Chapter 9
Lily
M y head was spinning. Antiseptic assaulted my nostrils. As I opened my eyes, I was attacked by a white, bright light. I blinked them shut again from the throbbing. But I was alive. I could tell by the beeping sound of a machine next to me. I doubted there were hospital machines in heaven or hell.
Moving my legs and arms let me know that I wasn't trapped. Despite the slight disorientation, my strength was in tip-top shape. This was the moment I would make my escape. Throwing the thin, paper-like sheet off me, I opened my eyes again to find the eyes of danger staring back at me.
I might not have been locked away in a dark room, but I was still trapped. Angry tears gathered behind my eyes as my breath was knocked out of me by the warning in his eyes. Speak about what happened and someone would get hurt.
The unfamiliar kidnapper flipped a knife shut in front of me and tucked it in his pocket before getting up and walking to the door.
"She's awake!" He yelled at the door, impatience making his tone a sort of growl.
Moments later, a nurse entered the room. Her smile was so big and bright, it burned through me, tempting me to spill all my secrets, but the kidnapper's heavy presence in the room laid on my lungs like a boulder.
A tiny whisper was all I managed. "Where am I?"
"Oh, hun. You're at..." She named a hospital in Virginia Beach and the boulder on my chest pierced a lung. If I was no longer in North Carolina, no one would be able to find me. I pleaded to her with my eyes, hoping to tell her everything without saying a word, as if I could manufacture a telepathic connection on the spot.
"You must be in a lot of shock. It's a good thing this good Samaritan found you. You had a pretty bad wound. Do you remember what happened?" She asked, checking my temperature.
I gulped, shifting my eyes from the furthest thing from a good Samaritan that one could be, and back to her. "No," I said while I begged her inside my screaming mind.
For a moment, I thought she might understand, but she simply moved on to readjusting my drips.
"Do you remember your name?" she asked.
I blinked my eyes shut as a tear escaped. Well, at least the tear got to escape. My tongue was being held captive along with the rest of my body and I was losing hope. I couldn't leave here with him again, I just couldn't. I'd rather die than go anywhere with him.
"I thought only family was allowed inside the room," I mumbled.
He shot me a look and I began to tremble from the cold in his stare.
"What was that?" She asked, looking over my shivering body. Her brows drew in when she glanced at the thermometer. I wasn't shaking because I had a fucking fever. Read the signals! I screamed on the inside.
When I didn't repeat myself, she adjusted the temperature in the room and took my temperature once more. "Hmm. Well, so far, your vitals are looking good, though your body is still experiencing some aftershocks. However, you've woken up which is a great indicator that you're on the mend." She smiled at me. "You're a lucky lady."
"Yeah," I scoffed beneath my breath.
"You might not feel that way right now, but in seventy-two hours you'll be good and ready to get out of here," she assured me.
"Seventy-two hours!" My kidnapper almost burst a vessel. I almost thought he was about to give himself away. Hope sprang forth within me.
The nurse spun around to look at him, curiosity marking her face. "Is that a problem, sir?" she asked.
Now he was the one lost for words. I stopped breathing, waiting and watching.
He cleared his throat.
"Thanks for bringing her in. You are aware that you can leave, right? We'll make sure we find out all we can about her and get her home safely."
"No!" He cut her off.
Come on, nurse. You must be able to see what's happening here. I communicated that with my eyes, looking from her to him, my pupils popping.
"No. Sorry." He softened his tone. "I don't mind taking her where she needs to go."
She looked at me now, eyes meeting mine and my heart was damn near tearing my chest open and jumping out. My cheeks trembled, anticipating joy.
"Are you comfortable with that?" she asked me.
All I needed to do was say no and he'd be out of here. I took in a breath and opened my mouth. But the glint of his blade caught my eyes. He was flipping his pocket knife open and shut. It dawned on me that I could be endangering her life as well, and with a cramping in my chest, I lied.
"Yes," I rasped.
She looked between the both of us again. Lucky for him, he managed to hide the knife in time. I was dead meat. I'd never escape this place.
"Okay. If you're sure. Until I come back, you're free to watch some T.V. Unfortunately, the only thing we have access to is the news." She grinned, picking up the remote and pointing it at the screen.
The kidnapper started to sweat. So did I. But we were sweating for different reasons.
"Would you like that?" she confirmed.
The kidnapper's eyes penetrated me, but I ignored him. We were too damn close. This could be the answer. I gripped my gown in anticipation. By now, my face should have been plastered across the screen with the caption MISSING PERSON. Freedom was so close I could taste it. She'd see my face, press the emergency buzzer on her belt, and I'd be back home with my men and mother by tonight. I didn't care. I was risking it.
"Yes, please. I'd love that," I nodded.
She smiled. Her finger went to the power button in slow motion. I could hear the kidnapper's droplets of sweat hitting his clothes. My heart stopped beating and I watched her press the button. My eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open as I waited for her reaction. She turned and walked out the door. The voice on the television broke through like a speeding truck heading toward me and I whipped my head around, heart in my mouth, to find some other news report on screen.
And the kidnapper was far from happy with me.