Chapter 4 - Amber
The last eight hours had been hell.
Eric had rarely left her on her own. He had made her fix him something to eat, watching her with smug glee as she shuffled around the kitchen, keeping her head down. She had endured barb after barb in silence, barely speaking.
Amber’s mind kept spinning, and she kept trying to think of ways to escape.
But every time she came up with a plan or decided to risk running, something deep inside her pierced through her, stopping her from making a move even as she screamed at herself that she needed to do something.
It was as if just being in his presence had stripped her of any semblance of fight.
When he had left for hours, taking her car to ‘run errands,’ as he’d called it, the only precaution he’d taken to stop her from running had been to throw her suitcase and all of her shoes into the trunk.
If she’d tried to run for it, she would have been going barefoot through the surrounding woods.
She wouldn’t have gotten far. Eric would have caught her, and all it would have earned her was a punishment.
So she had stayed put, just like he’d ordered.
It had taken all of a few minutes of being in his presence to reduce her to the small, timid girl she had been when they were dating.
The rest of the time, he’d spent reinforcing that, calling her weak and pathetic, threatening her whenever she spoke without being spoken to.
All of the fear and insecurities that had enveloped her all those years ago had come flooding back to her.
It was a small mercy when he told her they were leaving.
She hadn’t known what would happen when it came time to sleep, and she hadn’t wanted to think about what he might try or if he would force her to sleep in the same bed as him.
The thought sent spiders running along her spine, and she tried to fight back the shiver.
In all honesty, when she thought about it, the fact that he was taking her away was almost as bad.
There was no telling where he would bring her, or if she would have any chance of freedom once they got there.
She still didn’t know what he had planned for her.
Deep down, she suspected that whatever interest he held in her had nothing to do with attraction or anything like that.
It was all about control. She had run away all those years ago, and he wanted her back under his thumb because she had dared to leave without his permission.
What he decided to do with her was up to him. She wasn’t going to have a say.
“Are you stalling?” Eric snapped.
She blinked, looking at his glowering face. She paled. “No,” she said. “No, of course not.”
“Then hurry up.”
She bowed her head and sped up her footsteps, her shoulders hunched.
She hated this version of herself. She had thought she was stronger than this.
Instead, all she could do was wilt and stay hunched down, making herself as small as possible.
She had always imagined she would put up more of a fight.
Instead, all she had been able to manage thus far was to drag her feet and stall as long as possible.
Following Eric, she let him guide her down the hall. It wasn’t until he opened the front door and she realized what that meant that she froze, going rigid.
“Come on,” Eric jeered when she stayed motionless, her attention focused on the woods outside. “You might not be smart, but you should at least be intelligent enough to realize you aren’t getting out of this. Stop being a pain and make it easier on everyone.”
She didn’t move. If she went with him, she would be stuck forever. She’d never get home.
You need to find a way out, she told herself. You’ve got to go before it’s too late.
But there wasn’t a way out. There was nothing she could do. She was stuck. If she fought, she’d just get punished. Trying to leave was useless.
A wave of helplessness mixed with frustration washed over her. She should fight. She needed to fight. She couldn’t just let him take her away. But what could she do?
“Amber,” he snapped. She cringed at the sound, shrinking in on herself. “Move.”
Her feet refused to step forward, as if rooted to the ground by massive weights.
Her heart thudded over and over again in her chest. Her instinct to ignore him warred with that compulsion to do as he told her to avoid making things worse.
The longer she stalled, the more he would punish her.
But she needed to get out of this before it was too late.
Scowling, Eric marched back toward her and grabbed her arm. “You better learn to start listening,” he hissed.
He dragged her out of the house by the elbow, jostling her painfully, his nails practically digging into her flesh.
She grimaced, still trying to tug herself away.
Sharp stones dug into the soles of her feet as they walked to the waiting car.
She glanced around. Woods surrounded them, filled with all sorts of dangers.
She had no survival skills, and she would have no way of fighting if any wild animal decided to take an interest in her.
