Fourteen
Winslet
Moving on from the knowledge that Oz, at some point since I’d been living upstairs, had emptied my pee bucket had been difficult. I mean, I was thankful I wouldn’t have to smell it because, well, it would have been sitting there awhile and the scent would have been unpleasant. But I was struggling with Oz…seeing my pee. Which was stupid to even care since the man had almost killed me and I’d locked myself down here for my protection. From him.
I was tired. My eyes were heavy, but every time I dozed off, my stomach would grumble and I’d have hunger pains, my back would start to ache, or my butt would be asleep and I’d need to shift my position to get some relief. If only I could have locked myself in that bedroom. I didn’t know what time it was, but it felt like I’d been down here forever. I was positive it was nighttime. Possibly midnight by now.
Another day without food and water. For hours, I’d mourned the coffee I’d never gotten. Now, I would settle for water. It didn’t even need to be cold. Heck, those nasty kombucha drinks that Meg—the other second-grade teacher who was across the hallway from me at school—loved so much was even sounding appealing right now.
I started going through a list of things I did not like the taste of and ranked them on how thirsty I was and if I’d drink one or not.
The only one I could be sure I would pass on was apple cider vinegar. That crap made me want to vomit. I’d just dehydrate. Yuck, and the smell of my pee from drinking it would be horrid.
Footsteps on the stairs stopped my odd train of thought, and I reached for the key lying beside me to grip it in my hand like a weapon. I’d worried more than once today that there might be a second key to this place and Oz could have called whoever owned it to get the key from them. Then what? He’d come in here. Finish the job and leave my dead, lifeless body here to rot. Well, probably not the last part. He would need to dispose of me.
“Open up, Winslet. Perry has been found.”
I held my breath as I stood up, staring in the darkness toward the sound of his voice. They’d gotten him? Oh God. What did that mean?
“Is…is he alive?” I asked, sending up silent prayers that they hadn’t killed him.
“Yes, he’s alive.”
I gasped in relief. Pressing a hand to my chest. They hadn’t killed him. Maybe they wouldn’t, but the Feds might lock him up. I would worry about that later. One thing at a time.
“Come on,” he repeated.
I started to walk slowly so as not to run into anything or trip, then stopped. Wait. What if this was a trap? That he was lying to get me out of here?
“Are you going to kill me?” I asked, my voice shaky, giving away my fear.
He let out a heavy sigh. “No. I was never going to kill you.”
“Um, you almost did. If your phone hadn’t rung, I’d be six feet under somewhere on this massive piece of land.”
“That’s a bit dramatic. You hadn’t even started to fight for oxygen or turn blue yet. I was furious with you, yes, but I was just trying to scare the answer out of you.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Have you choked someone to death before? You seem to know the stages of it.” That idea didn’t sit well with me. I was tempted to go back to my spot on the floor.
Silence.
Holy crap. Had he?
“Winslet, do you want to starve to death in this basement or go home?”
He hadn’t answered the question. That meant he didn’t want to admit it or lie to me. But he’d done it.
I wanted to go home. Away from the psycho, deadly Greek god.
“I want to go home,” I replied. “Alive.”
Another sigh from him, as if this conversation was annoying him. Well, my sore neck was annoyed, and if I could see it in a mirror, it was possibly bruised.
“You will be returned to your apartment, unscathed. I swear it.” He sounded sincere.
I walked the rest of the way to the bars and looked at him on the other side. Like always, he was perfection. I bet he smelled all woodsy, smoky, and spicy whiskey as well. I wished I could find a candle with that smell. That was the only thing I’d miss about him.
“My car is at Hobby Lobby. Unless they had it towed.”
“Your car has been parked at your apartment complex since Monday afternoon,” he replied. “It’s almost ten, and we have a long drive ahead of us. Would you come out of there, please?”
They had moved my car. Of course they had. They seemed to think of everything.
Lifting the key up, I stepped closer and reached around to try and unlock it. I couldn’t see it as well, and locking it had been much easier than unlocking it.
Oz snatched the key from my hand, and I had a moment of panic, but then he shoved it into the hole. The click sound followed, and the door opened. Hesitantly, I walked out as he stepped back to let me pass. His eyes followed me, and I wished they didn’t make my stomach flutter because, seriously, the man was so far past a red flag. He wasn’t even a crimson one or a blood-red one. He was a black flag. A coal-black flag. If there were words for his flag, they would say, RUN LIKE HELL!
“You go first,” I told him, deciding I didn’t like the idea of having my back to him.
He cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”
I straightened my shoulders, wanting to appear taller than my five-foot-seven frame. Normally, I never felt short. I had always been taller than Perry. But Oz was well over six feet tall.
“I don’t want to chance you grabbing me by the neck and slinging me backward down the stairs.”
His face morphed into a pained wince. “What the fuck kinda shit have you been making up in your head down here?”
I tilted my chin back and held my head high. “I like crime shows— Law it’s verging on painful.”
Had he been looking at me? I’d not seen him even glance this way.
“I do not trust you,” I told him honestly, turning my attention back to the road in front of us.
“I have no use for you anymore, darlin’. You’ll be in your apartment soon enough,” he drawled.
The no use for me anymore comment stung. I wasn’t sure why. I mean, I didn’t want to be of use to him. I’d had the experience, and I wasn’t a fan. Did not recommend. Thumbs-down. But there was a slight hurt that came from it anyway.
“Fine. Stay awake,” he said with a sigh.
I glanced over at him. His dark hair was slightly messy as he leaned back, relaxing in the seat. Broad shoulders and biceps that stretched the cotton of the short sleeves before the rest of his muscular, tanned arms was exposed as he held the steering wheel with one hand. My eyes dropped to his flat stomach, and I wondered just how rippled his abs were underneath. When my gaze went to the jeans encasing his thick, hard thighs, I swallowed. I bet he looked like an underwear model naked.
“You about done, or do I need to pull over and stand up so you can get a better view?” he asked, sounding amused.
Snapping my eyes to his face, I caught his smug smile. I quickly turned to look out the window before he could see my face turn red, as I felt it heat up from embarrassment.
“What? You were being so bold about it,” he said with the hint of a chuckle.
Dang it. “I was not. I mean, I wasn’t doing what you think I was.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.
“Please, darlin’, tell me what you were doing if you weren’t eye-fucking me.”
I sucked in a breath. “That was not eye-fucking,” I said, still not looking at him.
“Yeah, it was.”
I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes. “Be quiet. I am going to sleep.”
A deep chuckle was the last thing I heard.