CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CLOVER
I wasn’t sure how much time passed before Zane returned. The opening of the door sent adrenaline rushing through my veins. Too bad I couldn’t do shit with it.
“I brought you some water and a sandwich. I hope that’s okay.” Zane offered me a smile, like he expected some kind of praise.
“Thanks.” I was relieved to see that the water bottle was still sealed. I didn’t trust him not to drug me again.
My hands being bound tightly in front of me made it tough to open the water and drink but not impossible. My wrists and ankles ached, my fingers and toes were numb. I chugged back half the bottle to soothe my dry throat. When he offered me the sandwich on a paper plate, I shook my head.
“I’m not really hungry right now.” I eyed the open door, trying to see beyond it to the rest of the cabin. “Maybe later.”
“Sure.” Zane placed the plate on the bed beside me. “You should try to eat something soon though. Can’t have you wasting away on me.”
All I could see was a hallway with a photo of Zane’s family on the wall. I had no idea where this cabin was or how far I’d have to run if I managed to escape. I was slowly coming to terms with the fact that this maniac had kidnapped me. At least he seemed to want me alive. I didn’t want to give him any reason to change his mind.
“It’s kind of hard to have an appetite. I’m scared.” I turned a frightened look his way, hoping to appeal to whatever sympathy he may have had left.
Zane nodded. “Yeah, I guess you would be. I’m sorry that it had to be this way. You wouldn’t listen to reason. You left me no other choice.”
Dear God, this guy was out of his mind. How would I get through to someone so clearly off their rocker?
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” I said softly. “Really. It’s not too late to change things. You can untie me. We can go back to the city and have dinner. We can talk.”
Zane’s eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you think I’m stupid enough to fall for that? You’ll take the first chance you get to run back to those fucking douchebag Angels. They kill people. Did you know that? They’re criminals. Why would you want to be with someone like that?”
He was too far gone to realize what a hypocrite he was being. Zane had already done some pretty criminal things himself. Arguing with him wasn’t going to help.
“I don’t want to be with them. I know they’re assholes. They made me do things that I didn’t want to do. You’re punishing me for something I had no control over.” Even as the words left my mouth, a memory of the Angels hanging me from their ceiling flashed through my mind.
They’d made me do it no doubt, but I couldn’t say that I’d hated it. I would never have agreed to such a thing though, which left me conflicted. Not that it mattered now. If I didn’t find a way to get away from Zane, I’d never see the Angels again.
Maybe there was something wrong with me. Why did I attract men who wanted to hurt me? Why did I like it?
I didn’t like anything Zane had done to me though. I’d never hated anyone the way I hated him.
“What did they make you do?” Zane asked, his tone low and menacing.
I shook my head, pressing my lips together. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to talk about it. I need to go to the bathroom.”
Zane frowned. I was afraid he would force me to tell him about the Angels. Were they looking for me right now? Did they get the alert from the bracelet before Zane ripped it from me? Surely they had to know by now that something had happened to me. They would suspect Zane right away.
But how would they find us at a cabin in the middle of who knows where?
When Zane left the room without a word, I worried that he’d let me piss myself. I hadn’t been lying about needing the bathroom. He returned a few minutes later with a knife in one hand. I held my breath as he sawed through the rope holding me tied to the bed frame.
Because I couldn’t walk with my ankles tied, he cut that rope too. Not my hands though. Grabbing my elbow, Zane pulled me off the bed. My ankles almost gave out. I fell against Zane who put an arm around my waist.
“Don’t try anything,” he warned. “I’ll take you to the bathroom then right back to the bed.”
“You can’t keep me tied to a bed forever, Zane. Is that really how you picture us being together?” I shouldn’t be challenging him, but I couldn’t keep silent.
He pulled me from the room while I stumbled along. My ankles were sore and throbbing now that the blood rushed back into them. The hallway was small with only two other doors. I was able to see the living room down below over the railing near the stairs. He pulled me the other way to the first door.
Shoving me into the small bathroom, Zane stood in the doorway, blocking it with his body. “Hurry up. Make it fast.”
I stood there awkwardly as he stared at me. “Are you not going to leave? I’d like some privacy please.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I don’t trust you not to look for a weapon or something. Go if you need to go, otherwise, we’re going back to the bedroom.” Leaning against the doorframe, Zane nodded toward the toilet.
Feeling humiliated, I tore my gaze from him and pulled down the shorts I still wore. They were a bit big and baggy, falling easily to my feet as I sat on the toilet. If I didn’t really have to go, I’d never have done this in front of Zane.
