Leaving the curtain in place as much as possible, she found the lock and clicked it over then yanked at the ancient window. Splintered wood scraped against her fingers and the house groaned with the effort it took for her to get the glass to budge a fraction of an inch.
The muscles in her arm screamed from the strain, but she kept trying.
Exhausted, she dropped her arms. A tiny breeze whistled inside the crack, but it wasn’t even wide enough to fit a finger let alone her whole body.
She blew out a long breath, steeled her nerves, and went back to work. More groaning and creaking as the window moved little by little.
The sound of footsteps made her heart gallop. The opening still wasn’t big enough. Her brain screamed to keep trying, but logic told her if her captor found her attempting an escape, it wouldn’t end well. She tore herself away from the window and reclaimed her spot on the mattress. If she closed her eyes and pretended to still be passed out, maybe he’d leave her alone.
Curling into a ball, she evened her breathing and let her eyes drift shut.
The door squeaked open. Footsteps grew closer. The energy in the room shifted, and dread coated her skin.
A hard slap across her face made her body snap to attention, her arm instinctively covering her cheek to ward off another attack.
“You think you’re so smart, don’t you?” He spat out the question. “I could hear your footsteps downstairs. I know you’re awake.”
Her eyes squeaked open, but her body stayed still. She stared up at him and willed her mind to remember his face. Maybe if she could place him then she could figure out how to talk herself out of this mess.
Or at least buy more time until Cody found her.
Cody.
Her entire body ached with longing at the thought of him. She had so much faith in him, so much trust. How could she have made him believe she didn’t? She had to get out ofhere alive because she had to make things right with him. She couldn’t die letting him think she didn’t love him.
Then there was Ollie.
Tears stung her eyes.
No. She couldn’t go there. If she let her mind wander to her beautiful son, she’d fall apart.
“There she is,” the man said. “Welcome back. I hit you a little too hard. Bet your head hurts like a bitch.”
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
“Because you need to be taught a lesson. You took away the last fifteen years of my life. You ruined me, then went on like nothing happened. Didn’t even realize how much damage you caused. All because you couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut.” His temper rose with each word until his shouting rang in her ears.
Fifteen years? What the hell happened fifteen years ago that resulted in this man trying to kill her?
“I was seventeen years old at that time. Just a kid trying to figure out the world after my mom died. I never hurt anyone.”
“You hurt me.” His arm shot down like a striking snake and he grabbed a fistful of hair, yanking her to her feet.
Her head screamed and a cry broke through her lips. “Please. Please stop.”
He twisted her strands in his hand and brought his face inches from hers. “And now I’m going to hurt you. Nice and slow. I’ve waited so long for this—thought about it every damn day while I rotted away in that jailcell.”
If she hadn’t already emptied her stomach, she’d have thrown up. But she couldn’t crumble. Couldn’t just let him do whatever he wanted while she cried and begged for mercy.
Adrenaline pushed through her blood and blocked out all the pain. She had too much to fight for. She would not be a victim.She lifted her hand and jabbed her fingers into the man’s eyes, pushing as hard as she could until he released her hair.
“You bitch!” He took a step back, dropped his gaze to the ground and shielded his eyes with his hands.
She jabbed an elbow to his nose, forcing his head back up as blood quirted from his nostrils. Taking a step forward, she jammed her foot down on his then rocketed her knee into his crotch.
Groaning, he fell to the ground.
She sprinted toward the door and found herself in a narrow hallway with stairs at the end. She ran toward the staircase and leapt down the steps. The stairs spilled into a bare living room, but the sight of the brown walls and spindled railing stirred a memory.