But that didn’t scare her. What scared her was the red car Eric was dragging her toward that would take her away to who knew where.
A burst of clarity pierced through her fear. What on earth was she doing? She couldn’t just stand here and let him drag her away. If she got in that car, she would never escape Eric again. He wouldn’t let her.
She couldn’t let that happen. She wasn’t going to be beholden to him the rest of her life. She couldn’t give in, not like this.
He spun her around to the passenger side door and pulled her to a stop, still grasping her tight.
He glanced down at her keys clutched in his hands, and she used that as her chance to break away.
She wrenched her elbow out of his grasp and shoved him away toward the car.
She heard a soft, surprised oof and a thump as he thudded against the car, but she didn’t look back to see what had happened.
Instead, she turned and began to sprint.
She could feel his fingers grasping at the fabric of her shirt, but he wasn’t quick enough.
She managed to avoid his grasp and race into the woods, moving as fast as she could while barefoot.
She could hear Eric swearing behind her, but she didn’t look back.
If she looked back, she would probably falter and be in the exact same spot she had been in moments earlier.
“You bitch,” he snarled, chasing after her. “Get back here.”
For once, she ignored him and continued running. She could hear him behind her and forced herself to speed up. Twigs and stones and other debris pierced her feet, but she kept going despite the pain. She would take it if it meant getting away from Eric.
Except she could already feel the stitch in her side beginning to form and her lungs beginning to ache.
She’d never been much of a runner, and it showed.
She wheezed, legs already throbbing. All the while, Eric crashing through brush and bramble behind her sounded in her ears, reminding her of exactly what would happen if she were caught.
Her foot snagged a branch, and she went sprawling.
As she tumbled, her head slammed into the side of a tree, the rough bark scraping against her temple.
She cried out in shock and pain, a garbled, barely articulate sound, and crumpled to the dirt.
Her head throbbed as she managed to push herself onto all fours, a stinging stitch in her side.
She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.
She tried to push herself to her feet, but stumbled at the last moment. Crying out, she slipped backward.
Twigs and stones dug into her back and her shoulders. She stared up at the bright green canopy overhead, the sun streaming through the leaves and dappling her face. Her brain screamed at her to move, but her body refused. It had already given up.
A figure loomed overhead, blocking out the sun. Eric sneered down at her.
“Did you actually think that you could get away?” he asked.
Without waiting for her to respond, he grasped her bicep and jerked her to her feet.
She tried to wrench herself free, but his grip only tightened.
He jerked her closer until she could count his individual eyelashes, and his hot, rancid breath brushed across her face.
“You’re mine until I decide otherwise. I’m not letting you slip away that easily again. ”
“Let me go,” she spat, still trying to tug away from him.
“Shut up and stop whining,” he spat, shaking her violently.
“Everything all right?” A vaguely familiar voice called from the direction they had come. Eric’s head whipped around, not releasing her.
A tall, broad-shouldered man with long, light brown hair strolled toward him.
His chiseled jaw was clenched, his hazel eyes darting between the two of them.
Eric’s grip on her tightened, nails digging into her flesh in warning, but she barely noticed.
Amber’s eyes had widened. She recognized the newcomer.
She had bantered with him on more than one occasion when he had stopped her to correct her footing while teaching her self-defense.
He had quipped with her and made her laugh. Cillian. What was he doing here?
Her brow knitted together, her jaw hanging open in wild disbelief.
Cillian glanced at her and gave her a barely perceptible shake of his head.
Somehow, she understood precisely what he was trying to tell her: don’t react, pretend you don’t know me.
Her jaw clamped shut, but she couldn’t erase her dumbfounded expression.
Cillian let his gaze slide away from her, as if bored, to rest on Eric.
“Just a little lovers’ quarrel.” Eric’s arm wrapped around her, pulling her tight against him. “Isn’t that right, darling?”
Amber stayed motionless.
“Isn’t that right?” Eric hissed again, jostling her.