He gathered up the tablecloth and left the room.
I heard him moving in the living room, and then the sound of the fire crackling. He was burning everything. His clothes, the tablecloth, the body. Everything. Even now I could smell the charred scent of what I realized was burning flesh. It would have turned my stomach, but my stomach was already turned.
The kitchen was clean, now. It looked like a normal kitchen. I stared at the place where the body had been. Fifteen minutes ago, there was a person lying there. Now... he was gone. A queasy shiver went through my body.
That would be me. He would take me and use me and cut me to pieces. My breath began to come quickly. Panic attack. No, Kat. Don’t panic. You can’t panic, or else you’ll never be able to fight back. I struggled to relax as the tension clenched my chest tight.
He walked back through the door, completely naked, and looked at me. He frowned. It wasn’t an angry frown. He looked at me like I was an object, not a person. Like I was a bag of trash he’d forgotten to take out.
“Well,” he said. “That’s done. Time to deal with you.”
He stepped forward and I screamed.
I wasn’t about to go without a fight. Sure, I didn’t have any weapons, and this guy seemed strong enough to break my neck with a single twist. But I wasn’t going to let him rape me and kill me without giving him a couple of scratches. I got to my feet, hunched over the radiator for support.
He stepped forward again and I kicked out with my foot. The blow glanced off of his leg and I kicked again, but this time pain shot up my other leg. I gasped in agony, bent halfway over. He cocked his head, looking confused.
“Don’t you touch me,” I said. “Don’t...don’t you hurt me.”
“Why would you think I would hurt you?”
I stared at him, my jaw dropped open.
“I—you—you just killed that guy!”
“Yes? He needed to be killed. And?”
“Well... and...”
I stammered for breath. What was going on here? It was like some sort of crazy nightmare where nothing made sense. The man leaned on the kitchen counter and rubbed his temple with two fingers.
“What exactly are you worried about?” he asked.
“You!”
“Me? What do you think I’m going to do?” He moved forward again quickly, and before I could raise my leg to kick him he’d stepped on my foot, pinning my one good leg down. I raised my fist but he caught it easily and wrenched my arm up over my head. I panted for breath, expecting at any moment a knife to be slashed through my throat.
“Tell me, kitten,” he said, his voice a purr. “What exactly are you worried that I’ll do?”
“Kill me,” I whispered. “Torture me. Rape me.”
“Rape you?” He chuckled. I couldn’t believe it. I’d just watched him stab someone to death, and he was laughing at me for being afraid of him. He truly was insane.
“You’re naked!” I cried out. He stepped back, letting go of me, and looked down.
“True. Well, I had to clean up,” he said. “Would you like me to put on some clothes?”
I stared at him. I had no idea what was going through his head. I was just relieved that he wasn’t planning on raping me.
“No?” He reached over and unlocked the handcuff from the radiator, holding it like a leash. “Well, let’s get you to the basement then.”
Gav
I took her down to the basement, holding her tightly as we walked down the steps. She limped, but I wasn’t going to trust her. She’d kicked out at me before, and playing injured was something every prey animal did.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” I said. “There’s not much here that can be used as a weapon, except maybe the wine bottles.” I nodded over to where my cellar collection stood. “And if you try that, I’ll just bring a gun with me and shoot you. They’re expensive vintages,” I added.
Her head nodded slowly. She stood in the middle of the basement, her arms crossed over her chest, tightly hugging herself. Despite her tear-stained cheeks, she was quite beautiful. It was a shame she’d followed me home. Shame I’d forgotten to change the batteries.
I flicked the light switch.
“The light’s here. I’ll bring a blanket for you. And food, later.”
I went to leave and her voice piped up. It sounded thin in the empty basement.
“What are you going to do with me?” she asked. Her lip quivered.
“I haven’t figured that out quite yet,” I said, and shut the door.
CHAPTER FIVE
Kat
After he left, I scoured the basement for anything I could possibly use to escape. A few empty paint cans were all that lay on the ground near the door. I pissed in one. No way was I asking him if I could use his bathroom. He’d probably want to watch, the creep.