Cabin Fever

by Annabelle Costa

  I keep my hands in the air as I gingerly get to my feet. I’ve never had a gun pointed at me before. Yes, Jake had that rifle last night, but he was clearly pointing it at Chase. And if he’s to be believed, it wasn’t loaded.

  “Why are you doing this?” I whimper. “What’s the point?”

  “The point is your parents will pay to get you back,” he says. “My contact has already called them and demanded the money. It won’t be enough to save my father’s company, but it will be enough for me to continue living the life I want.”

  My face burns. Chase and I were together for a whole year—how did I never see this side of him? I was never more than a payday for him. It’s humiliating.

  He orders me over to one of the chairs in the dining area. As I take a seat, my hands won’t stop trembling. I wasn’t shaking this badly when I was freezing out in the snow. Also, a horrible thought has occurred to me:

  Chase is going to be asking for a ransom for my return. And I know he is the one who kidnapped me. I know the location of this secret cabin. Which means…

  He intends to kill me.

  Oh my God, he’s going to kill me.

  My heart is thudding in my chest so hard it hurts. Within the next few hours or days, Chase will shoot and kill me. That is almost certainly his plan. If I’m still alive, he’d have to disappear, and that wouldn’t suit him. The only way this will work out for him is if I’m dead.

  I can only imagine his story. Maybe he’ll say the two of us were kidnapped together, and he escaped but poor Natalie… she didn’t make it. He tried to save me, but there was nothing he could do. They had guns, after all.

  I need to figure something out—fast. If he intends to tie me up, he’ll be forced to put down the gun. And that will be my opportunity to take action. Maybe I can kick the gun away from him. I did take that self-defense class in college and I do remember parts of it—I didn’t learn anything that would be effective on a man like Jake, who has tree trunks for arms and could snap a person in half with his bare hands, but I think I could make Chase go down.

  I just have to be ready for the right moment. The second he lets go of that gun.

  I sit in the chair, watching him carefully. I don’t see anything he intends to use to tie me up. Maybe he doesn’t plan to tie me up at all. If so, that would be very stupid. It would give me even more chances to escape.

  I’m going to get out of here. My life won’t end today. I’m going to escape from this cabin, and the first thing I’m going to do when I get out is find Jake to tell him the police have been tipped off. And wherever he goes, I want to go with him. Indefinitely.

  Except then Chase looks behind me, off into the distance, and says, “Okay, tie her up.”

  Shit. I was right about that light being on upstairs. One of Freddy Mancini’s goons is here to help him. And while I could have overpowered Chase alone (maybe), I wouldn’t stand a chance against a guy who actually knows how to fight.

  Only the person who walks into the room isn’t a mobster at all.

  It’s Drew. My brother.

  Chapter 23

  Drew!

  For a moment, I’m thrilled at the sight of him. My shoulders sag with relief. My brother! My best friend! He’s found me here and come to save me, just like I knew he would!

  “Drew!” I call out to him. “You’re here!”

  Drew doesn’t smile. He doesn’t run over and hug me. He doesn’t even acknowledge me with a “hello.” He certainly doesn’t move to untie me. He just stands there. And also, he’s holding a roll of duct tape.

  What the hell is he doing with a roll of duct tape?

  Oh my God.

  “Drew?” I gasp. “What… what are you doing?”

  Drew sways slightly, which means he’s already got a couple of drinks in him. His dirty blond hair, which is the same color mine would be without the aid of hair dye, is wild and shaggy, and there’s a purple stain on his white T-shirt. He glares at Chase. “What the hell took you guys so long? I’ve been freaking out over here. I thought you were both dead or something.”

  “The blizzard didn’t work out like I thought it would.” Chase shakes his head. “It came too early.”

  That’s when I realize the truth. Chase knew all along about the snow. He expected and was even counting on that blizzard. He wanted it to snow us in. He just didn’t think it would come before we made it to the cabin.

  “Well, shit.” Drew wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “You could have called me. Let me know you got held up.”

