AllFreeNovel
Share Us
24
Lexi woke to find her head thumping and a tight pressure around her neck that swallowing did nothing to assuage.
Something coarse and thin scratched at her face, making her itch, and there was another thing covering both her head and mouth.
Her mind was foggy, as if she’d woken up after several days of sleeping. She felt disoriented and out of sorts. Her dry lips protested at whatever it was that covered them so tightly. Her body was deeply uncomfortable on the hard wooden chair that she sat on.
Why would she fall asleep on a wooden chair and not her bed or even the chaise lounge?
She reached up to examine her neck, but found that she couldn’t move. Her hands were caught on something. She tried to move them again. No… they weren’t caught. They were tied.
Cable-tied to the back of the chair.
She gasped as her tongue felt the fabric that was tied tightly around her mouth, muffling any sound she might make. She came abruptly awake, mind no longer foggy as the cold realization hit like a bucket of ice-water and she found herself remembering everything.
He must have taken her after she’d blacked out!
The itch around her face intensified as panic built. Unable to scratch at it, she shook her head and the thing that was around it fell off.
The wig.
She had forgotten about it, but everything came crashing back now, sending a chill that spread its iciness down her body until she could feel it even in her bare toes.
Focus Lexi!
Where are you?If she could figure out where she was, maybe she’d be able to find a way to escape.
The room was dark with the only light coming from the green display of a cheap digital clock. Pictures were stuck all over the walls, ghost-like faces who appeared just out of focus, yet something about them seemed strangely familiar. A chill pervaded the air of the sort that might come from an outbuilding. Beneath her feet, the floor was concrete.
Possibly a basement?
She blinked, trying to get her eyes to see better in the dim half-light. Focusing on the wall of pictures, she tried to make sense of them, instinctively knowing that they were important to her plight. It took a few seconds, but the features of one finally became clear.
The dimples on the cheeks, the elegant nose that was identical to her famous mom’s…
She drew in a horrified breath.
The faces plastered on the wall were all hers — except they were all crossed out with a thick red marker.
Fear blasted through her chest, leaving her shaken.
This wasn’t just a game or even a normal kidnapping. Her kidnapper was a disturbed individual who held a deep hatred for her.
And she was bound to his every whim.
She had to get away, call for help.
By now, the alarm must have been raised. Her eyes darted to the clock again — almost eight in the evening. Stella would have finished her performance just before seven. The auction was to start right after — and Lexi was supposed to have announced it. So, she hadn’t been missing for more than an hour.
A glimmer of hope sparked inside.
She hadn’t been taken across state lines or even that far from home. Surely they’d be able to find her?
She wasn’t willing to wait.
What could she do to help herself?
Tugging against her restraints, she pulled until her wrists were cut and bleeding, but the cable-ties held firm. She’d only do more damage by continuing to strain against them.
