Chapter 50

Danika felt like her head weighed fifty pounds and her body was being held down by sandbags. Whatever drug Ezra had given her was making her feel like the earth was moving underneath her. She cracked open her eyes and then realized the earth was speeding under her.

She glanced around, seeing she was in a boat. Great, just what she needed. Only water under her and no escape.

How had Ezra found her? He loved to talk, so maybe she could get him to brag about how everything went down, and then she could find an escape.

One thing she'd learned from being under his thumb for so long was he didn't like to lose. If he thought she had won by leaving him, she would pay the price. Maybe that's what this was. He'd found something he thought was a perfect punishment for her and would make her pay what he thought was enough for embarrassing him.

How bad could it be? She met his gaze and swallowed hard from the menace in his eyes. Whatever he had planned for her would be terrible.

Getting him talking might buy her time, but swimming wasn't her strongest sport. Actually, she probably didn't have too many strong sports. Jogging wasn't it. Her basketball was pathetic, same with baseball. She'd never really touched a football, and she didn't like tennis. She could at least swim across a pool, but the ocean…she was screwed.

"What are you doing?"

His nostrils flared at her question. Could he really be that shocked she was asking him questions? Maybe. When they'd been together, he hated her questioning him. She'd received more than one beating for asking a simple question.

"You should know better by now."

She rolled her eyes, not hiding her hatred of him. What was the point of hiding it? He would kill her and leave her as fish food. At least if she kept him talking, her death would be delayed. But for what? The inevitable would happen. No one knew where she was, so there would be no rescue coming for her.

"You never were smart. You always wanted to be the center of attention. You couldn't accept your place. That's what got you chained up. Once you learned your place, I let you have freedom, but you abused that by running away. I bet you thought it was funny sending me to Scotland to search for you." His gaze drilled into her, demanding an answer.

She chuckled and shook her head. He was right, it was very funny to her. "You actually went to Scotland? I didn't think you were that dumb."

His face and neck turned red as his eyes bugged out. Ezra hated being laughed at. It was one thing that would set him off. Maybe he needed to be set off. If he got distracted, maybe she could do something. She would push him into the water and figure out how to drive the boat. She'd been watching him move things on the dashboard in front of him. It couldn't be that hard to drive the thing.

He didn't step away from the wheel, though she could tell he wanted to punch her. She needed to get him even angrier. If he lost control, maybe she stood a chance of surviving.

Ezra turned back to watch where they were going, and she closed her eyes, her thoughts turning toward James. She'd just found him, and now it would be all over. It seemed like something evil was always coming between them. Her biggest regret was never seeing James again. She'd fallen in love with the boy she'd known and now again with the man he'd become. If she had the chance to live out this life, she would never leave James. He was the only person she'd ever really loved. She knew that now.

She may have gone to England with Ezra, but that had been to escape something that, at the time, she'd considered terrible. Thinking back, her life hadn't been that bad. Sure, she'd been restless, but if she'd looked deep inside herself, she would have realized what she'd felt had been longing for James. If only she'd gone looking for James instead of pond-hopping to live with Ezra, everything would have been different.

Nothing good had come from being with Ezra. He'd tried to end her, reducing her to nothing more than an inconvenience. When she realized how destructive he really was, she should have escaped, but even then, he'd been watching her every move. It had turned so much worse by the end. She may have been allowed to leave the flat for coffee or to go grocery shopping, but he monitored her every move. She knew there were cameras watching, people following. She'd been lucky in London when she escaped. Maybe the weather played a part, or it had just been dumb luck. At least she had been given a few months of life with James.

Danika sat up, bracing herself as they hit a wave fairly hard, sending the boat airborne for a moment. The craft slammed back into the water, and she had to brace her foot on a box so she was wedged into the seat.

The waves weren't being too kind to Ezra. She watched as he dropped to the deck of the boat and then had to pull himself up to standing. If he flew out, she would laugh.

"Maybe you should slow down."

"Shut up!" Ezra glanced at her. Anger flashed on his face as his nostrils flared.

Just at that moment, they hit another wave that caused the boat to bounce. The force sent pain up her leg, but she stayed put, even with her hands tied. Ezra wasn't so lucky. The bounce sent Ezra flying up, his arms pinwheeling as he searched for something to grasp onto. Laughter spilled out, which made Ezra pissed. He was having a hard time controlling his emotions and his body. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't have laughed, but this was perfect for the bastard. He'd destroyed lives, pushed people to the brink, and caused so much pain. He didn't deserve happiness or anything good. If he died out here, so be it.

But Ezra wasn't tossed from the boat. Instead, he recovered for a moment. Long enough for Danika to feel fear as he moved closer to her. But the boat hit another wave, almost launching her out of the seat she was wedged into. It did send him flying. Ezra landed with a thud, his head slamming into the side of the boat.

Danika froze as the seriousness of the situation hit. She waited a few beats, but Ezra didn't move. Relief flooded her, which was followed by fear. The boat was still going.

Ezra was an idiot going this fast in open water. This wasn't a placid lake with few waves. This was the Pacific Ocean, and though they weren't cutting through the wakes of other boats, the roll of the water was more than the speed and size this boat could handle.

Fear made her chest squeeze. She needed to slow the boat down, or they would both die.

Danika reached out, grabbed onto one of the railings, and pulled herself closer to the wheel. She'd identified the thing that controlled the speed, and she had a fairly good idea of what to do.

Fear whipped through her as they hit another huge wave, lifting her feet from the deck. If she hadn't been holding on, she would have flown off the boat. Ezra still lay limp in the bottom of the boat. A part of her wished he'd been tossed out, which she felt a twinge of guilt for thinking that.

She finally made it to the controls and pulled the lever back that she thought controlled the speed. They slowed down a little, but not before the boat hit another huge wave, sending her flying. She came down hard, smacking her knee into the side of the boat.

Pain shot through her, and she gasped as she pulled the lever back, hoping they slowed even more. They were barely moving, and the waves hit differently, causing the boat to roll more. She had no clue what she was doing and feared they would turn over, sinking both of them along with the boat to the bottom of the ocean.

Ezra moaned and rolled to his side. Somehow, he was still alive. Fear grew as she watched him, hoping he didn't stand up.

Where are there sharks out here? Of course, there were. But real sharks she could handle. A shark like Ezra was much more difficult to survive.