Chapter 4
Nate hadn’t been expecting his destination to be a little cabin out in the middle of Nowheresville, Virginia, tucked in the mountains.
Yet here he was with his captive in a musty, one-room log cabin with a tiny bathroom tucked on the side.
Nate was grateful, though. He was free. He felt safe—for now, at least.
After parking the car and checking the cabin, Nate brought the unconscious woman in and placed her on the queen-sized bed.
He was starting to feel physically and mentally exhausted, and he wanted to make sure the woman wouldn’t run on him if he passed out.
Of course, he hated to do it; he felt like a bastard.
However, after rummaging through the well-stocked supplies, he found zip ties and attached one wrist to the bed’s old metal headboard.
She looked vulnerable yet utterly beautiful.
The woman had long, blonde hair that was done in soft waves.
Her face was stunning—perfectly symmetrical with a cute nose, great cheekbones, and soft, pink lips he wished he could kiss.
He wouldn’t. He wasn’t that kind of guy.
But it was impossible not to notice her beauty.
Guilt began to eat away at Nate, and he started to second-guess himself for taking her.
Maybe she would have been okay if he had left her?
Maybe this was the stupidest idea he’d ever had?
However, there was something nagging at him that said she needed to be with him.
In fact, the more he stared at her, the more he thought he knew her from somewhere. But where?
Had she passed his room at the facility? No. He would have remembered a woman like that. Was she a Conglomerate agent? No, he would have remembered her. Fuck. His mind was so fuzzy that he gave up trying and focused on his next task.
There were supplies everywhere. Nate assumed that John had stocked the place.
There was a huge cooler full of bottled water and sports drinks.
He could certainly use the added electrolytes and sugar.
There were also stacks of packaged foods: MREs, protein bars, tuna packets, canned fruit, and more.
Nate immediately grabbed a blue sports drink and a protein bar and collapsed to the floor.
He began chugging the heavenly liquid and chomping on the food as if it were fine dining.
Sims fed him what constituted slop, and only enough for Nate not to starve.
Unfortunately, Nate had been an idiot and consumed his meal way too fast. His stomach began to cramp, and he groaned.
Nausea overwhelmed him, and he crawled over to the small bathroom where he immediately threw up everything into the toilet.
His vision blackened, and when it cleared, he realized that he had passed out.
Fuck.
Nate poked his head out of the bathroom and was relieved to see the woman was still asleep, so he couldn’t have been out for long.
He got up unsteadily and made his way back to the food and drink.
This time, he took a few sips and bites.
After a few moments, he was able to hold it down.
He decided he’d keep doing this throughout the night and the next few days until he was back to normal.
Stumbling back into the bathroom, he found toiletries lined along the sink as well as in the small shower.
John had thought of everything. All Nate wanted to do was crawl into the shower and stay there forever, but he had to continue doing inventory and keep an eye on the woman.
Instead, he brushed his teeth for the first time in months.
When he was finished, his gums felt raw, and even worse, when he stared back at his reflection in the mirror, he didn’t recognize himself.
His black hair was long and unkempt, and his beard had grown to the point where he looked like a wild man.
Even with the longer beard obscuring his face, he could still see that his cheeks had sunk in, and his blue eyes looked dull, defeated.
Nate wasn’t the same person anymore. He might never be the same person again—not after what the Conglomerate had done to him.
Pushing away from the sink, he continued to check the inventory, finding weapons, clothing, and a note from John. Nate frowned as he read it.
Nathan:
I sprung you as a favor to my daughter, but I also know you will never have a normal life as long as the Conglomerate is after you.
I may have found a way out for you. Go to the location in Blacksburg listed below with your armor.
And no, I’m not trying to steal it. However, your suit is vital for this mission.
There are pills you need to take. I was able to mess with the dosages in their systems, so you were getting half what you normally did.
Without anything, you’ll go through a nasty detox.
Use the pills to taper off over the next few weeks, or you’ll have seizures.