  “We were stuck in this cabin from medieval times,” Chase says through his teeth. “You should have seen it—it was truly disgusting. We couldn’t even get cell service out there.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket with the hand not holding the gun. “How’s the amplifier working?”

  “Pretty good,” Drew says. “I was texting with Natalie from here till you guys lost service.”

  A chill goes down my spine. The whole time I was texting Drew from the road, he was… here?

  “I swear, I was going out of my mind in that cabin,” Chase mutters. “Although your sister the whore entertained herself by getting it on with the owner.”

  Drew laughs. I always loved my brother’s laugh. It’s loud and carefree, like he’s the only person in the room. I envied him having a laugh that made everyone want to be his friend, while I was always more reserved. His laughter now feels like a stab in the gut. How could he do this to me? My own brother? And why? What possible motivation could he have for wanting to…

  “Drew,” I say in a low voice. “What are you doing?”

  “What are you doing?” he repeats. His brown eyes are wide and bloodshot. “I’m protecting what’s rightfully mine—that’s what I’m doing, sis.”

  “By kidnapping me?” I screech. By murdering me? I can’t say that part though. It makes me feel ill to even think it.

  Drew circles me, which is making Chase nervous. He backs up and shakes the gun. “I told you to tie her up, Andrew,” Chase says. “I don’t trust her.”

  “Fine.”

  Drew yanks a length of tape from the gray roll. He bends down behind me and I feel the stickiness of the tape wrapping around my wrists. He binds them tightly, then moves on to my ankles. When I’m fully bound, he scrambles back to his feet and stares at my face with dead eyes.

  “Put some over her mouth too,” Chase says.

  Drew frowns. “Who will hear her out here?”

  “Nobody. I just don’t want to listen to her.”

  Drew, don’t do this. Tell that asshole to fuck off. You’re my brother.

  But my brother obediently yanks off another length of tape, obeying Chase’s whim. It’s too much for me, and the tears that have been threatening me start to spill over. “Wait!” I cry. “Drew, please! Why are you doing this?”

  He sneers at me and rolls his eyes. “You really don’t know?”

  “I really don’t!” I blink as the tears gush from my eyes. “You’re my best friend, Drew.”

  “Your best friend!” he bursts out. “Natalie, how could you be so clueless? Do you have any idea what it’s like to be your brother? To be the black sheep in a family that worships you?”

  “They don’t worship me!”

  “Don’t they?” He raises an eyebrow. “Natalie started her own business. Natalie’s so responsible with money. Natalie’s the good kid. Natalie’s the only one we can trust. Drew, why can’t you be more like your sister?”

  I feel sick. I thought I had a wonderful relationship with my brother, but this whole time, he’s been seething with resentment. If he felt this way, why didn’t he say anything?

  “All my life, I’ve felt like I had to suck up to you,” he sneers. “I had to be your best friend so when you were the one in charge, I’d still have a piece of the action. You think I liked hearing about all your boring ass dates? One loser after another. Honestly, if I gave a shit, I could have told you in five seconds you were wasting your time with every s
ingle one of them.”

  Drew gives Chase a disgusted look. “Especially this loser here. I couldn’t believe you couldn’t see after five minutes that he was after you for your money.”

  “Hey!” Chase snaps, lifting his eyes at the sound of his own name. “Watch it, Drew.”

  My brother rolls his eyes dramatically. It’s a gesture that’s so characteristic of my brother, it makes my heart ache. How could he do this to me?

  “Anyway,” he goes on, “a few months ago, Dad sat me down in the living room and said he had something important to tell me.” His face turns scarlet like it used to when he was a kid and didn’t get his way. Drew always had to get his way. I’d forgotten how spoiled he used to be… and apparently, still is. “They want everything to go to you. Natalie—the good kid. They don’t trust me. I’ll have a stipend, but you’ll get everything else. Everything.”

  I suck in a breath. I had no idea.

