Chapter Seven

Unraveling

Ella

"We're here."

Slumped over his shoulder, Ella tensed at his tone. Being thrown over him like a sack of potatoes had been awful enough. Being so helpless and exposed was the worst experience, but in the end, her impotency had been the least of her concerns. The fact that the blood rushed to her head was horrible, as was the fact that she could hardly even move and was struggling to take a decent breath from her absurd position, but the prospect of what was to come filled her with absolute dread.

What would Tucker do next?

How was she going to survive?

Her heart pounded as he passed the threshold, her gaze registering the dark wooden floorboards as his muddied boots halted on them.

If only I had my phone.Regret echoed in her mind. I could call for help and have this son-of-a-bitch locked up.

But she didn't have the device. Likely, her dad had taken it away, along with her hope. She might never see her phone again.

"Time to get down."

She was unceremoniously lowered to her feet, her head spinning as she glanced quickly around her new prison.

Prison. Her brow creased as she grappled with the stark new reality. Once enveloped in luxury and indulgence, the place she found herself a barren box by comparison. The building looked to be a wood cabin built in the same dark timber she'd seen on the floor. If it was possible, her pulse quickened at the bleak hue, its foreboding vista ratcheting up the tension in her tummy.

Who would have chosen the lumber for a home?

Turning her head, she caught sight of her answer as he marched to the door. Her throat dried when he bolted the door behind them, securing her incarceration with an enormous key that reminded her of an old-fashioned jailer.

Slipping the key into his shirt pocket, he spun to face her.

"Something you would like to say?" One dark eyebrow twitched as though he might burst into laughter at her no-doubt obvious dismay.

She clenched her jaw at his mocking tone. There was plenty she wanted to say, but until she figured out how to deal with her custodian, she suspected it would be better to bite her tongue. Tucker had already demonstrated how he intended to manage her. She swore the sound of his palm striking her was still ringing in her ears.

A low shiver ran the length of her spine as she recalled his boldness and how powerless she'd been to halt his progress. If that was how the man dealt with the first sign of insubordination, she'd have to be a lot smarter from then on. She was sure he could be truly violent if he chose to be. The dark glint in his gaze certainly assured her so.

"No." She shook her head as his lips curled in apparent victory.

"Good." Striding past her, he gestured around the space. "Because for the time being, you're a guest in my home, and I like quiet house guests."

Taking the opportunity to look around the cabin again, Ella found it difficult to believe that he liked any guests at all.

The whole place was so dark and sinister, the vaulted ceiling offering the only break in the constant wood paneling, though even the roof also seemed to be made of timber. It was hard to imagine anyone would find it a welcoming place to call home.

A long wooden counter ran under the only window, its surface littered with what looked like papers, brackets, bolts, and tools. Her focus fixed on the ugly-looking hammer, her gaze flitting fleetingly to Tucker and back again. Maybe she could wield the hammer and get away? Maybe she could find a way out of the woods and get back to her life? She'd seen which pocket he'd slipped the key, hadn't she? She could reach for the hammer within seconds and take him unawares. Her heart sped up at the possibility.

"I'll start a fire."

Oblivious to her scheming, he stalked toward the open hearth on the other side of the door and dragged the pile of logs toward him.

I could do it.Her breaths came fast as she considered her options. I can reach the hammer, could wallop him around the head with it, then be away, but then what?

The question ballooned in her mind.

Then what?

Even if she had the strength and callousness to batter him while his attention was elsewhere and make it out of his wooden house, where would she go? The dim light spilling in from the solitary window told her the light would soon be fading outside. If she fled now, it would be dark within hours, and she'd be left without food or shelter in the middle of God only knew where, vulnerable not only to the elements but to whatever wildlife roamed the forest.

However good the idea of freedom sounded in her head, her plan just wasn't sane. If she survived the night out there, she'd still be no closer to finding her way out of the woods.

She had to stick it out for the night, had to choose the lesser evil, which, at the moment at least, looked to be her mysterious captor, Tucker.

Lifting her bound hand to her face, she swept the loose hairs from her face as she blew out a breath. The notion of hurting him and leaving had been exhilarating, but when push had come to shove, she didn't have it in her to either attack an unarmed man or survive in the wild.

I'm useless.

Her shoulders slumped at the disappointing thought, her gaze falling down the length of her weary body. How had she gotten to this point in her life and not learned any basic life skills? Hell, she could scarcely even cook, but then there was no need when there had always been someone else to do everything for her.

