“There is nothing you can do or say that would make me give up my friends. I’d rather die,” I vowed.
He moved so fast, I didn’t notice the danger until it was pressed against my throat. The blade in his fingers dug into my exposed neck at the same time he spun me around in some kind of head lock. I felt the tip pierce my exposed flesh, nicking it. Droplets of blood began to trickle down my throat. “Well that can be arranged.”
My upper lip broke out into a cold sweat as I fought to stay conscious. Plain sliced through me. It might have only been a tiny gash, but in my present state of fear, it felt like he had cut a major artery.
This was it. My life flashed before my eyes, which was like déjà vu. Snapshots of all the faces I loved played through my head. My mom. Lexi. Travis. Chase.
I half-laughed, half-choked. “I wouldn’t hold your breath.”
He backed away, a hint of surprise in his evil green eyes. “I’ll give you some time to think it over.”
“When Chase finds me, he is going to tear you to shreds,” I spat, fueled by anger and fear.
A glint of anticipation lit in his green eyes. “I look forward to it.”
I snorted. “Go to hell.”
He tsked his tongue “You first.” And then the door slammed in my face with the force of a typhoon.
His departure left me itchy and antsy. This place was getting under my skin, and my face-to-face with Dr. Evil left an acidic taste in my mouth. I needed a release for all this emotion turning inside. I was going to explode.
For all the good it did me, I screamed bloody murder, releasing a buildup of frustration, anger, distress, and hopelessness. It was just a brutal reminder that my voice was hoarse, and my throat felt like I’d had a run in with a weed whacker. Discouraged beyond belief, tears stung the back of my eyes, and I raged with hatred for that man.
He was going to pay.
Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday he was going to get what was coming to him. Karma was supposed to be a bitch after all.
With nothing else to do, I laid back down on the cold metal bed. Curled in a ball with watery eyes, my muscles screamed in agony. I listened to the silence, dead air buzzing in my head. Letting myself relax after being wound so tight, everything, everywhere hurt. But it wasn’t just the physical aches, I hurt inside as well.
Fiddling with my bracelet around my wrist, I thought of Chase. His voice filtered through my thoughts, and I pictured his blazing silver eyes. His lopsided stupid grin. His annoying pierced brow.
Minutes turned to hours. Hours into days.
And he never returned. But his wife did, delivering food.
Honestly, I didn’t know if I’d been holed up in this prison for a day or for a month. I spent most of the time flip-flopping between being angry that Chase hadn’t come for me yet and being relieved that he hadn’t found me.
I also was getting weaker by the hour. The giant hole in my chest grew and grew. Just thinking of him made the pain tighten. Knowing Chase, he was probably ridden with guilt. His anger levels would be extremely dangerous, and he would soon be uncontrollable.
As much as I was worried about my own situation, I was even more concerned about him. I thought about home and how right now I longed for a hot shower. My own bed.
Those were my last thoughts as I dozed off into some form of unconsciousness.
Half-asleep, half-zombie I heard the sounds of scraping of metal on concrete but in my present state, it took longer to register that someone had opened the door. My name whispered through the darkness in a voice that turned my stomach.
Emma dared show her face.
I pried my eyes open, rubbing the sleepy goop from them, praying that I was having a nightmare within a nightmare. It was hard to tell at first whether my eyes were open or not, distinguishing between the darkness of the room and sleep became increasingly difficult.
“Angel!” the pesky voice called again more forceful.
“Go away,” I groaned.
“Dammit Angel, we don’t have time for this,” she snapped impatiently.
Damn. That was very real. Very Emma.
And what the heck was her deal? All I had was time. “What are you doing here?” I mumbled somewhat inaudible, sounding like I was drunk. I figured she was here to gloat. Searching the black room, I found her bright green eyes flashing at me in annoyance.
And I thought here it comes. A tiny smirk lifted at the corner of her peachy lips. “What does it look like? I’m saving your sorry ass.”
Chapter 23
Excuse me. What?
I bolted from the bed to my feet so fast my head swirled in circles. Probably not the best move when I was feeling like utter crapola. “Why?” I asked genuinely confused. She had done nothing but try to kill me since she’d set foot back into town.