Chapter 51
CHAPTER
FIFTY-ONE
Kate must have drifted to sleep again. She came to with the taste of dust in her mouth and pain radiating through her wrists.
She’d been hoping she’d wake up and realize this was all a nightmare.
That her normal life would resume.
That none of this had been real.
But it was real—and terrifying.
Nausea rose in her at the thought.
She struggled to sit up. The rope still bit into her skin around her wrists.
Did anyone even realize she was missing? What if people thought she’d just left?
She hated the thought, but it was a real possibility.
Two years ago, the pressure of trying to make a living in Hollywood had gotten to her. She’d decided she couldn’t handle it anymore.
So she’d left to visit a friend in Nebraska for a week. She didn’t tell anyone—there wasn’t anyone to tell.
But someone had broken into her apartment—the window had been busted.
Her neighbor had noticed and become concerned. He’d reported the vandalism to the police.
When the police came to investigate, they realized she was missing.
They began to search for her.
She hadn’t known any of it was happening until she came back home.
She’d apologized but had still felt a sting of embarrassment over it all.
What if people thought she’d just run off again? Would anyone take this seriously?
Tears pressed at her eyes.
They quickly dried when she heard the door creak open.
Light flooded in—too bright, too sudden—and she squeezed her eyes shut, breath catching as footsteps approached. Unhurried. Confident.
He didn’t rush.
He never did.
He paused at the bottom of the stairs, the light still trained on her.
“Good.” The man’s voice sounded calm, almost conversational. “You’re awake.”
Kate swallowed hard. Her throat felt like sandpaper. “Please. Don’t do this. Let me go. I won’t tell anyone anything.”
He chuckled softly, as if she’d said something mildly amusing. “I told myself I’d change things up this time. But some rules work for a reason.”
Her stomach clenched.
Rules.
He crouched in front of her, just out of reach, and cut the rope at her wrists in one smooth motion. Her hands fell into her lap, numb and burning as blood rushed back.
She stared at him, waiting for the blow that didn’t come.
Instead, he stood and stepped aside. “Go.”
Kate blinked. “What?”
“I’m giving you a head start. You’ll run. I’ll wait.”
Kate’s pulse roared in her ears. “You’re letting me go?”
The smile in his voice turned her stomach. “I’m letting you try to go.”
He led her up the stairs.
Swung open the door.
Heat hit her like a wall.
Not warmth—weight. Dry and crushing, the kind that stole breath and made her skin prickle instantly. Beyond the threshold stretched a rugged sprawl of sun-bleached hills and rock—dusty earth, pale stone, scrubby brush clinging to life where it could. The sky was a hard, unbroken blue.
No trees.
No buildings.
No road she could see.
The land rolled unevenly away from the house, folding into gullies and rocky outcroppings that looked close enough to reach—until she really looked.
There was no shade.
No place to hide.
Only illusion.
Kate staggered forward, the ground hot beneath her shoes, sweat already sliding down her spine. Her legs trembled—not just from weakness, but from the realization settling deep in her chest.
This wasn’t an escape.
It was exposure.
“Run. And when you hear me behind you . . .” He paused. “Don’t stop.”
Fear took over.
Kate ran.
Loose gravel skidded beneath her feet as she bolted downslope, lungs burning almost immediately. The air scorched with every breath. She veered toward a cluster of rocks.
Kate pushed harder, legs screaming, heart threatening to tear itself apart as the vast, open desert swallowed her whole. Sweat stung her eyes. Her throat burned. Still she ran—because stopping meant something far worse.
And somewhere behind her, she knew he was smiling.
Because in a place like this?
The desert always won.
And he had all the time in the world.