  “You know how it felt to hear that?” He blinks his bloodshot eyes at me. “Do you know how it feels for your own parents to basically cut you out of their will? Because they’ve got Natalie—the good kid. What do they need me for when they’ve got a kid who’s so much better than I ever can be?”

  “That’s not true,” I whisper.

  “It is true,” he insists. “But you know what?” He sticks his face in mind so that I can smell the scotch on his breath. I wonder if he’d still be doing this if he weren’t inebriated. Then again, this isn’t a spur of the moment kidnapping—God knows how long they’ve been planning this. “I don’t give a shit. Because when you’re gone, they won’t have any other options besides me.”

  The impact of his words hits me and I start to scream. But Drew is ready. He sticks a piece of tape on my lips, silencing me.

  _____

  I thought it was rough being in a house with no electricity, but I’d take that any day over being in a fully equipped house while tied to a chair.

  Drew and Chase spend most of the evening watching television, and since I’m facing the screen, at least I’m not entirely bored. Drew throws back another four beers over dinner, on top of whatever he’d had to drink before that. He’s drinking a lot. I’d always known he was a moderate drinker, but it looks like things have gotten out of hand recently. He managed to hide it from me, which just shows how little insight I have into my brother these days.

  What were my parents thinking? Why would they tell him they’re giving everything to me when they knew how it would destroy him?

  And why would they tell him and not me? The only thing I can think of is that maybe they didn’t mean it. I bet they thought it would be a kick in the teeth for him to clean up his act. That sounds like the kind of stupid idea my parents might come up with. They probably didn’t even consider the way it would pit us against each other.

  Chase is on the phone now and speaking in hushed tones. I wish he’d have a few drinks too—maybe it would give me a chance to escape. But no, he’s staying sober. I watch him, wondering who he’s talking to. Or if it has something to do with me.

  And then I hear the name “Jake Decker.”

  I strain my ears, trying desperately to hear what he’s saying it, but it’s hard over the sounds of Billy Joel playing in surround sound. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to listen to another Billy Joel song after this. It’s too bad because even though he wasn’t the most popular artist of the eighties, I used to really like his music.

  The last thing I hear is Chase saying the words “you’re welcome.” When he hangs up the phone, he realizes I’ve been watching him. A smile spreads across his face, and he pulls up a chair to sit with me. I don’t like the look on his face one bit—how could I have ever been even the slightest bit attracted to this awful man?

  “You know who that was?” he asks.

  I glare at him. Not that I could answer if I wanted, since there’s duct tape covering my lips.

  “That was a colleague of Freddy Mancini,” he says. “And you know what? They were really happy to find out the whereabouts of Jake Decker. Did you know they thought he was dead until now?”

  Oh my God…

  “I decided not to call the police on him after all,” Chase says thoughtfully. “I mean, the police want to find him, but they’re not going to give me anything for helping them. Mancini wants to find him more than they do. A lot more. And he’s a lot more generous with his money.”

  I feel like I’m going to throw up in my mouth.

  “I wonder what they’ll do with him.” He scratches thoughtfully at his chin. “The first time they shot him and left him in the woods in the dead of winter. I bet they’ll do something even better this time. Maybe they’ll take out that other eye.”

  I suppress a cry in the back of my throat. This is not happening. This can’t happen.

  “I hope they clue me in,” he goes on. “I’d really love to know how they kill that son of a bitch. I’m only sorry I can’t be there to watch it happen.”

  I’ve got to warn Jake. I’ve got to figure out a way to tell him Chase ratted him out. But how can I? I’m not exactly in a position to help anyone else. Even if I somehow wriggled my wrists and ankles free (and that’s an almost impossible if), I have no way to alert Jake of the danger. He doesn’t even have a phone.

  Mancini will find him. Then they’ll kill him.

  “Don’t look so upset, Natalie.” Chase puts his hand on my knee. I want to kick him in the groin. “You’ll be long dead before anything happens to him. We’re only keeping you around in case your parents want proof you’re alive before giving us the money.”

