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He reached down and grabbed me by the arms, dragging me right off the bed. “Don’t make this harder on yourself, baby,” he murmured a moment later in a surprisingly tender voice. “Just do as I say. If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll even get away.”
He was playing with me already. Messing with my head. He had no intention of letting me get away from him. He was going to finish what he started back in 2019 and bury my body where no one would ever find it.
He pulled me over to the bedroom door and led me through the cabin. When we reached the front door, I tried to dig my feet into the dusty old floorboards, terrified of stepping outside. “Please!” I shrieked. “Don’t do this!”
Paxton ignored my pleas and pushed the door open. Outside, the sky was dark, moon and stars obscured by thick cloud cover. The earthy scent of rain hung in the air, which was so cold that I could already see my breath appearing in front of my mouth.
“I’m going to be generous, Sienna,” Paxton murmured against my ear. “I’m going to give you a head start. Five minutes.”
“No. Please. Please!”
He shoved me forward. I sprawled on the ground, wincing as my elbow grazed against a rock.
“Get up,” Paxton said smoothly. He tapped on his watch. “Your time is about to start.”
I stared up at him, eyes pricking with tears. “Please,” I whispered. “It’s not too late to stop this.”
He stared down at me, eyes flickering with pure hatred. “Yes, it is.”
“Paxton…”
He smiled thinly, lifting one hand to gesture to the nearby forest. Then he spoke again; a singular word that made my blood freeze in my veins.
“Run.”
Sienna
Paxton’s chilling order echoed in my ears, haunting me just like it did that night at the lake house. I clawed at the leafy ground to get a hold of myself before struggling to my feet, and then I took off without another look behind me, heart pounding like a drum in my chest as I raced through the dense, dark forest beyond the cabin.
Jagged tree branches tore at my clothes and scratched at my skin, but I ignored the stinging pain and kept going. I had no idea where I was headed. The forest before me seemed like an endless, impenetrable labyrinth, but I had to keep going, had to find a way out. Had to survive.
My breaths started to come in ragged gasps as the cold night air bit into my lungs, but that only spurred me to run faster. On top of the frenzied beat of my footsteps, I could hear the distant, thudding echo of Paxton’s heavy shoes as he pursued me. I could tell he was still quite far away. I had a real chance here.
The moon partially slid out from behind a cloud, illuminating a clearing on my left. I almost went past it, figuring it would be stupid to stand out in the open, but then I spied something on the far end. A large hollow in an ancient tree trunk.
I hurried over to it and assessed the spot for its viability as a hiding place. I thought it seemed promising at first, but then I realized it was probably the first place Paxton would assume someone like me would hide. I had to be smarter than that.
Whirling around, I spotted another gigantic tree on the other side of the clearing. The base was surrounded by a thick, gnarled root system that extended quite far in every direction. Behind it was a steep, shrub-laden ridge that marked the far edge of the clearing.
I stepped over and slipped into a tight space between two of the biggest tree roots. Then I lay flat on my back and wriggled my way in, making myself as small as possible.
If and when Paxton arrived in the clearing, he’d undoubtedly make a beeline for the hollow, and when he didn’t find me there, he’d probably move on, figuring I went to find another hollow or cave somewhere else. Meanwhile, I would be sheltered out of sight behind the enormous tree trunk on the other side. Even if he went up on top of the slope behind the tree, the overhanging shrubs on the side of the ridge would provide cover for me in my spot below it. The angle of that view would also make it very difficult to see me.
I took a long, deep breath and slid even lower beneath the knotted root above my abdomen. Please, I begged the universe, closing my eyes. I’ve already gone through so much. Let me have this one.
A low growl of triumph echoed through the forest several minutes later. Paxton must have spotted the clearing. My breath hitched in my chest as my body went rigid. Though I was staying as quiet as possible, my mind was deafeningly loud, my thoughts a chaotic, screaming mess of terror and desperation.
Twigs snapped and dead leaves crunched as Paxton slowly stepped into the clearing. I could tell he was heading straight for the hollow on the other side by the direction of his footfall, just as I suspected.
“Sienna,” he said in a low, mocking voice. “I know you’re in there.”
He took another slow step. Then another, and another.
“Got you,” he suddenly growled, presumably reaching into the hollow and expecting to find me.
I remained silent and rigid in my hiding place, not daring to take a breath. I could practically feel Paxton’s malicious intent like a physical force, seeping into the air around me.
“Huh.” He let out a grunt of disappointment upon finding the hollow empty. “I guess you’re not as much of an amateur as I thought.”
