Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
A quick scan of the room confirmed there was nothing she could wield as a weapon. Except the lamp. Unplugging it would plunge her into darkness. She could use the cord for strangulation or the wooden base as a bludgeon. But not effectively with her wrists tied together.
If she stepped closer, she might be able to see his features. It would also put her directly in the light, with the outline of her body backlit by the lamp. A minor vulnerability, but not one she was willing to concede without negotiation.
“Tell you what.” She lifted her bound hands. “I’ll come to you, if you remove the rope.”
A grunt scuffed from his throat. “With your hands free, you assume I’ll wait here while you grab the lamp and swing it at me?”
When he put it like that, it made her sound foolish and predictable.
She clenched her teeth, and another idea struck. It wouldn’t help her escape, but she went with it.
Circling backward, she paced away from him, toward the lamp, and approached it from behind. The rope squeezed her wrists as she clutched the base and raised it above her head.
With it tilted in his direction, the light stretched to his chest, revealing a white collared shirt, unbuttoned at the throat and tucked into black slacks. Sleeves covered his arms, the crisp fabric clinging to broad shoulders and defined pecs. Every thread on his body looked perfectly fitted for his tall, lean frame.
Narrow hips, muscular thighs, seemingly hard all over—his athletic physique was unfortunate. She might’ve been able to outrun an out-of-shape man.
What was with the fancy clothes? Did he dress up for her or was he expecting another visitor? Other than the old man who delivered the meals, no one had entered this room in the month she’d been here. Not even the guards.
“I feel underdressed.” She glanced down at the thin dress. At least, she wasn’t illuminated from behind.
He didn’t move or make a sound, not even as she hoisted the lamp as high as the cord allowed. Because he knew. No matter how she positioned it, the glow wouldn’t reach his face.
“Are you finished wasting my time?” He stretched out a leg, reclining farther into the shadows.
“Why am I here?”
“Someone took something from me, so I took something in return.” A smile surfaced in his voice. “I took you.”
The implication settled through her, loosening her chest. Tate must’ve succeeded. He must’ve taken Lucia from Tiago and fled.
They were safe.
Sweet mercy, what a relief. After an eleven-year separation, she couldn’t imagine how overjoyed Camila must’ve been to reunite with her long-lost sister. This was great news. Fucking fantastic.
Except for Kate’s part in it. For that, she had no one to blame but herself.
Tate had demanded she not take the job at the diner. All her overprotective roommates were against the idea because they couldn’t keep an eye on her. But she wanted her independence. Her freedom.
Now, she had neither.
She readjusted the light, moving it side to side, desperate to see her captor’s eyes. “Are you holding me for ransom?”
“No.” The gruff syllable punched from the darkness and hit her in the chest.
No ransom. No negotiations in the works to release her. She was fucked.
Her arms lowered as fear rose to the surface, tightening her face and hunching her spine. She set the lamp on the floor and inched away from it, seeking the cover of darkness.
“I have money.” She pressed her back against the stone wall, struggling to quiet her quickening breaths. “A lot of money. I’ll pay—”
“You are the payment.”
Her stomach collapsed. “You’re going to rape me.”
“If you’re offering, it wouldn’t be rape.”
“I would never—”
“You presume I’m interested.”
She assumed a lot of things. Sodomy, mutilation, slow excruciating death… Any manner of evil was on the table, in any order and degree of agony.
“I’m not,” he said.
“Not…?” Her brows pinched.
“Not interested in fucking you.”
Her breath caught and held. She should’ve felt relief, but she’d seen the videos and knew what he wasn’t saying. “You’ll let your guards rape me.”
He didn’t answer, and God help her, the wretched silence made her blood shiver.
“I have powerful friends.” She licked dry lips. “Dangerous allies who are looking for me right now. When they find me, you’ll beg for death. You’ll beg each time they cut off a piece of you. They’ll use fire and chop and cook until there’s nothing left but burnt ends and shit stains.” She stood taller, her voice stronger. “Let me go, and I’ll let you live.”
He chuckled, mocking her. “Your friends are cannibals?”
“No, they’re…” She clamped her molars together, cursing her bungling attempt to threaten him. “They’re coming for me.”
“You’re a remarkably stupid woman. You know what I am, yet you walk in here, spewing nonsense, as if you actually believe you can control your demise.”
Needles pulsated behind her eyes. “So that’s it? I’m going to die?”