Chapter 20 #2
She was grateful he hadn’t tied the rope around her throat so tightly she had to stand on her tiptoes.
If he really wanted to torture her, that would’ve been a great way to do it.
But instead she stood on flat feet, her head pulled back and resting against the wooden planks behind her, hands restrained near her waist. She was uncomfortable, couldn’t really talk, and breathing was as difficult as it had been from the moment she was restrained in Jen’s car… but she could breathe.
And every breath was a huge “fuck you” to the man watching and waiting for her to die.
He appeared to have slept soundly last night—the bastard—and in between eating meals today, he spent most of his time taunting her.
And all that nonstop talking must have exhausted him, because a couple hours after eating his dinner, he lay down for a nap.
And seeing him resting, his head on a fluffy pillow, all Kara wanted to do was fucking kill him.
But she stood against the wall as stoically as she could and thought about Arrow.
What was he doing right that second? Besides stressing the hell out?
She had no doubt he’d mobilized every asset he could to search for her.
She had no idea how he’d find her, as Nolan had driven for hours and they were in the middle of nowhere, but Kara didn’t doubt that Arrow and his friends would find her.
Nolan might think he was smart, but even she knew that driving Jen’s teal vehicle was like waving a huge red flag. And when he’d put that blanket over her head when he’d stopped for gas? Surely someone had seen her and wondered what the hell that was all about.
Her only concern was that most police departments had a policy that an adult had to be missing for at least twenty-four hours before anything was done. That time had passed now. But she hoped her history with Nolan would work in her favor, and everyone had started looking for her immediately.
A couple of times while listening to Nolan snore, despair threatened to overwhelm Kara.
What if Jen hadn’t survived? What if no one knew Nolan had been the one to kidnap her again?
Surely Arrow would assume that’s what happened, but it wasn’t a guarantee.
Especially when it seemed as if everyone believed the body found in the burned-out car in North Carolina belonged to her ex.
But almost as soon as she felt herself getting depressed, Kara pushed the negative thoughts away.
She had to stay strong. Arrow would expect it of her.
And after hearing the horrible stories of what had happened to her new friends, and seeing how happy they were now, Kara was determined to come out of this maybe a bit bruised, but not broken.
Shifting against the wall behind her, Kara panicked for a split second when it felt as if the rope had tightened. But as she moved back to her original position, it loosened just enough for her to get air into her lungs once more.
Taking short, shallow breaths for hours on end was painful, and she longed to be able to take one long, deep breath. Just one. But wishing for something that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon was just torturing herself.
The longer she stood against that wall, the angrier she became. She was exhausted, hungry, in pain, and frankly, scared to death. But she wasn’t a quitter. This was one battle she had to win at all costs.
The thing that sucked though…was that Nolan wasn’t wrong.
At some point, she was going to lose her fight against exhaustion.
Her body would shut down, and if that happened, she’d slump forward, cutting off her own air.
She could imagine Nolan’s elation. He’d lean forward and watch with excitement as she strangled herself.
He was evil down to his very bones. How the hell she’d thought for one second that he was charming, a good guy, was a mystery. He’d hidden his crazy so well. If nothing else, Kara wanted to live to make sure he didn’t have a chance to hoodwink anyone else.
After a while, he woke up, looked at her…and Kara saw the first signs of irritation and impatience in his gaze as he studied her.
“Still alive, huh?” he asked, as he stretched lazily.
The asshole.
“You shit yourself yet? I don’t think you have, since I can’t smell it. I appreciate your restraint, because smelling you would probably make it hard for me to eat breakfast.”
It was nighttime, nowhere near early enough for breakfast, but Kara knew he was only eating to torture her.
Not that she’d be able to swallow anything even if he suddenly decided to feed her.
And she couldn’t turn her head away to avoid watching him eat, because she was strapped so tightly to the hook in the wall above her head.
So she closed her eyes—only to immediately open them again, not wanting to take her gaze off her kidnapper.
There was no telling what he’d do just for fun if she wasn’t watching.
He calmly heated up the scrambled eggs and bacon that came in one of the MREs, filling the air with the delicious scent.
