by LM Terry
“Handcuffs,” I say uncertainly. I don’t like the idea of being tied up, but I also don’t…well maybe a small part of me does, want to see him naked.
“The lady has picked her poison.” He smiles clipping one side of the cuff to a post in the headboard and the other he clicks gently around my wrist. He runs his hand lightly over the palm of mine before letting go. “When I’m done, I’ll look at these and put more antibiotic on them.” He takes a few steps back and runs his eyes along the entire length of my body starting at my feet moving all the way up until reaching my face.
I shift uncomfortably at his intense scrutiny. I am chained to a bed, a bed I am sure he expects us to share. He backs up not taking his eyes off mine until he reaches the bathroom door, he winks before leaving me alone.
My anxiety rises as I hear the water start. I pull at the cuffs but there is no way to free myself. “Anna,” my friend Sarah calls out to me. I have missed her. Tears threaten to spill again. My mind flits to being tied up to the exam table at Oliver’s.
Why does everything have to be so hard? I want to be free. I have found myself captive by not one dangerous man but now two. What is it about me? I guess Oliver wanting me makes sense. He desires my father’s money but this guy what does he want? He wants all of me. I shiver at the thought.
The water shuts off as I work myself into a frenzied state. I can’t breathe. I need out of here! I pull at the cuff and feel it cut into my wrist. I ignore the pain. I need to get free. He opens the door coming out in nothing but his boxers. I halt my movements.
He rushes to me when he spots the trickle of blood running down my captive wrist. “Sarah, what the fuck are you doing?” He reaches over and grabs the key off the table quickly unlocking the cuff.
My breath is quick and shallow. The all too familiar stars rush in and force me into a dark hole. He wraps his arms around me. “Sarah you need to breathe slowly. In. Out. That’s it, baby.”
Eventually, the tunnel recedes, as I focus on his words, his warmth, his smell, his touch, he envelopes me. Nothing else exists. I push away embarrassed that I have broken down twice in front of him in one day.
“I’m sorry,” I say as I struggle to unwrap him from around me.
“Are you feeling better?” He lets go and looks at me with serious eyes.
“Yes, I’m sorry. I haven’t slept for a few days. I rarely cry. The handcuffs just reminded me of something that is all. I wasn’t trying to escape I promise.”
He runs his fingers through his hair sighing. “I haven’t slept much either.” He gets up and brings the first aid kit back to bed. “Let me put some of this on your hands and wrist, then we will sleep.”
I allow him to take my palms in his, but I sense the edge of my anxiety as he applies the antibiotic. He must also sense it because he gently reminds me to breathe. He finishes and then shuts off the light, leaving the room in darkness.
I don’t move as I feel the bed shift from his weight. He reaches for me and pulls me into his arms. “Lay down Sarah, I will not hurt you we are just going to sleep.” He situates so he is behind me, cradling me. He continually whispers in my ear to breathe.
“Tell me about where we are traveling, it looks like it is in a mountainous area. What is there?”
I am stiff as a board lying beside him. I have never been this close to a man in bed. It reminds me of the days in my cell when I comforted Sophia, letting her curl up next to me, telling her it would all be okay.
“It’s a cabin,” I say into the darkness.
“A cabin, hmm, that sounds nice. Does it belong to you? A place you visit often?”
I don’t know why I am compelled to answer, but it keeps my mind off my situation. “I bought it. I have never visited there, I have only seen photos. I gave the ranch away to an organization that helps battered women. So, I guess it’s my home now, at least until Oliver finds me.”
“He won’t find you. If he does my guys and I will take him out before he so much as looks at you,” he murmurs sleepily in my ear.
“Who are you?”
“I’m the man that will tear you apart and put you back together, but you can call me Dylan. Hush, you need to sleep. We have a lot of driving ahead of us tomorrow.” He buries his nose into my hair and pulls me tight to him.
