Page 43 of His Hostage

18

Caroline

The plan is simple.

Andy hasn’t gotten laid in years. And if he has, it’s been by third-rate prostitutes.

I’m not judging him. I know men like him. They take what they can get. It’s like what Rowan told me: “When he sees you in that lingerie, he won’t be able to control himself. He’ll pounce. And when he does, I’ll come out of the darkness, dressed as a Hunter. I’ll knock him senseless.”

The plan is simple, yet effective. The only problem is, we don’t know when Andy will come alone, if ever. That’s my biggest hang up. That, and my worry that they’ll just decide to kill me.

Rowan reassures me that everything will be okay. He says, “Don’t worry. I haven’t lost a fight yet.”

Somehow that doesn’t make me any more hopeful, but I don’t have much of a choice. It’s either I go with his plan, or I attempt to kill the two cold-blooded killers with my bare hands. Somehow, I think I might lose that one.

When he says he has to leave, the sun is already coming up. I know they’ll be here soon, just like yesterday. He shouldn’t get caught out here again. It won’t look good. They already suspect he’s been with me once, in the past.

“I’ll miss you,” he says, winking.

I don’t know what to say back. This whole thing has been so erratic and crazy, and I’m constantly questioning myself and my decisions. I know I’ve thought it a million times, but was the decision to leave home a good one?

Down here, decisions mean the world. Yet, time seems to stand still, making it harder to understand the context of where you are in accordance to the rest of the world.

At the end of the day, I have to go where the wind takes me. It’s just unfortunate that it’s taken me down here.

He kisses me, and it feels incredible. It pumps my body with enough endorphins and chemicals to tranquilize any animal in the wild.

I feel happy and hopeful, but when he starts climbing out of the hole, it feels like my world is caving in.

He leaves and I’m all alone, forced to fend for myself. I stare at the wall for another three hours, before falling back asleep.

“Wake up, girl,” I hear a voice say. It’s Jeffco, and he’s standing over me with a shotgun. “Come on, now. Get going. I don’t have all day.”

“What?” I peel my eyes open, despite the burning sun splashing against my darkened-round pupils.

“Get the hell up. You have to go to the bathroom, right? Now’s your chance,” he says, throwing the key at me.

I quickly unlatch my shackles and climb up, handing it back to him.

“Don’t run off too far,” he says. “I’ve got my eye on you, girl.”

I don’t know what comes over me. Maybe it’s the sensory deprivation. Maybe I’m not thinking clearly. But in this moment, I decide to do something crazy.

I walk off to the bush he points his shotgun at, and he eyes me very carefully. I can feel his stare burn a hole through my back.

When I’m far enough away from him, I hear another bike rumble up close, and I know it’s Andy coming a little too late.

He looks frantic.

There’s something wrong. Something is going on at the bar. A hold up, a bad deal, or something. I can’t make out his words, but it’s hurried and strained.

I hear him yell, “The bastard got me. He fucking got me!”

Jeffco sighs loudly and growls. “What the hell did you come out here for? You need to see Johnson at the Vet, you fucking moron.”

Now’s my chance. It goes against everything Rowan said, though. Part of me doesn’t know how to react. But the other half of me is saying, “Run. Run as fast as you can.”

And I do.

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