Then everything folded in on itself.
When I came to, the air felt damp. I could smell the mildew. Something cold pressed against my cheek. My arms were numb and tingling. They felt cramped, and my legs were so heavy. I blinked, my blurry vision slowly focusing. I saw the concrete walls and a dim, flickering light overhead. A glance down showed the zip ties cutting into my wrists.
But the scariest thing was the figure leaning against the door, arms crossed, watching me come back to consciousness with a half-smile.
Trell.
His birthmark caught the light first, that dark splash of skin curling over his eyelid and cheek. His eyes were too calm, too pleased.
“Took you long enough,” he teased softly. “Your boyfriend’s been looking real hard for me. Thought I’d make it easier.”
My breath hitched. Oh, my God. She had done it. She had really done it. Gillian had delivered me to him. She had lied about her own son being in a hospital bed and handed me over like nothing. Like I wasnothing. Suddenly, fury outweighed my fear.
Trell’s smile widened.
“Smile now, mothafucka. Mekhi is going tokillyou. I hope it’s slow,” I taunted.
His smile dimmed. Good. It should. He needed to be worried. I had no doubt that Mekhi would come for me. I just prayed he didn’t lose himself trying to save me.
“You watch your mouth, pretty girl, or I’ll make you watch him die. And I’ll make sure it’s slow,” he shot back.
My heart pounded, fear threatening to overwhelm me at that thought.Get it together, Farrah!I couldn’t help Mekhi or myself if I was a wailing mess. And then it occurred to me.
I was training for shit like this. I needed to use what I was learning to buy myself time, to calm Trell, if I could. I took a deep breath, ran through the steps of what I needed to do in a situation like this. I’d learned a lot in Dr. Williams’s analysis class.
Assess danger.
Identify motive.
Stall.
Control your affect.
Never escalate before you understand your captor’s threshold.
I straightened my spine, ignoring the pain. “So,” I said, keeping my voice steadier than my heartbeat, “this is your idea of a first date? You gotta do better.”
His grin widened. “You funny. Does Mekhi like that?”
He walked closer, and I forced myself not to flinch. His eyes were just… wrong. I could tell that despite his calm appearance, something was going on in there, something off, evil… wrong.
He leaned toward me. I wanted to scream.Think, girl!Okay. I knew what this was about. He wanted a reaction. I didn’t give one. Controlling my affect.
He reached out, tracing a finger down my cheek—light, almost gentle. The contact made my stomach turn, but I didn't move away.
“Why me?” I asked.
He raised an eyebrow. “Why not you?”
I smiled, despite the shakiness I was feeling. “That’s not an answer.”
He chuckled under his breath. “You really tryna profile me right now?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. The smirk told me I’d hit the right note; he liked the attention, liked being analyzed. People like Trell often did. It made them feel special.
“You got pretty eyes,” he said. “Pretty and smart. I see why he keeps you around.”
“Keep?” I repeated lightly. “Damn. You talk like I’m a piece of furniture.”
