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“I’ll be right back,” he tells me once he’s done with his plate. He bends down and tugs on my ankle cuff, making sure it’s secured tightly to the heavy table. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“You already used that one!” I call after him as he goes upstairs and closes the bathroom door behind him.
The second the door clicks shut, I stick a finger underneath my ankle cuff and pull out the key I swiped during the brief moment I was unlocked to use the bathroom. I fiddle with the lock, my heart racing, and the cuff opens.
Alessandro’s phone is sitting on the table. I take it, toss it into the backpack by the door, and then wince as I hear his footsteps coming down the stairs.
“Are you—Avaaa!”
I throw open the front door and sprint outside, filled with adrenaline. The quad bike is sitting right there with the key fob hanging from a lanyard on the handlebars. Jumping into the seat, I start the engine and gun it, just as Alessandro bursts out of the beach house behind me.
I grin madly, the wind whipping through my hair. Over the rumble of the engine, I hear my husband roar.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ava
I slow down once I’ve put some distance between myself and the beach house. Riding an ATV naked is quite the experience. I stop on the beach, still buzzed with excitement. I fucking love that I got away. That was so much fun.
I’ve covered enough distance that I know Alessandro can’t be here anytime soon. I pace the beach, staying in range of the quad. If I drive it, the sound of the motor will give away my location.
Having a vehicle makes the experience of being prey very different. The things I need to consider have changed: now I am much, much more mobile, but it comes at the cost of making a loud noise. Overall, my situation is definitely better, but theknowledge that using the ATV tells Alessandro where I am is a little bit nerve-racking.
I see something in the distance, all the way down the beach. Is that him? I can’t tell. It could be a rock, or even a tree. Is it coming toward me? I glance behind me at the quad. How long would it take to run back to it if I needed to?
A rustling. I spin around, facing the trees. Just the wind. Just the wind. Dammit. I jog back to the quad. My gut is telling me to change locations.
***
Alessandro
In the distance, the ATV’s motor rumbles. I do one more pass through the house, looking for my phone, but I know in my heart that Ava took it. And as goddamn frustrated as that makes me, I have to admit there’s also a grudging respect. That was a smart move. Not only did she get away and take my vehicle, but she stole the device that allows me to control it remotely. She made it a lot harder for me to stack the deck.
She’s going to get punished for this. Thoroughly. But apparently, my wife is made of stronger stuff than I thought. That realization is a pleasing one. It makes me less concerned for her safety, knowing she can take care of herself.
Not to mention, it will be even more satisfying when I catch her and make her submit to me all over again.
The backpack by the door is missing. I didn’t notice it in the rush of watching her escape, but she must have taken it with her. My first thought is that I’m glad she has the flare gun in case anything happens.
My second thought is the savage realization that I now have another way of turning things in my favor.
I go upstairs and get my computer. Pulling up the video feed for the backpack camera, I see trees rushing by as she rides the quad. I watch her until she stops, scanning the area around her for a landmark that I recognize.
My tablet is charging next to me. The first thing I did after she escaped was plug it in. It was at 0% battery then, now it’s at 12%. Not great, but hopefully, enough. I power it on and run the app that connects to the quad bike.
For safety reasons, I can’t kill the motor while she’s driving, and I wouldn’t want to. But I can make it so as soon as she turns it off, it won’t turn on again. Quickly, I download the software for the backpack camera to the tablet. I don’t want to carry this thing around, but it’s better than the laptop. I’ll use it to keep tabs on her location until she’s back under lock and key.
***
Ava
I speed by a yellow flag and decide to stop. Just to check what it is. It’s a station with protein bars, bottled coffee drinks in a mostly melted cooler, and little packets of Oreos. I grab two Oreo packets and head back to the ATV.
It doesn’t start. Swearing, I give it a moment and try the ignition again. Still nothing. Fuck. Is it out of gas? I hop off and circle the vehicle, looking for anything wrong.
Then I jump as the motor revs.Vrooooommm. Vrooooooooommmm.Holy shit, that scared me. For a moment I’m excited, thinking I somehow fixed it, and then I realize:
Alessandro is toying with me.
