5. Her

5

HER

I wrapped my arms around myself as I watched him open the metal door and slam it shut again before I screamed my frustrations to the empty room. The high-pitched sound seemed to echo off the barren walls and scream back at me. There was no satisfaction in it, but I was able to breathe a little easier as I tugged at the chain on my ankle still tethering me to the hospital bed. Which I just now realized was bolted to the floor.

Fuck…

I took a deep breath. I couldn't give up. Not yet. I'd barely seen what this man was capable of and I was certain far worse was to come. Especially now that he'd revealed himself to me—the fact he was a stranger didn't mean I couldn't pick him out of a lineup. And he was definitely a stranger. I'd remember having met someone whose face was so, um, fucked up … and whose eye was, well, missing.

Nearly half of his profile was mutilated, as if the skin had been peeled away and reattached at some point. Which was probably why he grew out his facial hair. That wasn't to say he didn't have some attractive attributes. His jawline defined and his singular eye a piercing blue. Hell, if he weren't so cruel, I might even say that he was hot.

If scars were your thing. I wasn't certain if they were mine.

I also wasn't certain if the fact that he was a stranger should be comforting or not. It sure as hell didn't help me determine what it was that he wanted from me.

I ground my teeth, hoping the sensation would somehow ground me too. Help me focus on the bigger picture and the deal we'd arranged. One I was second-guessing the longer I sat in my solitude—though I'd been so certain it was the right move to make just a few hours ago…

"Go on. What's your proposal? I'm just dying to hear it, pet."

I took a deep breath, reminding myself to treat this like any other negotiation. A regular day at the office. I'd seen my boss do it a million times. I could do it too.

It came down to simple math. This guy wanted something and so did I. It didn't matter how much those two wants conflicted with each other. We just had to meet in the middle or as close to it as we could get without me ending up in a body bag.

I glanced down at my chest before thinking better of it. I wasn't above showing a little cleavage to brokerage terms. That was something else my boss had taught me. But we were beyond that at this point. I was barely dressed and I had no doubt this guy would use me like an old tube sock without breaking a sweat.

I shivered at the thought. I had to hope there was at least one line he wouldn't cross—because not all kidnappers were rapist too. A realization that should have been comforting… and wasn't.

"You claim that you know me…" I began.

"Oh, I more than know you." His eyes were roaming up and down my body. "But I never claimed anything. I told you that you took something from me."

I could feel it whenever his glare seemed to flick across my skin as surely as if he reached out and touched me. I'd never met anyone who had this effect on me, especially when I didn't even know what he looked like. It was a sickening sensation, the curiosity warring with the terror. Like being dropped in a maze at midnight on Halloween, only this time all the monsters were real—at least the one in front of me certainly was.

"Right…" I crossed my arms, trying to keep the chill from rousing my nipples. "So you've said. Look, we both know you have the upper hand here. But humor me. I'm sure a lot of planning has gone into all of… this." I gestured to the room. The creepy-ass medical devices and the rusty hospital bed. And tried not to appear disgusted.

"More than you know." He seemed to grin. He was proud of himself. Cocky. Too sure of his failsafe. And it would be his weakness. He'd already determined how this would go. Which meant even the slightest deviation could tip things in my favor. "You're stalling now, pet. Get on with it before I lose my patience."

"Give me five days. Five days to figure out how you know me, who you are. Thirty minutes a day where I can ask you anything and you'll answer honestly."

He appeared to choke on his laughter, his sputtering ending with a deep vibration in his throat. "And why the fuck would I do that?"

"Because, if there is anything I've learned about you in the past few minutes, it's that you are the sort of man who likes to play with his food before he eats it…"