Chapter 8 – Vivian
“ D on’t even think about it.” The awe was sapped from my veins, and all that remained was a deadly cold.
Adrenaline spiked again. It was my saving grace in the face of the enormous headache. My gaze cut to the trees. Daylight was filling the sky more and more every moment. There would be no hiding in the dark forest until I could creep away. It was run…or be caught.
“Who the fuck are you?” I seethed, glaring down at the freak of nature cutting away another tooth from the alligator.
He can’t be human!
Sliding a look down his fine physique, I huffed in disgust at the natural appreciation pulsing in my chest. There was no way I was stupid enough to think he was the kind of release I needed! That attraction was done. Finished. He could rot in hell with that demi-god body and laughing smile. I was not the Stockholm girl who thought her captor was hot!
You thought he was hot before—
Shut up!
“Are you suddenly deaf?” I snapped. “I asked you a question.”
“And I declined to answer,” he smirked. Rising, he brushed his hands on his wet pants. “What a mess, eh?”
Shaking my head in disbelief, I winced.
“Head hurt? I have something for that,” he said quietly.
How he’d moved with such feline grace, suddenly appearing beside me, I couldn’t say. My pulse roared in protest. The world around me grew blurry. Trees swayed. The light pierced my brain.
“Come on, let’s get you to the car so you can lie down.” A soft touch brushed against my upper arm.
I jerked away. “Don’t touch me.”
Luka raised his hands, face shining with that boyish charm.
Only…now I’d seen him kill twice. This monster was anything but a boy.
“Look, you can stand here shivering, and if I’m right, you’re close to puking.” He arched a brow. I pressed my lips tightly, and he nodded. “Thought so. Okay, so you need to get some fluids in you. And if you can swallow a Zofran, that will help.”
I stabbed an accusatory finger at his chest. “You drugged me.”
That laughing mouth quirked, and his hands swept gracefully through the air. “Your point?”
How could he think this was okay?
What the hell was wrong with him?
Words stuck in my throat until I finally spewed them at him. “You expect me to take anything from you ever again? You’re fucking insane!”
“Many people think so, yes.” He shrugged ever so slightly. “I’m not. Just don’t process like a normal person.”
I blinked. His unexpected agreement was hard to argue with.
“Look, darlin—”
“Don’t call me that!”
“—you can do this the easy way or the hard way. And I really would like to make the rest of the drive as pleasant as possible.”
Drive. Car. Kidnapping.
“Where are you taking me?” My voice dropped multiple octaves.
Silence danced over his features. He reached for me, but I snatched my hands away.
“Touch me and I’ll kill you,” I promised.
“Okay, sure.” He smirked again. “If it makes you more comfortable, I won’t touch you again until you ask.”
“Oh, I won’t ask,” I barked in a rough laugh.
“We’ll see. But the only way I don’t put you over my shoulder, paddle that fine ass until it’s blazing red, and then hogtie you in the trunk of the car, is if you march your smart mouth back to the car, get inside on your own, and let us leave.”
Maybe it was the look in his eye or the harder edge in his voice.
I listened.
Defeat weighed on me. Each step was slow and difficult. I kept my head down, fighting the prickling in my eyes.
I need to figure out who the hell this guy is. That would tell me who was behind this. And then…and then! I could make a plan.
“Pull yourself together, Vivian,” I mouthed to myself.
I was brave! I laughed in the face of obstacles, and I was willing to pay any price so as not to go back to that period of time where I was controlled. Terrible memories rose to the surface, bringing pain, embarrassment, and disgust. Never again. I left that world. Walked away.
I ran away from one monster—like hell I would let this one call the shots in my life!
A plan formed out of that determination.
It was desperate, but it was plausible.
Back at the car, I slumped against the hood of the royal blue Honda Civic.
Luka jogged to the trunk and grabbed a backpack. The sound of rustling spiked my panic. I peered at him, expecting a tranquilizer bullet.
Act weak. A tired captive would be less hawkishly watched.
“I have zofran and Gatorade—”
“Oh, hell no!” I boomed.
And mentally slapped myself. That wasn’t the reaction of someone who was sedate and submissive. I ground my molars. This was going to be far harder than I anticipated.
“Okay,” Luka said slowly, peering around the trunk at me. “I can take you through a drive-through if you promise not to make a scene. They can get you something to drink, and there’ll be no chance of them tampering with it.”
I bit my lip. Make a scene, call for help? Tempting. But what would a man like him do when cornered?
He won’t kill you . That thought bubbled sarcastically in my mind, but it was ever so accurate. I was safe with Luka; his captive, and going only heaven knew where! But…he wouldn’t hurt me. I knew that as surely as I knew I was alive. There was no reason to trust him. It wasn’t a reaction based in logic and fact. It was all gut and instinct. Luka wouldn’t hurt me.
The splitting ache in my head protested.
Okay, so hurt was a relative term.
“I promise,” I ground out. “Any chance of breakfast while we’re at it? I get hangry easily—especially after being drugged.”
Luka flashed me that grin. My fists curled, wanting to smack it off his face, while at the same time, it sent a flash of warmth through me.
He’s a psycho. You will NOT catch feelings for him.
He slammed the trunk and walked around to the passenger side. The latch on the door popped, and the criminal held the door open for me.
“It’s either that or the trunk,” he added with a twinkle in his eye. “I can’t have you trying to choke me from the backseat. We might skid off the road.”
I had no choice but to climb in, shut my mouth, and pray that I could escape this madness.