Chapter 38
A putrid smell clogs my nose, making it hard to breathe, and it’s stifling hot in here which worsens the thick stench.
Something is rotting close by; the stink of blood, that metallic, cloying odor unmistakable.
There’s a throbbing in my head, and as I peel my eyes open, the light that slips in through a single square window makes my eyes sting.
Keeping my moves slow, I look around. Four walls made of wood surround me, and hanging from the ceiling by the door is a deer, suspended from a hook attached to a crossbeam.
That’s where the rotting smell is coming from.
Flies buzz around the corpse, crawling over the walls and the windows, and beneath it is a large, dried blood stain.
My stomach turns, but I can’t make a noise, not when I hear Oscar’s voice beyond the closed door.
I’m on an old, worn mattress, the once white material now stained yellow and brown.
There are buckets in here filled with ropes and bear traps, rusted and twisted metal piled in the corners, and a curved, corroded blade on the wall along with other hunting equipment.
It’s like something out of a horror movie.
He hit me. Knocked me out and brought me here.
Wetting my parched lips, I try to sit up but quickly realize my wrists are bound behind my back and ankles tied together.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I try to keep the panic at bay, but it rises anyway, making my heart beat faster, which worsens the throb inside my head.
He was in on it the entire time, pretending all the while he was helping.
Someone needs to warn Roman. Fuck. What if they’ve already got to him?
“What’s the plan here, Jenson?” Oscar grunts, his voice close to the door that looks to be hanging by a single hinge. “I got her like you asked, now what?”
“Just a bit longer,” Roman’s father answers, “Make him sweat a little before I make my demands.”
“You really think he’ll just give it over?”
“I have his wife,” Jenson scoffs. “If he doesn’t, I’ll kill her.”
My heart sinks to my gut, but the handle on the door pushes down, that single hinge squealing, so I quickly close my eyes, pretending to still be unconscious.
“How hard did you hit her?” Steps sound across the floor, stopping at the foot of the mattress.
“Hard enough,” Oscar sounds amused, like he enjoyed doing it. “She’s pretty.”
“Mm,” Jenson grunts. “Not very smart though.”
It’s nearly impossible to remain still as I feel his hand run up my leg, but he stops just above my knee and pulls away.
Their footsteps sound again, moving away before the door closes and silence settles.
I don’t open my eyes for another few minutes, not until I’m sure they’re outside, and only then do I crack one open and then the other.
I have to get out of here. I can’t let Roman give up his home for me, not his family’s legacy.
Shifting onto my side, I try to wiggle out of the rope but all it does is cut and burn, biting in hard enough I can feel my skin tear with it and my ankle restraints are just as tight, leaving red marks where they sit flush around my legs.
I look at the curved blade on the wall. If I can just get that hook into the rope, maybe I can cut through it.
As quietly as I can, I roll to the edge of the mattress and get my feet on the floor, using it to stabilize me as I try to push up from the mattress to sit.
My head spins once I’m upright, and I have to take a precious second to get my bearings again, my blood throbbing inside my ears.
I have to get out of here. I have to. Moving onto my knees, I rock until I can catch myself on the balls of my feet, catching my balance with my shoulder to the wall and then slowly, I lift, keeping myself against the wall to hold my weight.
My knees wobble and my muscles smart, but I grit my teeth, holding the pain back, keeping it in check.
Their voices echo in from outside, far enough away that I have a chance here.
Turning my back to the wall, I bend my arms up, my shoulders protesting, but then I feel the rusty tip of the blade pressing into my skin, cutting straight into it.
I don’t make a sound, not even as I repeat the same motion, trying to get the position right.
Blood runs in a steady stream down my arms and over my hands, dripping from my numb fingers and onto the floor, the steady drip vibrating through me.
Still, I don’t stop, not until I feel the curved tip of the blade finally hook into the rope.
Hope and relief bloom through me and I saw my arms up and down, pulling and pushing, listening to the fibers of the rope break until I can pull my hands apart, the rope falling away.
I don’t waste a second to claw at the ropes around my ankles, tugging at the knot. My fingernails break and the blood makes my hands slippery, but it comes loose and I kick it away before I reach for the curved blade stained with my blood.
If they think I won’t fight my way out of this, they’re mistaken. Clutching the weapon, I move toward the door, heart in my throat, blade in front of me but as I’m reaching for the handle, the only escape, the door swings open, and I have to jump out of the way or be hit.
Oscar fills the frame, his dark eyes widening as he takes me in. The shock is quickly replaced with a cruel grin.
“Hello, Niamh,” He purrs. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“You’re going to let me go.” My hands shake as I point the blade at him.
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” He cocks his head. “Put the weapon down.”
My head shakes frantically. “You don’t have to do this, Oscar.”
“No, actually I do.” He growls, “Your husband has everything; it’s now my fucking turn. I’m done suffering!”
“You really think Jenson will share anything with you?” I press, “He won’t, Oscar. As soon as he gets what he wants, he’ll kick you to the curb.”
He laughs, lacking humor. “That won’t work on me, Niamh. You think I’m stupid? All you’re trying to do is save that bastard you call a husband.”
“I’m not.” I take a step back as he advances on me.
“I’ve been patient.” He keeps coming. “I’ve watched the Knights get everything while the rest of us fucking suffer. They kicked their own father out, left him with nothing! They’re not the good guys, Niamh.”
“They’ve worked for it!” I defend.
His lip curls. “It's such a shame you got yourself all tied up with them. We could have had something.”
My brows lower, “No, Oscar.”
“You like the life, huh?” He reaches for the gun in his holster. “Want to keep it? Maybe when all this is done, we can have that drink.”
“Stop,” I warn him.
He unstraps the gun, and I don’t think, I just do. I swing forward with the blade; the hook catching him in his upper arm.
He cries out, dropping the gun to the floor in favor of slapping his hand on the open wound now pouring blood and soaking the sleeve of his deputy uniform.
“You fucking bitch!”
I kick the gun out of reach.
“Move,” I demand, “Or I’ll aim lower next time.”
“Feeling brave, are you?” He sneers but he moves to the side as I advance on him, keeping the distance between us until it’s me in front of the door and he’s where I started, his blood mixed with mine smearing into the wood beneath our feet.
“Go on then,” He licks his teeth, “Run. See how far you can get before I catch you. We’ve played this game before.”
Flashes of the woods come back to me. The man at the falls. Him chasing me before I ran right into Roman.
“I won’t let you get away this time,” He promises.
Stepping backwards, I keep my weapon pointed at him until the wood beneath my feet turns to earth, and then I spin and I run.
I was quicker then; I have to be quicker now.
No one is coming to save me this time. I doubt Roman even knows I’m missing yet.
I look around but see nothing but trees towering all around me, stifling the setting sunlight.
It’s quiet, too quiet. There are no birds chirping, no wind rustling the leaves.
I don’t look back, just power forward until something hard slams straight into my stomach.
A scream rips from me as I go down, the air rushing out of me as pain becomes a bright, agonizing spot in my abdomen.
I curl into a ball on the ground, tears leaking from my eyes as a pair of legs step out from behind a tree.
My eyes move up to find Jenson standing over me with a heavy branch in his hand.
“Can’t let you get away just yet,” He smiles down at me. “He’s not even here to see what I could do to you.”
Winded, I can’t speak as I try to suck in air, fighting through the fog at the edges of my eyes.