“Slow and steady,” she told herself.
She retrieved the knife and edged over to the workshop, then dropped down underneath one of the windows. She listened for sounds but heard no voices, just movement. Her hand tightened around the box cutter’s plastic handle.
“Don’t be seen. Don’t be seen,” she said and slid up the side of the building to peer inside.
Her breath caught in her throat at the sight. She clamped a hand over her mouth to keep the scream rising in her chest from escaping.
Holli hung from a hook in the ceiling, like a side of beef. Like Zo?, she was naked, but leather cuffs bound her wrists instead of cable ties. Zo? saw no obvious signs of mutilation, but blood and dirt streaked Holli’s body from head to toe. Her head hung down, her long brown hair obscuring her face. She was so very still. The total absence of movement frightened Zo? more than anything else.
The man who’d inflicted this abomination on her friend, on them both, busied himself with his work. He stood with his back to Zo? as he picked over a workbench. He was blond, tall, and broad shouldered. Beyond that, she couldn’t tell what he looked like. The dirty windows and the drug dulling her system reduced him to a smudge when he moved. He picked up something small from the table and crossed the room to Holli.
He held the object up to Holli’s nose, then snapped it. Holli recoiled from it, causing her to swing back and forth. He held her hips to steady her.
Holli was alive. Fresh tears rolled down Zo?’s face.
“No, no, please, not again.” He backhanded her. The strike was so intense that Zo? flinched from the slap as much as Holli did. The blow had its desired effect on Holli—it silenced her.
“Are you sorry for what you did, Holli?” he asked her.
“Yes.” She spat out the word before he had a chance to finish asking his question.
“I’m not sure I believe you.”
“Yes, yes, yes, I’m sorry. Please let me go. I won’t tell anyone,” Holli said before she broke into a sob.
Zo? felt her friend’s despair. It was all so hopeless. So unfair. She didn’t deserve this. Neither of them did.
Zo? palmed away a tear. She couldn’t let Holli’s despair infect her. She couldn’t save them if she didn’t believe she could do this.
She watched their abductor. She looked for a vulnerability that she could exploit. He seemed relaxed. No one was about to drop by or overhear, which wasn’t surprising, considering the location. He wasn’t working against a clock. He had the air of someone with all the time in the world. He thought he was invincible. He had left her in an unlocked shed with tools, after all. That made him either dumb or arrogant. Two sides of the same coin, she thought.
Her plan was simple—surprise. He wasn’t expecting an attack. She could rush in, stab him, and leave him to bleed out on the floor while she got Holli down.
All her bravado disappeared in a second when he returned to his workbench. A whip sat on the bench. It was the real thing, not a sex toy. It was a tool. A weapon.
What had made her think she could take this guy? He was bigger than her, stronger than her, and not doped into submission. What skills did she possess? None. And this son of a bitch was an unknown quantity. He could be a martial-arts master or military trained for all she knew. He’d captured Holli and her without much effort, hadn’t he?
What was her plan? To charge in there and knife him before he could fight back? That was crazy. She couldn’t run ten feet before falling on her face. Even if she surprised him, he could take her down with the whip. If she went in there, she wouldn’t be saving Holli, she’d be getting both of them killed.
She looked over at her car. That was the better weapon. Jump in the car, find cops, and let them storm the place. Going for help would save them both and would send this bastard to jail. That was the smart plan.
But for whom? For both of them or just for her?
Zo? peered inside again. Holli was in bad shape. Zo? knew leaving her friend was a risk. It might be too late for her already, but she didn’t think so. Holli was bleeding, but none of it looked serious. If Zo? slipped away unnoticed, then she could do something.
Zo? stopped trying to convince herself and sagged, exhausted from the strain of the situation. They were screwed. No decision was the right one. Whatever she chose could turn out bad for them. The only thing she knew for sure was if she went in that room, they’d both die.
Then Holli’s glassy-eyed gaze fell on Zo?. Her eyes widened, and the daze left them. Zo? thought she saw hope in her friend’s face. Holli saw a rescue, while Zo? saw a suicide mission.
Zo? shook her head.