down at me, and with a clearer head, I finally get a good look.Poe?He has patches of trimmed facial hair in areas a beard should be, his eyes are green from fake contacts, his hair is dyed black and spiked with so much gel it doesn’t move when he tips his head. “What the hell? Let me go! What are you doing?”
“You’re safe now, angel. You’re safe. I finally got you safe.”
“Is this a joke? I was safe. What did you do to Tara? Where’s my cat? Let me go!”
He squints and slowly turns his head. Tara is lifeless, and he jumps to the door and slams it shut. I see his back move up and down from a breath he takes, then he turns around with an eerie smile. “How are you feeling, Annie?”
“Where’s my cat?”
He tsks me. “She’s safe for now.”
“What did you do to Tara?”
“She hurt you. So she must die.”
I whimper and struggle, “Why?”
“I asked how you’re feeling, Annie.”
“You hurt my cat, kidnapped me, and tied to a bed. How do you think I feel, Poe?” I cough and tug my arms because my instincts make me.
He grins. “That’s not my name. Youdoknow my name, don’t you?”
“It’s Poe.”
“That’s not my name!” he shrieks.
Shit, shit, shit. What is happening?
Think.He’s crazy. I knew something about him was a little bit off, but I never suspected this. What does he want? Why me? What did he bring me here for? Why recreate my old room? I glance at the day on the calendar again and rack my brain…that day is important, but why?
I need to pry some more information out of him, but I have to remain calm when I do. “Of course, I do. We’ve been friends for a long time, right?”
“We have, but since I’m protecting you, we can’t be friends anymore. We have to maintain a professional relationship. Remember what happened last time?” He lifts his shirt, and I wince at the infected wound in his shoulder. “I got shot for you.”
He thinks he’s Ben. No way. No fucking way am I going to call him Ben.
“I took a bullet for you, and you don’t even remember my name, Annie? Or are you going to leave me like you did your ex-boyfriend?”
“What ex-boyfriend?”
“The one who came after you left with the flowers. He was going to corrupt you with his body again, but I know he had the wrong Annie because he said you were Annabell. But that’s not you, right? You’re my Annie?”
What is he talking about? I think hard, and remember Ben telling me about Parker provoking him. Shit! “I am Annie.”
“And who am I?”
He’s still waiting for me to acknowledge that I know him as something else, so I fall back on the training I have for dealing with dementia patients. I feed into his illusion, knowing he’s a psychopath, and I have to do this to survive. “Do you still go by Ben, or do you prefer your full name?”
He narrows his eyes, and I hold my breath. “I’m older now, so I prefer Benjamin.”
His name is Bennett, you fucking lunatic! “Okay, Benjamin.” I’m not sure if I’m only smiling in my mind, but I hope it comes through on my face so he believes I’m buying into his psychosis. “Do you think you can untie me now that I’m awake?”
“Oh, yes, I’m sorry, Annie.” He removes a long knife from a sheath clipped to his belt, and when I see dried blood on it, Ican’t help the whimper that escapes. “I won’t hurt you, Annie. That’s the last thing I want to do. I want to protect you.”
He’s humming what I think is “I Will Always Love You” as he slices through the ropes on my wrists, but unfortunately, he stops there. My ankles are still tied, but at least I can move my arms again. I swallow bile as he puts his hand on my back and helps me sit up. He massages my arms one at a time. I manage to get through it without vomiting and thank him when he’s done. “You’re welcome. Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
I’m the opposite of hungry, but I am parched. While I don’t trust him not to put something in anything I ingest, I have to play along. “I am a little. Can I go to the kitchen to see what we have?”
