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‘This is nothing but a joke to you.’
‘Of course it’s a fucking joke. You’ve kidnapped me, you crazy motherfucker. How exactly do you see this playing out, huh? How about you let me go and I promise I won’t knock out too many of your expensive teeth.’
‘God I hate you.’
‘Right now the feeling’s mutual. What do you want!’
Dara leans over and wraps his hand around Tate’s neck.
‘I want you to suffer, Tate. That’s all. Think you can do that?’
He tries to swallow past Dara’s grip. ‘Does it look like I’m having fun?’
Dara squeezes a little harder. ‘I mean really suffer, Tate. What I want is for everything and everyone you know and love to disappear.’ He clicks his fingers in Tate’s face. ‘Just like that. I want you alone. I want people to say the name Tate Archer and remember a failed musician who threw it all away for his next drink or his next fix. And I’m going to make sure that happens.’
Tate wants to come back with something, but he’s all out of replies. Dara’s seriously crazy and that makes him dangerous.
‘That’s shut you up, hasn’t it. Now you’re wondering exactly how far I’m willing to go with this. Would I keep you here so you miss your court appearance? I’d imagine the authorities would be less than happy about that. Maybe so much so they’d move past the fine and take you in. That would be fatal for your career, wouldn’t it?’
Tate tries to take a deep breath but Dara’s weight on his neck isn’t helping.
‘Here’s another scenario for you. You’re found in your car at some deserted beach somewhere. Maybe you’ve had a little too much to drink. Maybe you’ve relapsed. Maybe you’ve taken things too far again. It’s a strong possibility, isn’t it? I mean you’ve been under so much stress lately and it’s not like you don’t have a history.’
Tate glances up at the tube strapped to his arm and Dara smiles.
‘You’re catching on.’ He gets up and disappears from the room for a few minutes. When he comes back, he’s holding something that scares Tate more than being stuck in a room with his crazy-ass cousin.
‘Don’t, Dara. Please don’t do this.’
Dara smiles and looks down at the syringe. ‘Full of manners now aren’t you. I had hoped you’d take this step yourself, but I don’t think you will, not without a little nudge.’
Tate thrashes in the bed, pulling at the chains.
‘I swear to God, I will fucking kill you, Dara!’
‘Do you know what I think? I think you’ll thank me.’ He picks up the end of the tube and slides the needle in. The bed groans and creaks under Tate’s attack but like Dara, the damn thing just ignores his protests. He watches in horror as Dara empties the syringe into his arm. He pats Tate on the cheek and laughs when Tate jerks his head to the side.
‘Fuck you.’
‘I know. Have fun.’ He turns off the light, plunging him into darkness then shuts and locks the door behind him.
Frustration firmly takes hold of Tate. He shouts and pulls against the restraints until he runs out of energy and lies still. All he’s managed to do is tear his wrists and send his headache into a stomach-churning somersault.
Tate closes his eyes and tries to calm down. He can already feel the welcoming pull of the drug and he realises he missed it. His body missed it. And that terrifies him. He’d struggled to break free of it the first time. Each painful minute of his withdrawal had felt like a week. It was excruciating, humiliating, and fucking miserable, but he’d got through it. For what? Just to be forced back into that hell again by someone he’s known for decades.
Dara.
He’s been kidnapped by his cousin. His cousin is keeping him chained to a bed in his grandparent’s house. Whatever way he says it to himself, it sounds fucking ridiculous, but nothing about this makes any sense. The scary part is if he’s found in his car like Dara described, no one would be surprised. It’s not like anyone would believe him if he told them Dara kidnapped him. He barely believes it himself so why would anyone else?
He closes his eyes and tries desperately to think about Chloe. At least he contacted the paper before Dara got to him. That’s one consolation. Whatever happens he won’t be dragging her along with him for the ride.
He tries to open his eyes again, but it’s a lost cause. So instead he gives in lets the drug take him away from the nightmare.
