AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Emerich laughed. “If only for all your sake that was true.” He gestured with his hand. “Take him.”
His goons surrounded Cameron and roughly pushed him back into the stairwell.
“Let him go,” Becca demanded.
Emerich grinned, his steely gaze sweeping over her. “Now, why would I do that?”
“Because it’s not him you want, and it’s not Marcie. It’s me.”
Emerich took a step toward her and brushed the hair back from her face.
It took everything she had not to flinch, to stand strong.
“You might be right about that. But that doesn’t mean I won’t have fun playing with them.” He gestured toward Becca. “Take her to my apartment.”
Becca shivered as his goons pushed her back into the compound and toward his rooms. She faltered, stumbling. She didn’t have to wonder what Emerich had in store for her; she could feel his desire emanating from him in waves.
She knew what he wanted, what he had planned for her.
She would die first.
Chapter16
Cameron fought off his despair with each push to his back down the flight of concrete stairs to the rooms below. No, not rooms, cells. He should have listened to Becca. She’d been right about everything. Why hadn’t he?
Emerich’s men enjoyed shoving him down the same hallways, back to the same room where they’d found Marcie.
They stopped outside the door. A maintenance man was just finishing up replacing the lock Cameron had shot out earlier. If they were locking him in Marcie’s room, where were they taking Marcie?
Or Becca?
He cringed at the thought of what could be happening to them at that very moment. This was his fault. He wasn’t careful or diligent enough. Becca tried to warn him that something wasn’t right, but he didn’t listen. And now she was the one who would pay the price.
He had to find a way out of there. He had to rescue Becca.
As they stood waiting, one of the guards started to search him and found Cameron’s gun in his holster and smiled as he took it, turning it over in his hand in admiration and placing it in his pocket. Another took his pack, as another ran his hands down his arms, sides, and legs, searching for more weapons. They found his knife. They pushed him into the bare cell, with nothing but a cot, a thin blanket, and a flat pillow.
A small metal table and chair sat in a corner, on top of which was a tray with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bag of chips, and a water bottle. Well, at least they were feeding him. He walked over to the table, picked up the sandwich, and took a bite. It was good.
His stomach rumbled with hunger and he quickly ate the whole thing, then downed the chips, followed by the water bottle. He had a feeling he was going to be there for a while, and if he knew anything about Emerich, it wouldn’t be a very pleasant stay.
He thought of the MREs they had last night, about him and Becca sitting around the fire, about their kiss. If only he could go back to that moment now. He wouldn’t doubt himself or her. He wouldn’t have stopped.
He wondered where she was and if she was okay as he circled the small room. He had to find a way out of this cell, out of this compound, but the room was an underground box with fluorescent lighting and cement floors and walls. There was no escape, and if Emerich wanted to, he could plunge him into total darkness and let him starve to death.
He had no idea what Emerich would do or what he wanted, but he had a pretty good idea the only reason he was still alive was so that he could be used as leverage against Becca.
Becca.The image of her smile flitted through his mind, the mocking laughter in her eyes, the way her blond hair drifted in front of her face, and with an impatient swipe, she’d brush it away. He pushed the images from his mind, but he couldn’t forget the way her lips tasted when he kissed her.
He jumped to his feet and paced the room. He looked out the small window in the door, but he saw only an empty hallway beyond. He grabbed the doorknob, turned, and pulled, but the solid metal door wouldn’t budge.
He couldn’t stand the idea that Emerich would use threats against him to manipulate her. Could he? Would it even work? That would mean she would have to care enough about him to be swayed. Did she?
He just didn’t know.
The thought bothered him more than he cared to admit. He sat on the bed and realized he couldn’t think. Couldn’t figure out what to do next, because all he could think about was Becca. He had to have something, know something, he could offer Emerich to save her. His job? Himself? Nothing mattered anymore.
Nothing except her.