“This is like watching paint dry,” Nolan complained. “Can’t you do something more interesting than stare at me?”
Kara wanted to snort. What did he want her to do?
Dance? He could go on a hike if he was so fucking bored.
Maybe she’d get lucky and he’d get eaten by a bear.
He’d left the cabin yesterday, as soon as it was light outside, but he didn’t leave the area.
She’d heard the car engine start, and he’d remained outside for an hour or so, then returned, holding up his phone and saying, “Had to charge it up!”
She got excited for a moment, knowing the police and phone companies could track the signal, but he’d dashed that hope when he told her it was a brand-new throwaway phone.
Kara had listened as he’d begun to set up his new life out in California. He’d called someone and arranged to meet them somewhere in West Virginia, where he’d pick up his new identification. He also called a few car places to inquire about a new vehicle.
And lastly, she listened as he spoke to who had to be a woman.
It was sickening, hearing him sweet-talk someone, saying he couldn’t wait to meet her in person.
Knowing he was setting up his next mark made her want to scream.
Tell him what a piece of shit he was. But she couldn’t do anything but listen.
She could barely swallow now, definitely couldn’t talk without pain, and it was taking all her energy to simply breathe.
But silently, she railed at him. Called him all the bad names she could think of. Prayed that karma would do her thing and send someone to not only rescue her, but kill him in the process.
The Kara she’d been back in North Carolina would be alarmed at how bloodthirsty the new Kara was, but it didn’t faze her in the least. If anyone deserved to be dead and rotting in the ground, it was Nolan Colins…or whatever his real name was.
At some point in the last day or so, she’d realized that he’d probably changed his name several times.
It was likely one of the ways he was able to stay under the police’s radar.
That, and he moved around a lot, so the detectives investigating the deaths of the other women he’d killed didn’t make the connection between him and his other victims.
He was smart…but Arrow was smarter.
Kara had no doubt.
All she needed was time.
But how much of it she had left was the big question.
Her body was weakening, but not her resolve to outwit, outplay, and outlast Nolan.
She wanted to laugh at her mental reference to the popular reality show.
Not that it was reality, she’d seen pictures of how many cameras and crew members were constantly around the contestants. Deserted island? Hardly.
And how many of those supposedly tough people would be able to do what she was right now? She was the Survivor Champion of the World.
Kara was aware her mind was wandering but was unable to stop it.
She wanted to giggle but kept her face expressionless, not wanting to antagonize Nolan.
She was at his mercy, and the only thing keeping her alive right now was his desire to see her suffer.
And if he thought she wasn’t suffering enough, he’d be sure to remedy that.
“You know, I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a very long time, but now that it’s here…I’m bored,” Nolan said after a while. He stood up and began to fold the blanket he’d slept on.
Kara’s heart sped up. No. No, no, no, no.
She wasn’t ready to die. Arrow hadn’t found her yet.
She needed more time! Wanted to know if Jen had made it, and if she had, give her a huge hug.
She wanted a future with Arrow. Wanted to see Laryn’s babies after they were born.
Meet Arrow’s mom. There was so much she wanted to do.
Nolan turned to face her with his hands on his hips and a glare aimed in her direction. “I’m not sure you’ve learned your lesson. I think you’re too calm.”
Calm? She wasn’t calm at all. “Please,” she choked out, desperate to keep him at bay.
“Yeah, begging is good,” Nolan said with a slimy smile. “More of that.”
Even though it hurt to talk, she did exactly what he wanted. “I’m sorry for trying to break up with you. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I didn’t see it.”
For a moment, she thought her sucking up was actually working. That he was falling for it.
Then Nolan scowled and screamed, “Too fucking late!”
Kara jerked in surprise, then gagged as the rope cut into her throat.
He grinned. “Oh, now that I like,” he said, his tone normal once more.
When he stepped toward her, Kara knew her time was up. She should’ve realized he’d lied about waiting for her to fall asleep, killing herself in the process. Everything that ever came out of his mouth was a lie. Why would this be any different?
It wasn’t fair.
She’d been having such a good run of good luck, and this was how it ended?
This sucked!
Nolan stalked toward her and reached for the rope around her neck.