It had been three days since Riley was abducted, and he'd come every day, multiple times a day, and every time, she refused to talk to him. She hadn't responded to any of the dozens of texts he'd sent her either.
Three long days that he'd been fighting the cravings.
"How is she doing?"
"Honestly, I don't know. She says she's fine, but she hardly comes out of her room. Emily did manage to convince her to sit with her under the maple tree yesterday. They were out there for two hours."
"Can you help me understand what she's going through?" He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. "I want to be supportive, and I can be patient. I don't know how to help her, though, especially when she won't even talk to me."
"I wish I had answers for you. Being drugged and abducted are plenty traumatic and knowing what that man intended to do to her..." Faith's eyes filled with tears that she quickly blinked away. "Thenthere's the physical fight she went through to escape and the fear that she might die in that cabin. All of that is too much for one person, but I think what bothers her is that this man has obsessed over her since she was a teenager and she had no idea."
Faith shifted in her seat as though getting more comfortable. "His family didn't spend as much time at the lake as ours did, but he admitted to Robert on Friday night that he's had a thing for Riley since she was fourteen and he was seventeen. She doesn't remember him very well, because not only was he a scrawny kid and his hair much lighter back then but he was also a socially-awkward, only-child. She, Paige, and Damon didn't like hanging out with him, because he always threatened to tell on them if they didn’t play the games he wanted to play. I can't help but wonder if he's been harboring resentment over being rejected by Riley for over a decade."
Daniel recalled Riley telling him that Ainsworth was all the nurses' favorite pharmaceutical rep because he was so charming. He must have learned some social skills at some point. And once he discovered Riley working at a clinic his company sold to, he turned on the charm as part of an elaborate plan to win her over.
"Robert also told us that Collin intended to keep Riley a hostage at the cabin with him for as long as possible. If she cooperated..." She made air quotes as she continued, her voice heavy with disgust. "They'd have a great life together. He hoped to persuade her to leave the country with him."
"And if she refused?" Dread filled Daniel's gut at realizing how twisted this man was.
Faith frowned. "Collin admitted to having a lethal dose of horse tranquilizer that he planned to give her before dumping her body in the lake and fleeing the country, if necessary."
Daniel sat back in his seat as a powerful wave of nausea swept over him. He knew the man was sick and demented, but he assumed his motives were passion driven, not carefully calculated and psychotic.
"Sickening, isn't it?"
"I'll say." He scrubbed his hands over his face. "So how do I help Riley?"
"Be patient. I wonder if the reason she's pulling away from you is because all of this actually ties back to her childhood in which you played such a big part, and she's having a hard time separating it all."
It wasn't the answer Daniel wanted to hear, but it made sense.
A door opened down the hall, and Daniel bolted to his feet.
Riley stopped in her tracks when she saw him standing there. "What are you still doing here?"
"I came to see you." He swiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. "I thought you might like to go for a walk."
She retreated a step, wrapping her arms around herself, and shook her head.
"I could drive you out to the ranch to ride Misty."
"No thanks."
Unwilling to give up yet, he pulled the new pocket knife he'd bought for her that afternoon from his pocket. "Would you like to go out back and whittle?"
Riley shuddered and shook her head so vigorously he feared she'd snap a vertebra.
"Please leave."
"Come on, Pockets," He hoped the use of his nickname for her would help soften her—or ground her, as she put it—but then belatedly remembered when she frowned that much of what she was dealing with was tied to the past.
"I don’t want to be around you right now. Why can’t you understand that?" A heavy and deadly serious tone filled her voice.
In all the years he and Riley had spent together, he'd never heard her use that tone. Exasperation and frustration, sure. Annoyance and even anger. But this... This was...contempt? Disgust?
Whatever it was, it was aimed directly at him. This was personal.
Daniel spun on the heel of his boot and walked out the door. Riley had ripped his heart to shreds once. He wouldn't stay here and let her do it all over again.