“You’re a vile piece of shit, you know that?” I muttered, my contempt and anger taking over my fear. “I could never love someone like you.”
I probably shouldn’t have said that. Zane’s expression grew pinched, his face reddening. Wiping was difficult with my hands tied in front of me. Even the Angels wouldn’t have done something so shitty. As soon as I finished awkwardly washing my hands, Zane roughly grabbed my arm and dragged me from the bathroom.
Caught off guard by his aggressive action, I tripped and fell. That didn’t stop him from dragging me down the hall back to the bedroom. Hell no. I couldn’t let him tie me up again.
Taking a chance, I twisted my body around and headbutted him right in the crotch. Zane let out a pained grunt and doubled over. His grip on my arm loosened enough for me to slip free. Scrambling to my feet, I ran for the stairs.
The cabin was on the small side. Quaint and cozy. The front door was off the living room, straight ahead. I almost fell down the stairs in my haste. Zane’s heavy footsteps pounded down behind me.
I fumbled with the door handle thanks to my tied hands. Once I managed to get it open, I sprinted out, ready to run without shoes. Zane had taken them from me at some point.
Too bad I didn’t make it far. I got a good view of the property. Surrounded by trees, it appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. Not another cabin in sight. Not even a road. Only a small worn path in the grass leading up to the structure.
I started toward the trees to my left, hoping to lose myself in them. Zane tackled me before I made it more than a few yards. His heavy weight came down hard, crushing the breath from me. My face hit the dirt, my bound hands trapped between my body and the ground.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Zane shouted. “You are such an ungrateful bitch.”
He rolled me over onto my back, raising a fist. It smashed into my face, making my vision blur. I brought my tied hands up in a sad effort to protect myself. Nothing stopped him from hitting me again.
I laid there dazed, certain he would kill me. Zane dragged me up by my hair, making me screech in pain. He didn’t seem concerned about the noise, which meant there was nobody close enough to hear it.
“Get your ass back inside.” He shoved me through the cabin door, slamming it shut. “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t try that again. I don’t want to hurt you, Clover, but I will.”
“All you’ve done lately is hurt me,” I cried, my voice rising to an ear piercing pitch. “That’s not love, Zane. You don’t love me. You want to control me. That will never make me love you.”
With my head reeling from his blows, I’d had enough. Letting myself go dead weight like a toddler throwing a tantrum, I did my best to make it difficult for him to drag me up the stairs. Zane was a horrible, despicable person. The Angels would know I was missing. It wouldn’t take long for Raina to piece it together either. Eventually, they would discover this cabin. I had to believe that.
Zane shoved me back onto the bed and got busy securing me to the frame. This time he tied both my hands and feet to the frame. My hands were stretched above my head. There was nothing I could do to fend him off when he got on the bed next to me.
Smoothing my hair back from my battered face, he gazed down at me with crazy eyes. “You do love me, Clover. We were just fine before those fucking Angels came along. They won’t be able to manipulate you anymore. You’ll remember what we had. We were so good together. Don’t you remember?”
He ran a hand down the side of my face, down my chest to my stomach. I felt sick. His touch became increasingly sexual. There was no way to stop him. That didn’t keep me from cringing and squirming.
Zane leaned in to kiss me, and I turned my face away. That made him freeze. I braced for more violence.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded. “You don’t want me anymore? Were the Angels that much better than me? What did you do with them?”
Hell yeah, they were better than him. They’d owned my body in ways that no man ever had. They were forceful and demanding, making me do things I’d never thought I’d do. Their brand of crazy was intimidating and challenging, but they’d never hurt me the way Zane had. He was the kind of guy they went after. They would kill him for this.
“I’m not telling you a damn thing,” I hissed. “Let me go, Zane. People will be looking for me. You’ll go to jail for this. Or worse.”
Zane painfully clutched my breast as he kissed the side of my neck. “Think your new lovers are going to kill me? Maybe Raina and her mobster husbands will take me out. None of those people will find us, Clover. Nobody knows about this cabin. By the time anyone can find it, we’ll be long gone. I’ll take you far away from here. They’ll never see you again.”
He continued to kiss my neck while roughly crushing my breast in his hand. My body stiffened as I stared at the ceiling. He was wrong. They would find me. They had to.
When a few minutes passed without me reacting to his sick touch, he angrily got off the bed and stormed for the door. He paused on his way out to say, “You’ll belong to me, Clover, or you’ll belong to no one.”