Chapter 26
Zara
Maybe I'm losing my mind, going a little crazy from not sleeping for such a long period of time, but I've sensed someone on the other side of the door every second since he left me in here alone.
I dart my eyes around the room, wondering if the sensation is coming from a hidden camera, but I don't see anything that could possibly hold one, not that I know a damn thing about surveillance.
The sound of the lock clicking free makes my heart rate triple, and it says a lot about me when I see him step inside and the sight of him calms me. I shouldn't feel safe or at ease around him. I let myself believe that the second he woke up, he'd get me out of here. In my mind, he would burn down the world, and plow through anyone that got in his way to keep me safe, but he hasn't done anything like that. He sat and stared at me and then walked out, locking me in this room just like the other two men did.
Actions speak louder than words , Zara. Didn't you learn that a long time ago?
He doesn't make direct eye contact with me as he walks slowly toward the chair he was sitting in earlier, and that's the exact opposite of how he normally acts. Every other time he's been around me, he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off me.
A chill rushes down my spine, something I should've felt all along, but I let my heart convince me that caring for him meant he cared for me. It's a mistake that could possibly cost me my life .
"Please," I whisper, but it's still not enough to pull his gaze from his hands.
My chin trembles as I do my best not to sob.
The man could look me right in the eye when he was fucking me, but he decides now, when my life may be on the line, that I don't deserve his full attention?
Anger begins to swirl inside of me, replacing the fear, and although I know it's probably a mistake, I can't stop the way it makes me stand a little taller, grow a little bolder.
"Look at me!" I snap, but still, his eyes remain downcast. "How dare you keep me here against my will. I don't deserve this."
The only reaction I get is his jaw flexing, the muscles clenching as if I'm annoying him.
But maybe I'm not. Maybe he's in an impossible situation. Maybe he doesn't want to be here. Maybe he does care about me, and he hates the fact that he'll have to do anything to me at all.
But what are the chances of that?
I don't know this man. Other than great sex, what has he revealed to me?
Nothing.
Even the name he gave to me is a lie.
That anger that was simmering bubbles over.
"Who the fuck are you?" I yell, pacing back and forth in front of him, as if he's the one trapped down here and I'm calling the shots. "Your name isn't Owen. I know that for damned sure."
He doesn't respond and it makes me even angrier, my pulse pounding in my ears, wondering just how far I can push the man before he pushes back.
"Why did you lie about your nephew? I saw the soap stones in the trash. Do you even have a nephew?"
He shifts his weight on the chair, and although it's infuriating, I know his silence could easily be an interrogation tactic that he's using on me. What the hell do I know about any of this? I've never been a prisoner before, despite the ten years I was trapped in a loveless marriage.
"Do you plan to kill me? "
This is what pulls his eyes up to meet mine, but when he speaks, it's the very last thing I expect.
"Do you deserve to die?"
Tears well in my eyes. "Is that a real question?"
He crosses his arms over his chest, making me wonder why he came down here twice now and never thought putting on a damn shirt was a good idea. Blood still stains his skin, the patch of white gauze taped to his side seeming too small for the trauma his body suffered not long ago. I have no idea why I'm crying in fear and still feel the need to wrap my arms around him, grateful that he didn't die.
My mind is a confusing place right now, and I hate the position he's putting me in. The physiological torture may be worse than any physical pain he could cause.
"You're connected to Wilkinson."
The mention of Tommy seems out of place, but the name isn't. I was a Wilkinson for a long time, so long that my maiden name Hailey seems more out of place.
"He's my boss at the bar," I say. "We already talked about this."
He lifts his eyes to meet mine, and I feel trapped. How can he not feel even an ounce of what I'm feeling?
I pull in a deep breath when my words don't seem to be enough for him.
"I saw you walk that young girl back to his office."
"Do you know her?" I ask, wondering why he'd be upset about that girl... unless he's in her life the same way he's in mine.
He narrows his eyes, and it makes me rethink my tone.
"Do you know her? She showed me her license. She's twenty-two, an adult, but as far as I'm concerned, too young for you and most definitely too young for Tommy."
I drop my ass to the bed, exhaustion settling inside of me.
"She mentioned modeling and being there for a job interview. It gave me the creeps, but she didn't seem to be in any danger."
"And? "
"And what?" I snap, throwing my hands in the air. "I make drinks and go home. That's what I do."
"What does Tommy do?" he snaps, as if he's frustrated with me being frustrated with him. "Is he trafficking girls out of his bar?"
"He's… what?" I immediately shake my head because there's no way he could be doing something like that right under my nose without me knowing about it. Then again, the man has given me the creeps more than once here recently.
"I can tell by the way you're looking at me that you don't trust me. I haven't given you any reason not to trust me, but let me repeat myself, so we can get all this shit out in the open. I got a call from Tommy after he found out Billy was arrested. He offered me a job at the bar and a low-rent house. My little town was doing nothing but gossiping about the arrest, and I saw it as my only way out of that situation. I've been working at The Lost Kitten since right after Halloween. Two months," I say, holding up two fingers. "I walked in on Tommy getting a blow job the other night by a girl with her hands tied behind her back."
He shifts then, sitting up straighter, and I don't miss the way his eyes scrunch in the corners from the pain it causes. I can recognize the valiant effort not to react to it at all.
"I backed out because, honestly, who wants to see their ex-brother-in-law getting head, but then Tommy came out into the hall. A minute later, the girl popped her head out and she was untied. She didn't seem in distress."
"How old was she?"
"I thought the girl from the other night was in her teens but her license said she was twenty-two, so I don't think I'm the best judge for determining someone's age just by looking at them. It's why I normally ID every single new customer we get at the bar. I don't want to mess up and get arrested for serving a minor."
"Go on," he urges when I grow quiet.
"I know he did something sexual with the girl you saw me with because I heard them when I went to get a case of beer. She didn't sound like she was in a situation she regretted," I explain, my nose scrunching up in disgust. "That doesn't mean she wasn't coerced, but I didn'tsay anything."
It's my turn to drop my eyes to my hands, guilt swimming inside of me. Whatever other reason that girl was there, I have no doubt she wished she could have made a different choice in life instead of the one that led her to the bar that night.
"Anything else?"
I shake my head, but then the memory from when I took the trash out comes rushing back.
"A while back—"
"How long? I need you to be succinct."
I shake my head. "I don't know. After I met you but before you broke into my house."
He raises an eyebrow at me as if he's surprised I would bring up any connection the two of us have.
"I was out back, throwing trash away, and a car pulled up. Tommy came out of the back of the bar with a crying girl and put her in the car."
"Who was driving it?"
"I have no clue,"I answer, annoyed more with myself for not demanding Tommy explain what was going on. "He wasn't hurting her. He wasn't rough with her."
"He didn't look angry?"
"He looked mad, but it didn't seem it was at her. He didn't shove her in the car or yell or anything like that."
He nods, pulling in a deep breath before he stands.
"What do you know?"
He doesn't turn back to look at me or offer any explanation before leaving the room, the lock sliding back into place after he closes the door.