Getting off the benzodiazepines they’ve been using on you as a sedative will be tough. I’m sorry.
Spend some time and get yourself together. Don’t try to find me. I’ll find you when the time is right. The address listed is a safe hideout. There are supplies there. Make sure you take everything here as well.
Whatever you do, do not contact your brother. We need to keep this operation away from Gray Tower. They’ll just get in the way.
-John
After reading John’s note, Nate’s emotions were all over the place. The man was helping Nate, but what was the endgame? They were technically in-laws. However, after what had happened with the Conglomerate, he wasn’t sure if he could trust someone else. Too much shit had gone down.
Nate glanced over and saw that the woman was beginning to stir.
He grimaced and prepared himself for an unpleasant conversation.
He had no idea what he was going to say to her.
“Sorry, I kidnapped you. But I needed your car, and I didn’t want to leave you unconscious in the parking lot of a known psychopath’s business? ”
Yeah, that sounded awful, but as he watched her eyes open, he knew he’d have to do something and quick. She was going to freak when she was fully awake. He just hoped that he didn’t scare her too badly.
? ? ?
Alex had no idea why she couldn’t quite wake up. She had been drifting in and out of sleep for a while. For all she knew, she was probably late for work. However, she could not open her eyes no matter what she did.
Ugh. Why is this so hard? Alex thought, trying to force her eyes open.
Then, a nagging feeling caught hold. There was something wrong. What was it? When did she go to bed? She didn’t remember falling asleep. The last thing she could remember was being at the Sims Center, trying to get to her car after Douglas Sims had attempted to molest her.
But no, there was more. What was it?
Alex finally opened her eyes. She blinked. Then, she looked around.
She was in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room and was still in her work clothes.
Her mind felt fuzzy, and she was tired, despite having slept.
And her left arm was raised over her head and was numb from lack of circulation.
Why was it like that? She tried to yank it down but met resistance when the bite of sharp plastic hit the skin around her wrist. Yelping, she looked to see that her wrist was zip-tied to the bedpost.
Panic set in, and she started yanking at her shackle uselessly. She could barely do much since her arm was numb, but she tried, nevertheless.
“Please, don’t,” a male’s voice from across the room said.
Alex froze, her eyes flicking in the direction the voice came from.
She let out a small cry when she saw the man sitting on the floor, his back against the wall.
He had shaggy black hair, which was a mass of tangled and twisted knots as well as a long, shabby black beard to match.
His piercing blue eyes blazed into hers, and she flinched as she stared at him.
But it was his outfit that had her panicking the most: white hospital pants, white hospital top.
She had seen that outfit before at the Sims Center when she had gone in with Douglas for a few meetings in the inpatient area.
She knew exactly where he came from, and it terrified her.
“No, no, no,” she whispered, terror flowing through her in waves. “This can’t be happening again. No. I can’t do this again. I can’t.”
She yanked at her bond unsuccessfully and then closed her eyes. Her breathing came rapidly, and she was back at that place again with that man.
Now, be a good girl and sit still. It won’t hurt so bad.
More horrible words. More pain. More shame.
Alex had no idea how long she had been held in this awful limbo of unbearable memories, but there was something she heard that began pulling her away.
“Hey,” the soft voice of a man said. “You’re okay. No one’s going to hurt you. I’m not going to hurt you. You’re safe.”
“No,” she moaned.
“You are. See? You’re free.”
She felt her arm heavily fall, and she was pulled away from the memory.
Snapping her eyes open, she watched as the psych patient slowly backed away from the bed, a small knife in his hand.
She flinched at the sight of the knife, but when she realized her arm was free, she pulled it into her chest and rubbed her sore wrist.
Alex breathed hard as she tried to assess the situation. Nothing made sense. She knew this man had kidnapped her. Why? And why had he cut her loose?
She stared at him, attempting to read him. His brilliant blue eyes gazed back. She didn’t see malice, but she did see pain. Alex wondered if this guy was one of the missing veterans. Perhaps he had escaped? This could be the break Gray Tower needed.