CHAPTER 23
My pulse whooshes like a fetal monitor in my ears. The sound of it’s too loud, the force of it too hard. I shift, trying to alleviate the pressure, but everything hurts—my face, my head, my body… my heart. Even my thoughts.
I pray that the girls make it home safe because I’m really starting to doubt that a similar destiny is in my future. If it isn’t, I wonder how Jake will handle my loss.
It seems a silly thing to worry about as I lie here with the acrid taste of copper sharp in my mouth, the side of my face sticky with blood. Wincing as the floorboards tremble beneath my skull as Skunk paces the tiny room, waving a gun—my gun—around, making threats.
I peel one of my eyes open a slit to see who he’s talking to, but besides the two of us, no one’s here. I’m not sure how long I was unconscious. Or what I plan to do now that I’m not. I know I need to try and escape, but how? I suppose getting up would be a start.
I try to push myself up but can’t. My hands are bound. My whole body is, a length of rope coiled around me from my armpits to my ankles. The discovery takes the last little shred of hope I’d been holding on to and pulverizes it.
How can I get out of here if I can’t fight?
Heavy steps approach from outside. I’m not sure whether to pray for a miracle or yell for whoever it is to run as Skunk spins to face it, aiming my gun at the gap as it slowly opens.
Worm appears at the threshold, a hangdog expression drawing his narrow face down, creating folds he’s far too young to have.
He lifts timid eyes as he admits, “I couldn’t find them.”
An angry roar fills the room. A bottle smashes against the wall, shards of glass flying across the shack, some of them pelting me as they land. I sneak a glance at the men, checking to see if either of them has realized I’m awake. They haven’t.
I roll slightly, tipping the debris off myself. Even that small movement causes a swell of nausea to rise inside me. I hold my breath as I fight it back, afraid that even the simple act of filling my lungs might be too much motion for me right now.
If I wasn’t concussed before, I know that I am now. But that’s okay. I can still do this. I just need to stay sharp.
And speaking of sharp… I stare at the chunk of glass on the floor beside me, trying to figure out how to get my hands on it. It’s only six inches away, but given the way I feel, it might as well be a mile.
“What do you mean you couldn’t find them?” Skunk shouts. “Where’d you look?”
“Everywhere.”
“Like? Tell me.”
“I ran all the way to the main trail, but I didn’t see a thing. Didn’t hear anything, either. So I doubled back, looped around the cabin a few times, searched all the brush, but there was no sign of them.”
I chance a small, shallow breath, feeling relieved. The girls must have climbed like I told them to.
“You.”
A worn pair of sneakers appears in front of my face. I try not to react and reveal that I’m conscious again but can’t help flinching when one of the shoes comes toward my face, the toe of it jabbing my forehead roughly.
“Where would they go?”
I swallow hard, trying to keep the balloon that I feel floating up my throat down.
The shoe shoves me again as Skunk yells, “Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Bull.”
“I only met them today.”
Turning to Worm, he points at me. “Get her up.”
Worm looks at me nervously. “Why?”
“Because I told you to.”
The thin man moves behind me. A moment later, I feel his hands tucking into my armpits. He tries to lift me gently, but even so, the motion is too much. That balloon I’ve been fighting? Any second now it’s going to pop.
“You’re taking too long.”
Skunk grabs a handful of the rope that binds me and yanks me up. The world tilts. My body lurches. The bubble inside me bursts. A hot stream of vomit erupts from me, hitting the floor with a splash.
”Sick.”
Skunk gives me a shove as he releases me. I use the momentum to aim my fall, landing on my side next to the glass. Stretch my fingers, trying to reach it, but it’s still too far away from my hand.
I grunt as Skunk uses his foot to roll me onto my back. “You’re going to clean that up.”
“Yes,” I say, hoping he’ll cut my hands free so I can do it.
“This whole thing is your fault.” The glare he gives me is toxic. I shift my gaze from his face to my firearm, aimed at my head, wondering if this is it. “You’re nothing but trouble.”
His gun hand moves. I squeeze my eyes shut. Try to conjure up an image of Jake’s face, Butch’s smile, Stephano’s dancing, memories from a life that still feels so horribly incomplete.
The crack of the shot echoes in the small room. I feel the force of it in my bones. The heat of the blood as it spatters across me, dampening my clothes. But what I don’t feel is where I’ve been hit.
I push my eyes open. They land on a cartoon of a half-naked woman riding a shark. It’s the back of Skunk’s shirt. The man isn’t even facing my direction.
Was he just trying to scare me? No. Because as I continue to look around, I see the victim of his anger lying on the floor by my legs. It’s Worm. And there’s a bullet hole right where his nose used to be.
Skunk turns slowly. This time, when our gazes meet, there’s a smile stretched across his face.
“That’s one problem down.” He uses the barrel of the gun to point at me. “Now one more to go.”
“You don’t want to do that,” I rush to say.
His smile vanishes. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”
I’m desperate. I only have one trick up my sleeve, and it isn’t even really a trick. It might not even work, and if it does, it’s just delaying the inevitable. But maybe, if I buy myself enough time, I’ll find a way out of this.
“My name is Cassidy Knox,” I say. “I’m the one responsible for putting Tony Bianchi in prison. Do you know who he is?”
Skunk’s eyes widen. He licks his lips as he stares at me. “Yeah. I’ve heard of Tony.”
“He wants revenge. Put a bounty on my head to get it. Which means that I’m worth far more to you alive than dead.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know. If you were him, how much do you think you’d pay to get your hands on the woman who took away your freedom?”
His mouth twists into a knot. His foot starts tapping rapidly against the floor.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“You won’t until you check. Do you know anyone with ties to him? Who could get him a message, maybe?”
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t you call them?”
“He’s not the kind of guy you call. I’m gonna have to go see him in person.”
Skunk crosses to the door, giving me a threatening look.
“If this is some kind of trick…”
“It’s not,” I assure him.
“It better not be. ‘Cause if it is, you’ll regret it when I get back. I’ll make sure of it.”
With that, he steps outside. I breathe a sigh of relief, almost unable to believe my luck. He’s gone. I hope the girls have gotten enough of a head start that they’ll be able to hide when they hear his bike coming.
As for me… I turn my focus to the piece of glass on the floor before me. It’s the same size and shape as a tortilla chip, but with a much sharper edge. And if I can just get my hands on it, I know I’ll be able to get free.
Rolling onto my side with a groan, I buck my hips forward, tightening my muscles, dragging myself closer to it.
The action sends electric jolts of agony through my skull, causing me to break out in a sweat.
Tears squeeze from my eyes, and my breath becomes a ragged pant.
All that for one, maybe two inches of movement.
But every centimeter brings me closer to freedom.
A noise behind me causes me to fall still. My heart feels like it just skipped a beat. Maybe I won’t have to put forth the effort. Maybe the girls are still here and now they’re coming for me.
I stare at the door expectantly. But it’s not Amelia or Danielle who appears.
Skunk circles behind me, grabs me by the arms and drags me over to the sleeping bag the girls were on when I first arrived. The ragged ends of the rope we cut through stick through the knotholes again. He uses them to tie me to the wall.
This time, when he leaves, there is no hope. There’s just me, unable to move. Looking at the shard of glass across the room until darkness falls and I can no longer see it. Suspecting that I just traded a quick death for a far more painful one.