Dylan, I like that name. Sophia had an older brother named Dylan. He is gone though, they are all gone. Tears prickle behind my eyes, they slip out and drop onto the cheap hotel pillow. My thoughts are dark, but my body slowly absorbs Dylan’s heat. Focusing on the rhythm of his breathing I finally relax and drift to sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
∞∞∞
Dylan
I jog back to the hotel from the little donut shop across the street. I didn’t cuff her, but I don’t think she will run even if she wakes. I couldn’t bring myself to lock her up after her reaction last night. I need to read over that damn file, so I can see what I am dealing with. She is strong, but she is also scared and hurting.
I woke early and found myself excited to begin the day. That hasn’t happened in a very long time. Knowing I will have her all to myself and that we are going to a cabin in the woods has my blood pumping with new vigor. Yesterday, taking her, I can’t describe it, it’s like I had been living in black and white. Now it is suddenly full of vibrant color.
As I open the door, she wakes to the sound. She covers her eyes at the bright early morning sun pouring into the room, casting dust rays to the bed.
“Good morning, sunshine,” I say as I set a coffee and a box of donuts on the bedside table. She sits and draws herself into a ball.
“I need to make a call but dig in. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She nods hesitantly and waits to see if I will cuff her. I take my cup and walk out of the room. I sit on the hood of the car punching Liam’s numbers into my cell.
“Dylan, what’s up, man? Where are you?”
I search around. “I don’t know some podunk town in the middle of nowhere,” I reply.
“You took her didn’t you?”
I can hear the tension in his voice. “Yeah, I should have known you would figure it out, but…”
“You can’t do it?”
“No. Well yes but no. I was planning to use her to lure Oliver, but I can’t do it, but I also can’t give her up.” Fuck how am I going to explain this.
“What do you mean you can’t give her up? Dylan, you can’t keep this girl, she has been through too much already. Just let her go and I’ll see that the FBI assigns someone to keep an eye on her.”
“No, I’m keeping her, she is mine. I don’t expect you to understand because I don’t. I need you to tell me anything new you found out about her. I will find another way to get to Oliver.”
All I hear is silence on the other end, so I continue, “Liam, I realize you don’t like this. If it makes you feel any better, you can join us and see her for yourself. We are headed to Colorado, she bought a cabin there to hide from him. I’ll call the guys to come out and set security up at her place.”
“This is not good Dylan. There is something about her I can’t figure out. You don’t need this shit, we need to take Oliver out and move on.”
“Did you learn anything new?”
He sighs on the other end. “No, but I remember something. I thought she looked different when we rescued her in Venezuela. I assumed it was just because she was thinner and in distress. I was looking through my copy of her file and I noticed on her birth certificate that her eyes are listed as brown.”
“They are brown, so what?”
“Well, that’s what I thought as I reflected back to the first time I met her but no, when I interviewed her at Dallas Memorial they were blue.”
“They are brown. I’m with her now. You were all tore up about Sophia, you aren’t remembering correct.”
“Dylan, listen to me man, they were fucking blue. They weren’t just blue they were stunning blue, like sapphires. Don’t make me out to be the
crazy one. You can kiss my ass, you are the fucking crazy one for kidnapping a girl who we just rescued. Think about what you are doing.”
“I’ll send you the location. I need you to come and convince her I don’t work for Oliver. Then you will see for yourself that she has brown eyes and that I’m not torturing her.”
“I want nothing to do with this crazy town crap you got going on,” he yells into the phone making me pull it away from ear.
I smile saying, “See you soon.”
“Fuck you Dylan!”
I hang up, sipping my coffee eager to get back inside to her. When I walk in she is dressed and sitting by her packed bags, cappuccino in hand. “So, you ready to hit the road? I’m impatient to visit this cabin of yours.”
She stands and reaches for her suitcase. I stop her movements, bending slightly, forcing her gaze to land upon mine. Yep, I was right brown eyes. She quickly looks away. I grab her things and open the door waiting for her to exit in front of me.
