He puts his hand on my shoulder and looks in my eyes. “I’m trying to help you. I’m not going to hurt you.”
I stare back at him. “Said the killer before slaying the victim in his secret lair.”
He laughs. “Secret lair?” He points to his house. “Does that look like a secret lair?”
“The secret lair would be inside the house, like a hidden room.”
“There are no hidden rooms,” he says, holding back a smile in an attempt to be serious. “I promise.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll just take my chances and try to make it back.” I go around him, walking slowly and shivering as the breeze blows over my wet skin and clothes.
“Okay, this is stupid,” I hear the guy say as he picks me up from behind.
“Hey! Put me down!” I push on him, but his body is as solid as steel, and his arm muscles don’t even flinch at my attempt to get down.
“If you want to go home, I’ll drive you, but I really think we should go inside and clean you up first. At least your knee. You’re bleeding all over the place.”
He’s right. My knee is covered in blood, along with sand, dirt, and tiny rocks.
“Okay, you can take me inside but I’m calling the cops if you try anything.” I dig in my shorts for my phone. “It’s gone!” I yell. “Put me down! I have to go find it!”
“Too late,” he says as he carries me up the stairs. It’s a long, steep staircase, and he’s not even winded. “If you lost it in the ocean, it’s gone.”
“Give me your phone,” I say, making grabby hands at him.
“Why?”
“So I can call my number and see if my phone’s on the beach.”
“If it was in your pocket, I’m sure it’s gone.”
“I have to know! Please! Just give me your phone.”
We’re on the patio now, and he sets me down on one of the loungers. It’s just like Brock’s with a dark wood frame and light-colored cushions.
“What’s your number?” the guy asks, holding his phone.
I reach for it. “Just give it to me and I’ll do it.”
“Tell me your number or forget it.”
I give it to him, then listen for the ring, but all I hear is the ocean.
“It’s gone,” I say, lying back on the lounger. “My phone is gone.”
“Just get another one.” He puts his phone away, then scoops me up from the lounger.
“I wasn’t ready!” I say, holding on as he carries me to the house.
“Didn’t want you getting blood on the cushions.”
“Why? Are you some kind of neat freak?”
He doesn’t answer as he opens the door and takes me inside to the living room, where I saw him with that girl. At least I thinkit was him. It’s hard to say since I really only saw an outline of him. It could’ve been his dad or a brother.
“Where are we going?” I ask as he carries me down a hall.
“To the bathroom. It’s where I have the first aid stuff.” He smiles at me. “Not a secret lair. I promise.”
