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Chapter Twenty
Zane hadn’t passed out, but with the way his head had been throbbing over the last few hours, he wished he had.
Sherri had an event, and Elm had an interview with Chief Ross, so they’d decided to leave Zane’s murder until later.
Lucky me.
Elm had given him another whack to the head before tying his arms behind his back with a belt and gagging him with a pillowcase. Zane had been in too much pain to do anything about it for longer than he cared to admit.
While his brain was foggy from what he was sure was another concussion he couldn’t afford to endure, he knew time was ticking and he had to get out of this situation before they came back. He tested the belt only to find it was secured with expertise. No way he’d be able to wiggle his way out of it, even if he could dislocate one of his joints—which he couldn’t.
He had to get to Cammie and make sure she was safe. He had to warn the captain. But first, he had to save himself.
Moving too quickly would probably make him vomit, which would be a very bad thing with the pillowcase wedged in his mouth so that was the first thing that had to go. He focused on cracking his jaw as wide as he could, then slowly, painstakingly, eased the wad of cloth away from this throat with his tongue. It took some time and made his headache bloom all over again, but eventually the last of the pillowcase fell from this mouth. He lay on his side, panting, as lightning struck across his brain over and over.
The beating he’d taken while he’d been in the service, the one that had put him in a coma, had resulted in a lifetime ban of anything that could jar his brain in even the slightest way—no trampolines, no jogging, no beat downs from an old guy. He knew Elm had done some significant damage and that he needed medical attention. The way his head was screaming, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he’d black out, and if he blacked out, he was a dead man. Lying around on the floor wasn’t going to get him what he needed. Neither was shouting, though, because Zane knew just as well as Elm did that no one would hear him on a deserted deck.
But someone could see him.
Zane took a few solid breaths, testing the pain threshold of his diaphragm from when Elm had nailed him there, but the damage was minimal and the pain manageable.
He curled his knees to his chest, moving like a snail so he didn’t jar his head any more than he had to. Then he pushed his bound hands up to act as a leverage as he eased himself to his knees.
Dizziness sent black streaks over his vision, and he rested his forehead to the floor, inhaling all manner of dust and dirt to keep himself conscious.
He gave himself a few minutes, enough time to clear the cobwebs so he could try again. He used his core muscles to lift his upper body, moving gingerly so he didn’t see stars. He got to his knees, rested for a few breaths, then used the door to hold him steady as he pushed himself to his feet. The world tilled and his legs wobbled, but he knew that if he didn’t get himself out of this cabin, he was a dead man. He might be a dead man anyway, but he at least had to try.
Zane slid himself to the door handle then used his bound hands to push down. It wasn’t a problem since his height worked to his advantage. What wasn’t working was hooking the handle at the same time so he could walk it open. Not only were his hands slipping off the handle but his legs also refused to cooperate. His vision swished from light to dark to light again, and he knew he was close to hitting the floor, because the pain in his head had escalated to A-bomb status. By the buzzing in his ears, he was seconds away from passing out.
He wasn’t going to let Elm or Sherri get away with their crimes, even if he had to sacrifice himself to shine a spotlight on them.
He closed his eyes then heaved the door with as much brute strength as he could gather. It only opened wide enough for his massive body to slither out, but that was all he needed. He wedged himself through the opening, then let himself fall, landing with a thud that likely shook the ceiling on the next deck.
