AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I can’t look at her, so I address him instead. My voice is a mere rasp. "Who was in the car?"
The car that went over the cliff on Pacific Coast Highway.
"My brother," Gray answers without emotion, and I choke on my saliva, coughing violently to the point of my eyes watering.
"You killed your brother for her?" The pitch in my tone is rising. "You both are fucking insane!"
With blinding speed, Emily is across the room and in front of me. Her hand shoots to my throat, and she pins my legs with hers. "You know nothing about me," she hisses in my face, and I can smell the wine on her breath. I'm going to be sick.
"No, I d-don’t. Y-you left m-me," I croak, trying to dislodge her clawed hand from my neck.
She lets go and moves back, smoothing her hands over her top and pants. "Let’s continue our chat later."
As she struts out, I gulp in all the air I can get. Watching her retreating form, I place my hand at the side of my neck where her nails dug in. Gray follows close behind, and I'm alone again. Wetness under my fingertips makes me pull the hand away again. Blood. She scratched me to the point of breaking skin.
I'm starting to feel glad that I don't remember this woman. Was she like this when I was a child? How could Henry stay married to her?
Henry! I jump from the mattress and race to the door, banging my fists against it. "EMILY!" I hit the barrier until my arm hurts, but there is no response. Exhausted, I turn, leaning with my back against the door, and slide to the ground. Tears fill my eyes, and I let them fall, uncaring if they hear me.
"What did you do with Henry?"
It’shours before I see either of them again.
I’m on the mattress, my back pressed against the wall. Never let yourself be vulnerable in a hostage situation, Spence's words from one of our sessions come back to me. Back then, I laughed. What hostage situation did he think I'd get in? Did he know more than he let on? After Gray’s boot against my back, my trainer’s advice has become like a mantra in my mind. These people are crazy. I’m in a hostage situation.
The door opens to a small gap and another paper bag projectiles in.
"EAT!" Gray's barked command echoes through the bare room, and the door flings shut again.
So much for getting more answers anytime soon.
Resigned, I comply. My stomach has been growling for a while, and I'm not one of those idiots that goes on a hunger strike to defy their kidnappers. Fuck that! Emily’s insanity, what she said, her attack... I touch the marks on my neck. I should be more hurt that she obviously never wanted me. I was at first, then I remind myself that I do have a family. Two, actually. I don't remember this woman, and from what I've experienced so far, I hope I never will remember. She is a stranger. She won't break me. I'll go down fighting if I have to.
Eventually, I must have dozed off and tipped over because I'm now horizontal and staring at Emily's bare feet.
Does this woman ever wear shoes?
I struggle to push myself into a sitting position. Shit. Gray is in his usual spot next to the doorframe. His eyes are drooping, and even from here, I can see that his pupils are the size of a pinprick. Is he high?
"Darling, please excuse that it took me so long to get everything in order." Emily sounds like a doting mother.
In order?
"Where is Henry?" My fingers curl in. I refuse to let her distract me from the one question I want an answer to.
She places a stack of papers with a pen on top in front of the mattress. "If you sign here, everything will be rectified."
Is she high?
"Where is Henry?" I repeat myself slowly, purposefully talking as if she has trouble comprehending simple English. There is a buzz running through my body, a combination of rage and fear, and my fists press into my thigh.
Her nostrils flare. "I guess I was right to keep him around, after all."
My pulse speeds up. "What do you mean?"
"My husband is currently indisposed, but I might be inclined to let you speak to him if you sign the papers," she states sweetly.
The reason why George abandoned his position during my attack comes to the forefront of my mind, and my eyes widen as I stare at Emily. "The drugs," I whisper.
