I knew exactly where I was. And why I was here.
The Dawson’s farmhouse where Anderson had been held hostage for over twenty years was now the place where I would die. Somewhat ironic, really. As if haunted by some paranormal presence, I could feel the weeping soul of Judd Asher around me, as if the walls held the echoes of that boy’s cries and the floor was a sponge that had soaked up his many tears. My blood now mixed with his, and the infrequent beat of my heart played in perfect symmetry with a ghost’s.
The music paused and I tensed in the shackles. His footsteps grew louder, and if I’d had the energy, I would have lifted my head and glared at him when his cold chuckle chilled what little air was in the room. The hairs on my arms snapped tightly and my already dry throat swelled, making it difficult to breathe.
“Good morning, Samantha.”
I couldn’t give him a reaction. I was too far into the recesses of my mind to even contemplate answering him. It was warm in my head; a sunny place where bluebells swayed in the soft breeze. My father stood before me, his arms outstretched and his wide grin welcoming me into his heart. Although I’d never met him, never learned anything about him apart from the lies my mother told me, I knew in my heart that he was dead. I knew without a doubt that the only person who could have ever loved me had been taken away before he even had a chance to whisper his words of love in my tiny ear.
“Samantha,” my father whispered. “I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”
I smiled. Death was now so close, so real. And I begged for it. I pleaded with my heart to stop, to take the break it so longed for, for it to give in and grant both me and my dad the time we never had the chance for.
“Samantha!” Terry’s voice broke through my pleas and my mind struggled on which to concentrate. Life or death. The choice was easy, but accepting it was harder than just letting go.
Pain struck my cheek and I finally opened my eyes. I couldn’t see. I had been in the dark for so long that my irises screamed in pain as a blinding light broke through the darkness.
Squeezing my eyes closed once again, the darkness a welcome relief, another voice brought my consciousness slamming to the front.
“What the fuck have you done?”
“Anderson?” His name was slurred and quiet as it left me and I knew he hadn’t heard me. But Terry had.
“I brought you a little gift, Princess.”
There was a scuffle, and then Terry’s vicious sneer. “Careful, Judd. A simple exchange. Her for you. Keeping promises is something I would have thought you’d abide by. Seems I was wrong.”
“I always promised to kill you,” Anderson spat. I wanted my eyes to work. I wanted to see his face, see the raging storm in the depths of his eyes, the only thing that could calm the raging storm in the core of me. But blindness still crucified me.
“And yet here we are,” Terry taunted. “If you want to free her then you’ll do as I asked, Judd.”
Silence descended but it was thick with fury and tension, both men refusing to back down. I wanted to tell Anderson to run, to go, but I sensed something holding him back, something I wasn’t aware of binding him to the room with me.
The silence broke as chains and metal clanged, each piercing sound hurting my sensitive ears. I fought to block out the volume after nothing but muted music and Terry’s voice for so long but then my ears pricked with every spoken word and my head became confused.
“You have what you want,” Anderson spoke. “Now let her go.”
There was a loud laugh, one that I knew came from Terry; I wouldn’t ever forget the sound of that.
I tried to shake my head. I knew what was happening. Anderson had put himself back in the very same chains that had held him for so long, just for my freedom. He said he hadn’t loved me. How wrong he had been about that too.
“You seriously think it’s that easy, son? That easy to forget?”
“Forget?” Anderson scoffed. “I’ll never fucking forget what you did.”
I was fighting with the light to see but it was hopeless. There were no blurred edges, no foggy outlines for me to concentrate on. My eyesight had gone. Whether it was due to shock, damage to my eyes with Terry’s cruel persistent hits, or due to the fact that the blackness around me had seeped into my vision as well as my soul I couldn’t say, but I knew I would never see again.
“Good, I was hoping you wouldn’t,” Terry sneered. “Some things are always worth a memory.”
Although I couldn’t see, I could feel every fibre of Anderson. I could feel when his eyes moved to me, when the beat of his heart stuttered, when the slight hitch in his breathing occurred, and when the feel of chains on his skin fractured him over and over. I was so in tune with this man that I physically felt his hand slip into mine and his comforting words float into my head.
“It’s okay, little wolf,” he whispered in my head. “It’s going to be okay. I promise. Trust me.”