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“It’s simple, really. If he values your life over his, which I’m betting he does, then he will do exactly as I say. Once it’s over, you’ll be free to return to your life.”
“When you say once it’s over...” I swallow hard.
“Once he’s dead.”
I blink hard, still convinced this is some kind of bad dream. But when I open my eyes he’s still there, staring at me with the intensity of a thousand suns.
“And what if you’re wrong? What if he doesn’t agree to your terms?” I’m almost afraid to ask.
I stiffen as he crosses the room toward me. Warning bells ping around my head so loudly I can barely hear myself think. With each step he takes closer, I step back, eventually hitting the wall behind me with nowhere else to go as he closes in on me.
Both of his hands rest on the wall behind me, caging me in as he leans down so that his face is just a mere inch from mine.
“Let’s hope for your sake, that’s not the case.”
My frantic mind tries to run through everything I learned from the self-defense class I took with my mom a few years back, but my thoughts are too jumbled, my adrenaline pumping too hard for me to hone in on any one thing.
“If my choices are die or be used as a pawn in whatever sick game you’re playing, then do us both a favor and kill me now.” I press both of my palms to his chest in an effort to push him away from me.
It’s like trying to move a brick wall. He doesn’t budge.
Eventually, he tires of my attempts and snakes his hands around both of my wrists, pinning them against the wall above my head.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that just yet. You see, in order for my plan to work, I need you alive.”
“Fuck you!” I scream in his face so violently that he flinches.
“I should have known you wouldn’t make this easy.” He moves to release me but quickly realizes his mistake when I swing my closed fist right toward the side of his head.
He catches it mid-air, spinning me around so that my back is pressed flush against his front.
“You really don’t want to do that.” The anger in his voice is unmistakable.
“Get off of me.” I try to fight my way out of his grasp but it does me no good. He’s too strong.
“Calm the fuck down,” he grinds into my ear as I continue to thrash and kick.
“Let me go!” I scream. “Let me go! Let me go!”
He flings me across the room with so much force my feet are barely able to keep me upright. I hit the top of the mattress, landing on my chest. Before I’m able to recover, I feel the bite of cool metal around my wrist. Jerking me upright, I cry out from the pain that shoots up my arm as he drags my body up the bed, able to secure the other side of the handcuff to the iron frame with ease, despite my effort to fight him off.
“When I said I didn’t want to hurt you, I meant it. But mark my words, you try that shit again, being handcuffed to the bed will be the least of your concerns.”
Red faced, he turns, his long stride putting him in front of the door in next to no time at all. He raises his fist and pounds twice. I hear the lock click, the sound unmistakable. Moments later, the door swings open, revealing a large man standing on the other side. The other man steps out of view before I have a chance to get a look at his face, then Mateo turns back around in the open doorway to face me.
“When you decide you’re ready to behave yourself, we can remove the cuff. The bathroom and wardrobe are both stocked for you. I think you’ll find that everything is to your size and preference. Don’t behave yourself and you can spend the next however many days or weeks cuffed to that bed. Your choice.”
“Wait!” I cry out as he pulls the door closed. “What if I have to pee?”
“Guess you’ll figure it out.” He shrugs indifferently.
“You can’t just leave me like this!” I scream, my voice hoarse.
He hesitates, his dark eyes not quite so menacing under the bright light flooding in through the open door from the hallway. Honestly, he’s looking at me like he almost feels sorry for me, which is a complete contradiction to his words and actions. He is, after all, the reason I’m in this situation.
“Actually, I can.”
With that, the door closes, the sound of the lock clicking into place immediately following.
I suck in a breath and hold it deep in my lungs, trying to fight off the thunderous scream that threatens to pour from my mouth.
