Chapter Nineteen
THE SOUND OF voices drifted through Summer’s consciousness.
Was that her mother and father arguing again?
She wished they’d stop. She just wanted to go back to sleep.
Blissful sleep, so that her head didn’t hurt anymore.
But the buzzing noise of those infernal voices wouldn’t let her be.
She didn’t want to, but eventually she cracked one eyelid open.
Where was she?
Walls and a ceiling floated into focus. She was lying on the floor in a room somewhere. A dim glow drifted through the doorway, which was good. She couldn’t handle bright light; it hurt her eyes, hurt her head even more.
Summer tried to open her other eye, but it refused to comply.
It was also hard to breathe, something was clogging her nose.
But when she made an effort to open her mouth to suck in a breath, it was taped shut.
Air. She needed air, but she couldn’t seem to drag enough in through the one nostril that was still working.
To make matters worse, when she went to lift her hand to remove the tape, she discovered her arms tied together behind her back.
As she moved, a searing pain sliced through her forearm.
Summer panicked then, rolling around on dirty floorboards, trying to scream behind the gag, wanting to rid herself of these barbaric ropes. But nothing worked. She couldn’t get free. Her heart was pounding out of her chest, and she felt like she was going to pass out from lack of air.
It all came back to her then. The abduction, her escape.
Nathan tackling her to the ground and hurting her.
He must’ve recaptured her and was now holding her somewhere different from the shed.
Fuck, she needed to get out of here. Needed air.
Needed help. In a remote part of her brain, Summer realized she also ought to calm down; that she was hyperventilating, and if she didn’t stop, she might pass out.
But Summer’s animal mind had taken over, and she scrabbled at the floorboards with her fingers, desperation driving her on as she rolled over and over on the floor.
It was the pain in her head and her wrist that stopped her wild flailing in the end.
The headache was the same as the pain when she’d woken up in the shed after they’d first seized her.
They must’ve drugged her again. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her arm. Could it be broken?
Summer lay still, twisting to one side to ease the ache in her shoulders and wrist, chest heaving, tears of pain and frustration running down her face. As her breathing came back to normal, she tried to tune in to her surroundings again.
The arguing voices had become louder. It was her captors quarreling, not her parents after all. Paige must be close by, Summer could hear her clearly. Nathan’s voice, however, was indistinct, more of a distant shouting.
Then she heard Paige say loudly, “You promised you wouldn’t kill her.”
Summer froze. She’d always been afraid that Nathan hadn’t meant to leave her alive.
But to hear Paige utter those chilling words, to know that he was going to go through with it, made her panic rise all over again.
She couldn’t discern Nathan’s response, but the scorn in his voice was clear.
She needed to get out of here. Summer struggled again with the ropes around her wrists, fighting the pain slicing up her arm.
At one stage she managed to push herself upright into a sitting position with her good hand, but it was still no good.
With her hands tied behind her back, she couldn’t even reach the cords securing her ankles.
It was hopeless. Hot tears of anger ran unchecked down her cheeks.
What she needed was help. Where was M?rten?
Where were the cops? Why hadn’t they tracked her down already?
That was their job, wasn’t it? M?rten had promised he’d protect her.
That she would be safe with him. And she’d believed him.
Summer’s tears of frustration turned to sobs of sorrow and despair.
She was alone, and she was going to die.
She’d been strong enough to escape once on her own. But this time she was doomed.
Wait. She could hear footsteps coming down the hallway.
Stealthy footsteps. Paige and Nathan were even now arguing, Nathan’s voice getting closer now.
But they were both still outside by the sounds of it.
So who was walking through the house? Summer rolled over, eyes fixed on the doorway, lying completely still.
A large figure loomed; she couldn’t make out his features in the murky light.
But she knew who it was; she would’ve known him anywhere.
Those familiar broad shoulders that filled the door, straight-backed stance, chin slightly lowered as he trained his intense crystal-blue gaze on her.
M?rten.