As I follow her to the car and toss the bags into the back, I remember seeing a couple of boxes of contact lenses in her bag. Maybe she has poor vision, but I didn’t see any glasses. Usually people who wear contacts own a pair of glasses. Looks like we have a few mysteries to unravel when we get to Colorado. Ah, I feel more alive than I have in a long time.
She spends the entire trip staring out her window, not speaking. I thumb through the radio stations. Before I know it we are in Colorado, the mountains come into view in the distance. “We are getting close.”
She glances up through the windshield and straightens in her seat, excited. Then she smiles. My heart stops, a fucking smile.
“I love the mountains. I have never been to the Rocky Mountains,” she exclaims. “They are beautiful, even from here.”
I watch her, mesmerized by the light in her expression. It’s as if a whole new person morphed into her body. Everything about her changed.
“Yes, there is something about them isn’t there? Just wait until we get up there and you breathe in the fresh air.”
She turns towards me with that fucking amazing smile. “You have been? I haven’t traveled a lot.” The smile leaves her face as she drifts off somewhere else in her mind. “Actually, Venezuela is the only other place I have been besides the ranch.” She stops to look down into her hands. “I didn’t get to see much while I was there.”
And then she goes back to staring out her window.
I can’t wait to tell her who I am, I need her to understand I’m not part of that whole operation. “I don’t work for him.”
She stiffens at my announcement. She doesn’t turn to face me as she says, “How do you know about him then?”
“Fair question, I’ve been hunting Oliver Wright and his men for the past eight years. He abducted my sister.”
She spins and searches my face for the truth of what I am saying. “So, you took me hoping that I would lead you to him?”
“Yes, I learned that you were engaged to him. I expected he would come for you and then I would strike.” I focus on the road ahead of me. “Every time I get close he changes locations.”
She shakes her head. “But you said you wouldn’t let him near me, you said I belong to you. I don’t understand.”
“My original strategy was to take you, wait for him to appear and then kill him. But that plan has changed so now we go to your cabin and I make sure he never gets near you again.”
“So, are you kidnapping me or are you helping me? Dylan I don’t understand!” She sits agitated in the seat next to me.
Shit, I should have waited for this discussion. “Calm down, the answer to both of your questions is yes.”
“So, you are kidnapping me, and you think this somehow helps. Stop the car!” she screams.
“I’m not stopping the car, you need to settle down.” I reach over and grab a fistful of her hair, forcing her to quit flailing. A flicker of fear skitters across her face. “We will talk about all this when we get to the cabin. Liam is joining us in a day or two and you can ask him yourself whether I’m telling the truth.”
“Liam Sharp?” she questions, her voice quivering.
“Yes, he and I are friends.” I calmly let go of her hair and wait to see if she will sit still. I hesitantly move my hand back to the wheel when she doesn’t move.
She says nothing else the rest of the trip. I should have kept my mouth
∞∞∞
Anna
I watch as the mountains grow large as we get close. Soon we are on winding roads heading higher. I can feel the pressure in my ears as the altitude changes. It is beautiful. I am happy with my decision to come out here, but this was not how I envisioned it. I was going to be alone. I would hide here for as long as I could with my nose in my books.
I steal a glance at Dylan. I know who he is. He seemed familiar and now I realize why. He is Sophia’s brother. After he told me about searching for his sister I was certain. I wonder if Sophia knew he was alive. She said everyone at the estate was murdered. She might have fought harder and wouldn’t have ended her life if she knew he had been out here looking for her.
I didn’t know him well. He was always hanging out with the older boys. My mom kept me away from everybody except for Sophia and her mom. My mother and Sophia’s were best friends. I’m sure he doesn’t recognize who I am…yet. Part of my agitation earlier stemmed from fear. His family is dead because of me. I am terrified what he will do when he finds out.
