Chapter 4 #2
Still, she couldn’t find the strength to move or say anything.
She was frozen in place, just staring at the wild-looking man.
The more she studied him, the more she realized he looked gaunt and tired.
The guy was tall—over six feet. However, he was so thin that his muscle tone appeared as if he had rapidly lost weight.
“Are you okay?” he asked cautiously, his voice low, almost soothing.
“Yes. No. Maybe,” Alex told him. “I don’t know. I’m confused. All I know is that you kidnapped me.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Why?” she asked pointedly.
He ran a hand through his hair and began pacing along the wall. She tracked his movement, hyperaware of everything he did. Just because he hadn’t made a move to hurt her didn’t mean she trusted him.
“I needed a car to escape that hellhole,” he told her, still pacing. “You were there. I didn’t want to hurt you. I just wanted to incapacitate you. But then you were unconscious in the parking lot by yourself. And that asshole Sims…”
He trailed off, shaking his head. He looked frustrated and agitated. Alex wasn’t sure how to proceed. He seemed…unstable. If he were an escaped psych patient, she’d have to be careful. She had no idea of his diagnosis. Then again, what if he was one of the missing veterans? She needed to know.
“Are you a veteran?” she asked hesitantly.
The man stopped pacing and stared at her intensely. Alex immediately scooted back on the bed to the point where her back was hitting the frame, and her legs were now curled in a protective position, guarding the rest of her body.
“No,” he said simply and then cocked his head to the side. “Why do you ask?”
“It’s, uh, nothing,” she lied.
There was no way she would let this guy know about her true purpose at the Sims Center.
“It’s not,” he told her, “but I’m not going to push it. I know you’re already having a shit day because of me, and I’m not going to add to it. I’m sorry I got you into this. I’ll get you home as fast as I can.”
Alex suddenly had hope. If he wasn’t lying, she could go home. Maybe he really was a tortured soul, imprisoned by Douglas Sims for whatever devious reason. Or he could be lying and be an unstable patient who escaped. He could be dangerous, and Alex would be screwed.
“When?” she asked hesitantly. “I want to go home.”
“I know. Give me some time. I promise I’ll get you back to your life. In the meantime, I need you to sit there and not move. I don’t want to restrain you, but I will if you start causing problems.”
“N—no!” she exclaimed, wrapping her legs against her even tighter.
If she were unrestrained, she had a chance if things went wrong. If he tied her to the bed with another zip tie, it could be the end for her.
He held up a hand in a placating gesture.
“Sorry. I—fuck!” he exclaimed, looking frustrated.
Maybe she was right after all, and he was unhinged? Between the wild hair and beard, his erratic mannerisms, and his disjointed speech, she was starting to get very concerned.
“They had me on these fucking experimental drugs,” he said, his gaze looking directly at her.
Alex shivered in response, and it was at that point that she realized she was shaking. She should be scared; this was the second crazed man who had kidnapped her.
“What drugs?” she asked, trying to keep him talking. “They were experimental? Why were you at the Sims Center? You obviously weren’t there willingly. Were you committed? Please help me understand.”
The man looked agitated now, and Alex was beginning to regret asking him that question. However, he finally blew out a breath and said, “The less you know, the better. I’ll tell you I wasn’t there willingly.” He paused, nodding at her attire. “Do you work there?”
She knew she had to be diplomatic with her answer. The last thing he needed to know was that she worked for a private military company.
“Yes. I mean, I did.” She blew out a breath, thinking about Sims’ unwanted advances. “I quit today.”
“Is that why you were upset when you were walking to your car?” he asked softly, his expression full of…wait. Was that concern?
Alex hadn’t expected this side of him. He had been all over the place, and now he seemed relatable, even sweet in some weird way that only this blue-eyed man could pull off.
“Uh…yeah,” she said, not wanting to get into the reason why.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Did you work directly with Sims?”
Alex tensed. She didn’t want to get into this with a stranger.
No, not just a stranger, she thought. Her kidnapper.
“Judging by your expression, I’m going to assume you did and that you don’t want to talk about it,” he said. “I get it. He’s a bastard.” He gestured to himself. “This is what he did to me.”
Alex inhaled sharply. This man might not have been one of the missing veterans, but he was a person of interest if what he was saying was true. If Sims had been experimenting on him or torturing him, then she could possibly get some valuable intel. Of course, that would only work if he let her go.
“What’s your name?” he asked quietly.
She hesitated. Developing a rapport with him could help her with her chances of gaining information and getting out of here, or it could feed a dangerous fascination, ending with him raping her.
She attempted to control her breathing at that thought.
She couldn’t afford to go into another panic attack or be stuck in another flashback.
“Alex,” she finally told him, deciding to take a risk.
“Short for Alexandria?” he asked.
“Good guess.”
He nodded and stopped pacing. Then, he slumped on the floor.
“Wha—what’s your name?” she asked, her voice trembling a bit.
Keep him talking. Keep things friendly, she told herself.
“That’s another thing you don’t need to know.”
Damn it.
“So, what do I call you?” she asked. “Is ‘Hey you’ okay?”
He shrugged.
“If that’s what you want.”
What she wanted to call him was Blue Eyes because she was fascinated with their color: sapphire blue and brilliant. She was having a hard time not staring right into them, which she knew was a bad idea. Spooking the jumpy, on-edge psych patient wasn’t good.
There was a long, uncomfortable silence before he said, “Look, I need to detox a little and get this shit packed. Then, I’ll take you home. I promise.”
It was a tiny bit of hope, but she would take it.
“When do you think that will be?” she asked hopefully.
He scratched his unruly mop of long, black hair and said, “Hours? A day? Two days? It depends on whether I’m coherent enough to drive when the worst of the withdrawals hit. Sims gave me some serious shit. I’m not one hundred percent sure what it was.”
Days.
Alex’s excitement dropped, and fear returned. However, what he said caught her attention.
“Sims was drugging you?” she asked.
“Among other things.”
“I’m sorry,” was all Alex could think of saying.
Blue Eyes shrugged and waved it off.
“Don’t worry about it.” There was a long pause, and his face grew dark. “Now, we need to discuss what we’re going to do with you.”
He stared at her intently, and Alex shrank back on the bed, fear coming back in full force.