  “Maybe we should send Mom and Dad her little finger,” Drew slurs from the couch, then he bursts out laughing.

  I’m pretty sure Drew was just kidding, but the suggestion makes Chase’s lips twitch. “Actually,” he says as he leans toward me, “that’s not such a bad idea. You and your buddy Jake can be twinsies.”

  No. No, no, no. Please no.

  Chase stands up and walks in the direction of the kitchen. From my vantage point, I can see a set of knives on the counter. He pulls one out and holds it up in the air. It glints in the overhead light of the kitchen, and I can see how sharp it is. He turns to look at me, a horrible grin on his face.

  I stare up at him, struggling helplessly against my restraints.

  “What’s wrong, Natalie?” he says as he walks slowly toward me. “It’s just a little finger. It’s not like we’re cutting off your index finger… yet.”

  If I get out of here, I swear to God, I will make him pay for this.

  “Hey, cut it out,” Drew says. “You’re going to make me throw up. I hate blood.”

  Chase glances at Drew with a look of barely concealed disgust. I think Chase is beginning to regret partnering up with a drunk. “Well, it’s your lucky day, Natalie,” he says as he drops the hand holding the knife. “You get to keep your fingers. For now.”

  I will kill them. If I ever get my arms free, I swear to God, I will kill them with my bare hands.

  But I’m growing more and more frightened that will never happen. I’m scared I’m going to die in this cabin, and they’re going to get away with it.

  Chapter 24

  It was too much to hope for that they’d allow me to lie in a bed to spend the night. But after one night on the floor and one night on a lumpy sofa, I get to spend tonight sitting up in a chair, wishing I was either on the floor or a lumpy sofa.

  I expected Chase or Drew to keep watch over me, maybe sleeping in shifts, but they don’t. I guess they don’t think much of me. They both disappear into the house, leaving me all alone. As a result, I spend the first hour struggling to get free of the tape holding my wrists behind my back or the tape binding my ankles to the chair.

  I try my best, straining until my wrists feel raw. At one point, I get the chair rocking. I consider making it topple over, thinking it might be a more comfortable way to sleep. But ultimately, I’m not certain if being horizontal will be more comfortable if
my head is suspended in the air. So I try to stay upright.

  My boyfriend and my brother are going to kill me. It hasn’t happened yet, but maybe tomorrow. Or possibly the day after, on the outside. But they have to kill me—soon. It’s the only way to ensure I won’t open my mouth and send both of them to prison. They have to kill me. They have no choice.

  If I don’t figure out a way out of here, I’m going to die.

  A feeling of panic comes over me, and the duct tape over my mouth isn’t making matters any better. I don’t want to die. I’ve got to figure a way out of this. But what can I possibly do? My extremities are bound by duct tape, and even if I got free, I can’t imagine where I’d go with two feet of snow surrounding the cabin.

  I’m completely at their mercy. They’re going to kill me. There’s nothing I can do to stop them. The only way I could possibly—

  Wait.

  What’s that shadow moving across the floor?

  I squint into the darkness, trying to make out the silent shape that’s entered the room. I hold my breath. Now what? Is it one of Mancini’s goons? I get a sick feeling as I realize how helpless I am sitting here. I’m a sitting duck. Anyone can do anything they want to me.

  I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to ward off whatever is going to happen next.

  “Natalie?”

  My eyes fly open. Jake! It’s Jake, standing in front of me, holding his rifle in his right hand, whispering my name. At least, I think it’s him. It could be a hallucination brought on by fear. Does that happen? And if that were the case, would he be dripping snow all over the living room floor, forming a puddle?

  He rips the tape from my lips, which hurts for a split second, but then is such a relief, I want to burst into tears all over again. I gulp in air gratefully.

  “Thank you,” I manage.

  He puts a finger to his lips to quiet me. “I’m pretty sure they’re asleep upstairs,” he whispers, “but we don’t have a lot of time.”

  “I wanted to warn you,” I whisper. “They told Mancini that you…”