Chapter 5
Sometime later, Liz hears footsteps echoing down the hall. She sits back up, thinking the general was coming to try again, but the door opens to reveal Mikey and Riley. Liz doesn’t know whether to be scared or relieved.
They walk into the room, and she notices Riley has his hands full: a plate and bottle are in one hand and what looks like clothes in the other.
Her eyes linger on his hands. His knuckles are red and cut like he had just been hitting something.
Riley tosses the clothes onto the table and carefully sets down the plate and bottle of water.
“Can you move your hands enough to eat?” Riley asks, looking at Liz staring at him.
Not wanting him to see how scared she is, she rolls her eyes before quickly raising her arms a few inches off the table, the metal snapping her hands back down.
“Does that answer your question? Even if I could, I’m not eating that,” Liz manages while staring Riley down. “If you want me dead, you can tell your little boss to stop being a coward and come kill me himself. This little good cop bad cop thing won’t work on me.”
“Oh, she’s feisty. I like her,” Mikey says, slapping Riley on the shoulder before turning back to Liz. “You look like you haven’t eaten in weeks, and you’ve been shivering since we walked in the room,” he says. “At least drink some water, maybe put on some real clothes so you’re not freezing.”
Liz is taken aback by the genuine concern in his voice, but she’s not going to give in so easily. She knows she can’t trust these men, no matter how much her gut screams at her she should.
“If you think I’m going to put on a little strip show for you, you’re as stupid as your boss.
I would rather die than be humiliated like that again.
” She looks Riley in the eyes. Her words must have struck a nerve because she could have sworn she saw sadness flash in his eyes.
She sits back in the hard metal chair, trying to hide the wince as she does.
“I think you’re forgetting, I’ve already seen all of you, love. Who do you think carried you out of that shit hole?” he says, looking her over. Liz looks away, hoping her cheeks don’t give away how embarrassed she is. “But I understand. We’re not trying to put you on display.”
Riley turns to Mikey and whispers something she can’t quite make out. He quickly gets up and leaves the room. No more than a few seconds later, the mirror on the wall is illuminated, revealing a small room full of boxes with Mikey in the middle.
“He’s going to guard the doors, and I’m going to cover that camera. You,” he says, turning to look at her, “will be changing into those clothes.”
“And if I refuse?” she asks timidly.
“I’m not going to force you into anything. The choice is yours and yours alone.”
Uncomfortable with his kindness Liz lifts her hands again, hard enough to send a fresh wave of pain up her arm. She rattles the cuffs to remind him she can’t move.
He lets out a big sigh, his patience growing thin. “If I take the cuffs off, are you going to attack me again?” he asks, almost playfully.
“Why don’t you come over here and find out,” Liz muses, her tone lighter than before.
He looks at her, his eyes lighting up with the challenge. If she didn’t know better, she would think he’s smiling under that mask.
“I’m going to un-cuff you, and you’re going to behave,” he says firmly, watching her, challenging her to be a smart ass now that he’s offered some amount of freedom.
She opens her mouth to say something before thinking better of it and snaps her jaw closed.
He steps toward the table, pulling something out of his pocket, leaning over her with a small key in hand. She hopes he doesn’t notice when her hands start to shake in anticipation. She can’t remember the last time she was allowed to be unrestrained.
Riley slides the key into one cuff and slowly turns it until Liz hears the soft click of the lock releasing. She holds back her tears, she won’t let these men see just how close to broken she is. The second lock clicks free, but she doesn’t dare move her hands.
Riley moves to the other side, gently opening the cuffs and pulling them off, setting them on the table between the two of them.
“I’ll keep them off as long as you don’t try to attack me again,” he says, his voice playful again.
Liz looks at her tender skin. She almost forgot what her wrists look like without hand-cuffs. She peers over at Riley, quickly averting her eyes. Something about him is different from the other men who had taken her. He almost seems like he genuinely cares about her safety.Her mind starts to race.
The sounds of Velcro and boots stepping across the floor pulls her from her thoughts.
Liz looks up; Riley’s back is to her while he pulls his vest off, slightly wincing from the pain in his shoulder.
She takes the opportunity to pull her hands off the table, rubbing at the soreness in her wrists, checking on the bruises and raw skin.
“Camera’s covered, you’re safe to change,” Riley says.
She looks around, making sure there are no other cameras.
Then checks the glass window, making sure the room is still empty.
When she doesn’t see anything watching her, she quickly pulls the tattered, oversized t-shirt over her head and drops it next to her.
Wearing nothing but a ripped pair of panties, she takes a deep breath before quickly removing those too as she fights to keep the panic from setting in.
She is naked in a room with a man who can easily overpower her if he wants.
That terrifying thought sends her heart racing.
“Might be a little big, but it’s the best I could do in the middle of the night,” Riley says to her, his back still turned.
Liz picks up what looks to be a man’s undershirt and pulls it over her head, sucking in a sharp breath from the pain.
As soon as the shirt is on, she’s hit with the smell of sandalwood and cardamom.
She quickly grabs what’s left: a pair of gray sweatpants, clearly meant for someone much bigger than her.
She slides one leg into the pants, then the other, but once she has them pulled up, they immediately fall back down.
She looks for a string or anything to tighten them, finding nothing.
Liz simply rolls them down, hoping the extra fabric bunched around her waist holds them up enough.
She slides back into her chair, making sure it makes a noise as she does.
Riley lowers the vest and sets it on the floor before turning to see her putting her hands back near the anchor on the table, waiting to be re-cuffed.
His anger reignites seeing her submit like that.
Liz looks up at him, noting the anger in his eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispers, thinking he’s angry with her for not saying it sooner.
