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Callie pausedto catch her breath. The metal spindles on the bed frame wouldn’t budge. No matter how hard she yanked, they remained stubbornly seated. She had even managed to contort her body so that she could kick the hell out of them.
Nothing.
She was no closer to escaping now than when she started. A scream of frustration tore from her lungs. She didn’t worry about her kidnapper hearing her. If he were upstairs, he would have come down to investigate the sounds emanating from the basement long ago.
Scooting up, she rested her back against the headboard to take the pressure off her wrists and shoulders. If only she had a similar remedy to decrease the pain in her filling bladder.
The bastard had better show himself soon, or she’d be forced to wet herself on his bed.
Part of her mind dreaded the moment he would return and the other part prayed he’d come back soon. She couldn’t escape this place without shedding the handcuffs and she couldn’t shed the handcuffs without her kidnapper’s help.
The distant sound of a door slamming made her heart stop in its tracks. Her instincts warned her to be quiet, which was ridiculous. It wasn’t as though he’d forgotten she was down here.
But what if it wasn’t her kidnapper? What if it was a family friend or neighbor stopping by?
Once again, she tried to think about what her sister would do in this situation. Liv would develop a plan and execute it.
Problem was, she sucked at planning.
As she did with most things, she plunged forward and damned the consequences. Only this time, Liv wouldn’t be at her back to clean up the chaos. This time, Callie was on her own.
She filled her lungs and yelled through the tape, “Ith thomeone dare? Hel eee!”
The footfalls above her stopped, and a long silence followed. She could almost picture the person cocking their head left and right, trying to locate the source of the sound.
“Leez, hel ee!”
Boards creaked as hard sole shoes retraced their steps.
Callie’s pulse galloped toward the edge of the cliff. Every muscle bunched and knotted, anticipating the crunch of bones and twisting of flesh as she cartwheeled into an abyss of unknowns.
The door to the basement opened, and the newcomer paused as if expecting an attack or the waft of something foul-smelling.
Callie’s icy fingers curled around her handcuffs. The short chains sank deep into her palms.
She welcomed the pain, needed it to keep her mind focused on her goal, rather than her rising fear.
Fear paralyzes the body and mind.
Liv’s cautionary words echoed in her ear as clear as the day she’d uttered them years ago.
Stay calm. Use that brilliant mind of yours to outwit your opponent. Use whatever is within reach to get the upper hand.
The urge to pee grew stronger. She forced her thoughts away from her body’s needs to once again scan for potential weapons.
Once free, her options were limitless, given this was someone’s actual living quarters. But right now, she had nothing but her mind.
Sweet baby Jesus, she was in trouble. This was a mistake. A terrible mistake.
A heavy footfall landed on the top step, then the next, and the next, until a rhythmic descent brought the newcomer’s work boots into view. His short legs came next, wrapped in dark blue pants.
The beginnings of a beer belly hung over a belted waistband and tufts of gray hair peeked above his collared shirt. Bushy brows angled into a tight vee over his dark eyes and thick black hair, sprinkled with silver, covered his pate.
Was this him? Her kidnapper? Or her savior?
Her body trembled and tears spilled over her cheeks. “Get ee out of ere.” Callie knew her words were indecipherable, but she had to try to make him understand the urgency. She shook her restraints. “Leez.”
