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There has to be something I can do.
I pace, then pace more.
And then… then… there’s a movement. Out of the corner of my eye.
I turn, and there is someone outside my window. Hunched down, but I still see them. Gasping, I cross the room and peer out, and Roger is peering back at me.
Pax’s driver.
His eyes are wide.
I’m sure mine are too.
“Are you ok?” he mouths. I shake my head no.
He nods in confirmation.
“What are you doing?”
Natasha’s voice comes from the doorway. I turn quickly, trying to block Roger.
“Staring outside. It’s all I can do. You’ve taken everything else.”
She smiles, and brings in a sandwich along with a bottle of water. “That’s true, isn’t it?” she agrees. “You only have what we give you at this point.”
My phone is in her pocket. I see the corner of it sticking out. I try to ponder a way to get it, but with Roger right outside, I don’t take the chance.
I sit on the bed so that her attention is on me, rather than the window.
“When are you going to let me go?” I ask her.
“Not until after I’m long gone,” she says pleasantly. I get the feeling she’s determined to not lose her cool with me again.
“What about my husband?”
She levels her gaze at me, and it is cold. “I think we already established that.”
Ice forms over my heart and shivers run down my spine. There isn’t much time left. I feel it.
I count the minutes until she leaves the room, and then I scurry across the room to my nightstand. There is a sketchpad inside, and a piece of charcoal for drawing. It’s not the best to write with, but it has to work.
I scrawl out a message.
Held captive. They have Pax at the lakehouse. Call my sister and tell her. We’re not supposed to call the police. They have Zuzu.
I race back to the window, where Roger is waiting, hunched down.
He reads my words and his eyes widen in alarm. I nod.
Hurry, I mouth silently. I flip the page over and scribble one last thing.
They’re going to kill Pax.
He spins around and is gone, hugging the side of the house as he goes. My heart is racing and my hands are clammy. Our lives are literally in the hands of someone else, a car driver that Pax hadn’t even wanted.
I try to focus. I try to sit still, but I can’t. My fingers shake, my toes. My mouth is dry, my thoughts are blurry. I have too much adrenaline and no way to use it.
So I get up and pace. I do circles around the room, and I feel like I’m going to hyperventilate. I breathe in, then out.