His eyes soften, and walks to the door, opening it for Mikey to rejoin them. Mikey looks at her, noting her hands and how she is waiting patiently to have her handcuffs replaced. He glances at Riley who gives his head a small shake.
“Please eat,” Mikey practically begs, sliding the small plate of food toward Liz. “You haven’t eaten since we got you here.”
“No,” she says to him, ignoring the pleading in his tone.
She pushes the plate back to the men in front of her.
Without hesitation, Mikey grabs the sandwich, taking a large bite before throwing it back onto the plate and sliding it back.
Liz just looks at him, eyes wide with shock.
She opens her mouth to say something, but he holds up one finger, silencing her while he chews.
He swallows, then grabs the water, twisting the cap off and tossing it onto the table.
He pours a big swig of the water into his mouth and sets the bottle back down, pushing it to the other side of the table.
“We told you the food is safe, darlin… Eat,” he says before quietly adding— “Please.”
“Aren’t you going to put the handcuffs back on?” Liz asks, hands still in the middle of the table next to the anchor. They both look at her with a mix of amusement and pity.
“Are you going to stab me?” Riley asks, stepping close to where she sits. “Again,” he quickly adds, amusement dancing in his eyes.
“I haven’t decided yet,” Liz says, batting her eyelashes at him.
She knows the men are growing tired of this back and forth with her.
It’s only a matter of time before they snap and show her just how horrible they are.
If only it was as easy to make them snap as it was the general.
At least if they treat her how she’s expecting, her anger and distrust will be justified.
“Okay, how about we make a deal,” Riley says, sliding into a chair. He wants to get this over with so he can finally get some sleep. “If you eat, I will tell you whatever you want to know. Where we are, who we are, anything.”
She takes a second to think this over, looking between the two men.
What if they are really trying to help her?
Something in her soul is screaming at her to trust Riley.
Just being in his presence sends a wave of calm over her.
She thinks to herself, before reaching over and picking up the sandwich, she brings it to her mouth and takes a small bite before setting it down and looking back at Riley.
He stares right back, neither one willing to look away first. Mikey clears his throat in an attempt to break the tension.
“So, what do you want to know?” Mikey asks, growing a little concerned about the stare off happening beside him.
Riley finally breaks and glances at the food still sitting in front of them. Liz smirks, proud of herself for not letting him intimidate her. Little does she know, he would have stared into her eyes all day, but she needed the win, needed to be stronger than him.
“What’s with the mask? You had one when you attacked me in the cell, too” she says, taking another bite of sandwich, embarrassed by the small moan that escapes. It’s been so long since she’s had real food, not thrown onto a dirty floor so she can “eat like the animal she is”.
“Really?” Riley says, raising his eyebrows. “We give you free reign to ask anything and that’s what you want to know?” He wanted to add that he didn’t attack her, but the split in her lip has him keeping his mouth shut.
“There’s more,” Liz responds. “But you said anything. I want to know why you hide your face. Are you that ugly?” she asks, taking another bite of the sandwich. She chews, glaring at Riley, waiting for his answer.
“Quite the opposite, love,” Riley says. “I wouldn’t be able to get anything done around here if women could see my face,” he adds, winking at her.
She swallows the food, not satisfied with the answer, and crosses her arms, leaning back in her chair.
She asked a stupid question on purpose, to see how they would answer.
If they aren’t going to hold up their end of the deal, then she’s done.
Seeing the change in her demeanor, Mikey shoots Riley a look.
“He wears a mask because of what happened when he was held prisoner, but that's not my story to tell,” Mikey says.
Liz sits back up, curiosity peaked at his words, but senses this isn’t something to push. She takes another bite of food, carefully thinking of her next question.
“Are you guys ga—”
“No,” Riley interrupts. “Just partners on the team. He watches my six, I watch his, everyone stays safe,,” he adds.
“Do you have any real questions? Or are you just going to keep fucking with us?” Riley asks, watching Liz.
She knows her time is running out, so she thinks about what she really needs to know. She finishes her food, and takes a deep breath, readying herself to ask the questions she doesn’t want to know the answers to.
“Are you really in the U.S. military? If you are, why was your general threatening me? I couldn’t fight off one of you, let alone two, even if he didn't have me restrained. And what’s the deal with the guy who took me?” she asks, her voice much quieter.
She can sense the hesitation in the men sitting across the table. A realization settles into their expressions.
Riley leans over and whispers something to his partner. Mikey gets up and excuses himself before walking over to the door and leaving. Once the door clicks shut, Riley sits up straighter and really looks at Liz. Even now, with the little attitude she’s had with him, he can see the fear in her eyes.
“Technically, yes, we’re really in the military.
This is Fort Stryker in Nevada,” he says, looking around the room.
“Myself, Mikey, and a select group of others form an elite special operations unit overseen by the general you met earlier.” He looks anywhere but at Liz, not wanting her to see the anger behind his eyes at the mention of his boss.
“The man who took you is named Dmitri Komarov, leader of a Russian terrorist organization who has been attacking the U.S. for years now but keeps managing to escape our team. As for why he took you, that’s what we’re trying to figure out.
” He finds her watching him, trying to figure out what his deal is, and if he can be trusted.
He catches her eyes flicking to the door, no doubt waiting for Mikey to walk back in.
“I sent him away, I thought you might be more comfortable talking to just one of us. Maybe if you can tell me what happened, we can figure out why he was keeping you.”
She thinks on his words for a minute, trying to discern what he truly wants to know. He makes it sound like Dmitri should have just killed her long ago.
After a prolonged silence, she reaches for the water and takes a small sip, pacing herself, uncertain of when they will allow her another. Finally, she looks at Riley and asks— “What do you want to know?”