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“Anyone can get these, Revenge. They sell them in the local clothes store.” She squinted, frowned, and I continued, “You said ‘they.’ How many were there?”
“Oh, about five, I think. And a woman,” she said, rambling.
I leaned down to help her up. It was my mistake. As I did, she kicked out, catching me in the balls. I wanted to double over in pain; I sucked in a deep breath to quell the nausea. Revenge started to crawl away. Unable to contain myself, I roared out in agony. I straightened and strode towards her, pushing aside the pain. I grabbed her under one arm and pulled her to her feet. She twisted and turned, grabbing at my mask and lifting it slightly. Not enough to expose my face, but my mouth. I grabbed her throat and pushed her against a tree. I needed her still so I could catch my breath.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” she shouted.
“What was me?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“It was you in the cave.”
“No, it fucking wasn’t. I was here to rescue you. I’ve been watching, waiting for them to move you to a new location once they realised they had been found. Now, I’ve half a mind to fucking leave you here to be eaten by the wild animals.”
“Do it, then.” Her eyes were wide and full of fear, but her spirit was back. As much as I hated her, I admired that side of her. She had more backbone than the fool she’d tied herself to in her quest for freedom, that was for sure.
She let lose with a stream of profanities, calling me every son of a whore she could. She tried to kick out again, to swing her arms to punch, but she didn’t have enough space.
I stepped closer and she stilled. Her breathing was rapid, coarse considering I held her throat tightly. I leaned down and crashed my lips on hers. At first she tried to close her mouth. I forced my tongue inside, kissing her hard. It wasn’t long before she relented. She opened her mouth further, returning my kiss with as much ferocity. When she gently moaned, I stepped back.
I laughed and then spat on the floor, wiping my mouth with the back of my gloved hand.
“What the…?”
“I just wanted to shut that ugly mouth of yours for a moment.”
“You bastard,” she said, her voice a low whisper.
“Revenge. Such a strange name, isn’t it?”
“Apt if you know the history,” she said.
“I do. I know about your mother. I also know that your father killed mine because he knew what your mother had done. Rumour has it, my father helped your mother meet with her lover.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Then why are you insistent on helping him?”
“That’s a good question. Obviously, he paid me a large fee to rescue you, but, and I’m taking a gamble here, you genuinely don’t want to go back.”
She shook her head. “I hate him. I lied to you earlier. Those men didn’t mistreat me, I don’t know who they were and there were only two of them. My kidnap was staged. My friend was meant to take me to a safe place, return me and collect the ransom, then we were to run away.” She sighed heavily.
“Except, you chose the worst person to help you,” I said, and she nodded.
She had at least confirmed what I believed and knew, and hadn’t contradicted any previous statements she’d made.
I pulled a knife from my pocket and she whimpered. I grabbed her wrists and she closed her eyes. I sheared through the cable tie bind. Once loose she shook out her wrists, rubbed one where the cable tie had chafed her skin.
“Now what?” she asked.
“Now you run.” I started to walk back to my car.
“Wait. You can’t just leave me here.”
“You had a plan to run away, yes? Execute that plan.”
“What about the money?” I could hear her shuffle through the fallen leaves as she made her way back to the car.
“What money, Revenge?” I asked, turning to face her.
“The ransom?”