It won’t take him long. I have the feeling he is determined to find out everything about me. Before I thought he was just one of Oliver’s men but now, this changes it all. I know what he wants, and it’s not my money or my father’s inheritance it’s me. All of me, he demands to peel my layers back and have me bare my soul to him. That can’t happen. I have been living life as someone else for a long time. I can’t let anyone in. I will break.
I could tell him who I am, then he would lose interest. I am sure he will hate me for the pain I have caused him. My heart constricts at the thought of him hating me. No, I’ll have to get away as soon as I can or try to keep him at bay until Oliver comes. He said he knew agent Sharp, I’m not sure the connection there but, it doesn’t help me.
My life is a complete mess. I glance up as we hit a bump throwing me off balance. Dylan reaches out to steady me.
“Looks like we are almost there, this road is crap. But hey, good job picking the most remote place in these mountains.” He smiles as we bounce around in my little car. “We should invest in an SUV or something. We won’t be going anywhere once the snow flies.”
I didn’t think about that, but I doubt I will be here that long. It’s only the end of June. We make our way down the dirt road, there isn’t much to see but trees on both sides. The farther we go the more frightened I become. How am I going to get away from him? Part of me welcomes him coming along for the ride. I hadn’t realized quite how isolated this cabin would be.
Eventually the forest thins, and the trail leads us to a clearing. There it is. My new home, something I have always wanted, a cabin in the woods. My fear of being with this big brute of a man subsides a little. At this moment I am as excited as a kid in a candy store. I’ll worry later, for now I want to go and explore.
“You said you gave your ranch away, that you bought this place? Not to be nosy but what do your parents think of all this? Do they own it or do you?” Dylan asks as he pulls up in front of the cabin.
I stare at him with my mouth open. I don’t know how to answer. His question catches me off guard. It makes sense, he is friends with Agent Sharp. He questioned me about my parents too. I panic. I’m only nineteen. I worked at a bookstore. There is no logical way for me to explain owning a ranch. Then gifting it away to purchase a cabin such as this. I turn to reach for my door handle, the lock clicks.
“I asked you a question Sarah. Here we are, there is nowhere to run. I understand what you have been through believe me but, no more running. I told you I will tear you apa
rt and put you back together. You need to trust me, you need to be truthful and you need to do as I say.” His expression is deadly serious, he isn’t playing games anymore.
“It’s complicated,” I plead. “Let’s look around and check the place out. I need a moment of not thinking about things.”
He unlocks the door not taking his eyes off me. “We explore, eat and then I want answers.”
I shake my head in agreement praying that he will forget the questions. I know he won’t. I can’t answer him. He will figure it out. I can’t run, I can’t hide. He will hate me when he learns who I am.
He opens my door for me. “You got the keys to this place?”
“The realtor said he would leave them under the mat. I stand by the car watching him stride up the steps. Kicking the mat, he reaches down and picks up the keys.
He jingles them in front of him to show me they were where I said they would be, flashing me a smile. When he smiles, he doesn’t look near as frightening.
I join Dylan on the porch as he opens the front door. He steps aside but as I pass he quickly scoops me up and carry’s me across the threshold. What the hell. He sets me back down on my feet as soon as we enter, not letting me go. I try to push away but he doesn’t budge.
He takes my chin in his hand and forces me to look up at him. He is so much taller than me, the top of my head barely comes to his shoulders. I focus on the wooden beams above him, looking anywhere but at him.
“Don’t. Move,” he says. He states this with such authority I tremble, not sure what is happening.
He lets go of my waist and keeps one hand firmly on my chin, bringing the other towards my face. I try to squirm away, but he pulls me closer to him, moving his hand towards my eye.
“I’m fucking serious Sarah don’t move.” He brushes his index finger lightly over my eye drawing aside the brown contact exposing the truth.
He releases me and stares at the contact on the tip of his finger. No, no, he will figure out who I am. I run, trying to remember the layout of the cabin. I dash upstairs straight through the master bedroom and into the bathroom and lock myself in. I realize after plopping to the floor that he didn’t follow me. He didn’t try to stop me. He knows.
