I can't believe he caught me again. I should have gone in the other direction. Or maybe hidden. Or maybe tried to call someone. Dammit.
"Where are you taking me?" I demand, trying to sound tough.
"Shut up. I don't want to hear another word from your lying little mouth," he snaps.
Bardil reinforces his silence by keeping his eyes dead set on the road ahead. I have no idea where we are or where we're going. It's dark outside, and I can't see anything except empty space. Huffing loudly, I sit back in the chair, pouting and sulking.
My feet kick against something on the floor, and I lean forward to see what it is.
Snacks.
Well. He can give me the silent treatment all he likes. I don't even care. But at least I have snacks.
I pull the packet onto my lap and search around in it, waiting for him to grab it away from me or something, but he carries on ignoring me instead.
He got the purple chocolate. And a pie. And popcorn.There are a few other snacks in the packet, which is what I assume he chose for himself.
I bite my lip, stealing a quick glance at him. Should I offer him something?
Jeepers, he's sexy. Even when he looks angry enough to shoot laser beams out of his eyes.
I decide not to offer him anything.
Over the forty minutes we drive in horrible silence. I finish all my snacks and eventually fall asleep, only waking up when the engine turns off, and he growls at me to open my eyes.
"Are we here?" I murmur sleepily.
He's already pulling my door open, reaching in, and grabbing my arm. He tugs me roughly from my seat.
"Hey, stop being such a bully!" I snap.
Bardil ignores me and pulls me toward a wooden cabin. The perimeter of the cabin is lit by elegant lights on tall poles. My heart sinks when I look around. There is nothing but trees and more trees.
"Are we in a forest?" I blurt out, confused.
"Everglades National Park. It's dangerous out here, little rabbit. There are things that will kill you in the blink of an eye. I suggest you don't try running again," he says, pushing me into the open cabin door.
I'm calling it a cabin because it's made from wood and looks very cabin-like from the outside. But on the inside, it's beautiful and modern and has tall windows that in the daytime must let in a stream of bright light. It looks like the type of place you'd find in a luxury holiday brochure.
"Are we at a holiday resort?" I ask, hopeful because that means there will be other people around. Bardil slams the door closed, making me jump in fright.
He scoffs. "No, Nikita. We are at my private cabin, deep in the woods, far, far away from civilization."
I roll my eyes. He's so dramatic. He's probably saying that just to scare me. There's probably a little shop and a restaurant a mile or two down the road.
"Whatever," I huff. "You should let me go now before things start getting out of hand."
"You want me to let you go?" he scoffs.
He grabs my arm and pulls me to face him. My eyes dart to the knife in his hand. Fear shoots through me like lightning and I try to tug my arm away, but his grip is tight. Bardil savors my fear for a moment before he lifts my wrists and slips the blade over the duct tape binding my hands together.
Anger spikes through me when he releases me with a dark smile on his face.
"You're such anasshole," I snap.
"Yeah? Well, your whole family is a bunch of assholes, so you should be fine hanging out with me for a while," he snarls.
"You don't get to talk about my family like that. Not after what you did," I blurt out, defensively. He can kidnap me. He can be a dickhead to me. But he shouldn't dare talk badly about my family in front of me.