She would have screamed his name if she could’ve.
How could she ever have doubted him?
He was on his knees beside her before she could even blink. He picked her up and held her so tight against his chest that for one second he almost squeezed the breath from her lungs as he muttered, “Gudskelov, gudskelov.”
She was no genius, but if the relief she felt was half that of his, then she had a good idea of what he was saying. But his comfort was soon torn away as he placed her gently down on the floor.
“We haven’t got long,” he whispered urgently, turning his head to check the door.
“They’re distracted outside, but we need to be quick.
” His fingers fumbled at the ropes around her legs even as he spoke.
“My car is parked a little way up the driveway. We’re going to try to make it back there before they realize you’re gone. Okay?”
She could only nod in agreement. All she wanted was to be held in those strong arms again. For one split-second she had felt so safe, so treasured.
When he’d finished untying her legs, she made noises from behind the tape to attract his attention. She needed this gag removed. As his gaze drifted upward from where he’d been concentrating on the knots around her ankles, he flinched.
“Oh my God, Summer, what have they done to you?” M?rten’s obvious horror when he saw her face confirmed her worst fears.
When Nathan had caught her, he’d beaten her senseless.
She remembered the first few blows now. After he’d knocked her to the ground in the forest, Nathan had rained punch after punch into her head and body, yelling at her that she was a bitch and she deserved everything she got.
Summer must’ve blacked out at some stage because she had no idea how she’d got back to this room, or even how long she’d been here.
It explained why she couldn’t see out of her left eye; it was swollen shut. And it explained the pain in her wrist, which was most likely broken. They must have drugged her to keep her unconscious while they decided their next move. She was probably lucky to still be alive.
M?rten removed the duct tape as gently as he could, but it was nevertheless excruciating is it lifted a layer of skin from around her mouth.
“M?rten.” His name came out more of a croak than a word.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner.” In the dim light she could see his face, a severe mask of self-incrimination. He was working on the knots binding her wrists now, and when he tugged hard on the rope, she let out an involuntary gasp of pain.
“Are you hurt?” he demanded.
She nodded and said, “I’m not sure, but it might be broken.”
“Fuck! I really am gonna kill that guy,” M?rten muttered as he took more care with the knots.
He helped her to her feet, one arm around her shoulder to keep her steady.
Which was a good thing, because she swayed dangerously as the room swirled about her.
Her legs felt like they were made of lead, pins and needles shooting upward as the blood released from where the ropes had been tied too tight.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he said, his lips close to her ear. “Can you take a step for me?”
Cradling her broken arm close to her body, she forced herself to take one tentative, clumsy step, then another, conscious of the fact that Paige or Nathan could appear at any second.
“I’m good,” she said from between gritted teeth.
“Let’s get out of here.” Leaning heavily on M?rten, she made it out of the room, but she was so slow.
She knew they were running out of time. They turned left down the hallway, her shuffling steps loud in the muted silence of the old house.
She was aware that she could no longer hear Paige and Nathan arguing.
Everything had gone deathly quiet outside.
If they’d stopped arguing…Summer tried to quicken her pace, but her legs were sluggish to respond.
They were just as battered and bruised as the rest of her body.
“I picked the lock and got in through the rear door,” M?rten explained, and Summer could just make out a door standing ajar at the end of the hallway. Outside was freedom. The idea spurred her on, and she increased her hobbling pace to a shambling run, M?rten holding her by the uninjured side.
A guttural scream echoed down the hallway. Summer stopped and turned instinctively toward that terrible sound.
“Fuck.” M?rten was tugging on her arm. Then he was behind her, propelling her forward, supporting her by the waist, almost carrying her.
“That sounded like Paige,” she said, her mind still caught up in wanting to figure out what was going on outside.
Had Nathan attacked Paige? Should they help her?
But by then M?rten had half-carried her to the threshold of the door.
He shoved it all the way open with one foot, and blessed cool air hit Summer in the face. Freedom. They were safe.