"Okay?" His inquiring tone drew her focus back to the giant crouched at her side. "Do you need to sit down?" He gestured to the bed at the far end of the space, and she turned toward it.

"No, thank you." Heat suffused her cheeks as she dismissed the idea. The last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to his bed. That would give him the wrong idea entirely.

"Fine." He sounded irritated at her refusal. "Stand."

I will.

She lowered her arms as he went back to work with the logs, wishing she could at least fold them across her chest to keep warm, but naturally, the ropes meant that was impossible.

She watched as he drew the same blade that had released her ankles and collected a stone from beside the logs. Repeatedly striking the stone against the spine of the blade, he created enough friction to spark the first flickers of fire, the flames spreading fast to the wood located in the fireplace. Within moments, the inviting sounds of the fire filled the air, its heat reaching out to stroke the back of her hands.

Her brow rose at the achievement. In Ella's world, fire was created in fancy gas heaters at the touch of a button. She'd had no clue how to manifest it from scratch.

"There." He stood, apparently satisfied as he dusted off his giant palms.

Staring at his weathered hands, her breath hitched. Those were the same palms that had held her down and spanked her backside.

Oh God.

Swallowing back her agitation, she forced her focus elsewhere. Anywhere. Perhaps if she studied the cabin, she'd discover another way out or something else to help her on her way with the morning light.

She cast an eye over the shadowy space, willing her heart to calm. Ella didn't know why being physically chastened had such an odd effect on her. She recalled how terrible the reality had been and that she neither welcomed nor deserved it, but there was more, too—an overwhelming emotion to the helplessness, a sense that ceding hadn't been the end of the world, after all.

It doesn't matter.Forget it.

She didn't have time to lose her head in such an incredibly stressful situation. Likely, she was only exhausted and dehydrated. No wonder her throat was so dry. She hadn't had a sip of water all day.

Focus.

She inhaled as she peered around the place, getting her bearings. The interior was larger than she'd envisioned a place in the middle of the woods to be. Whoever had built the monstrosity was an adept draftsman. Her gaze returned briefly to Tucker, who was warming those same large hands by the fire. Surely, he was the one who'd designed and created the structure. Regular house builders didn't tend to venture out this far into the wilderness, let alone recommend construction there.

There was more to the man who'd accepted her as collateral than she'd initially realized. His talents for building houses and starting fires only made him more dangerous. Tucker was plainly one of life's natural survivors, and she had no doubt that would make him a tough adversary.

Her gaze landed back on the bed she'd earlier sought to avoid. The rickety-looking structure was located at the far end of the cabin and looked far from comfortable, but the most noteworthy thing about it was its comparatively small size.

How can a man as tall as Tucker possibly fit into that?

"Did you change your mind?"

His question caught her off guard and interrupted her internal monologue. Snapping her head around to face him, she found his expression impossible to decipher, his tone registering somewhere between a sneer and concern.

"Excuse me?" Once more, she met his eyes, still certain the line of inquiry was nothing more than a joke at her expense.

"The bed." He motioned at it. "Did you change your mind?"

"I'm fine." She took a reflexive step toward the door as she turned to face him. "Thanks, but I could use a drink though."

"A drink?" he sounded utterly unimpressed with her change of tack.

"Please, I'm parched." Her gaze flitted around for any sign of a refrigerator or even a working basin. "Do you have any bottled mineral water?"

"No." His lips stretched into a smirk. "But there's a tap outside." He nodded in the direction of the exit. "I'll get you a drink once you're secured."

"Secured?" She didn't like the sound of that.

"That's right." He let out a sigh as though he was the one inconvenienced by the new arrangement. "Your feet are free, remember? I can't have you running off while I'm gone."

"I won't." Her thoughts flitted to the hammer and how close she'd come to snatching the weapon and doing just that. "I didn't run in the woods, and I won't now."

"Much though I'd love to believe you, Ella, I don't." He loomed closer, every inch as ominous as he'd been out there in the forest earlier when he'd found her bound and gift-wrapped from her father.

"But I'm still tied." She lifted her wrists as if he'd somehow forgotten the binds she was referring to. "What's the problem?" She hoped he could sense her exasperation. Needing to stay in his favor was proving to be even more difficult than she'd expected, and honestly, she was running out of strength.

He had no right to do this. She shouldn't even be there in his blasted cabin, and now he was talking about tying her up again.

Ella wasn't sure if she could take much more.

"I need to tie you to something." He emphasized the final word as he stalked past her to the counter that housed the hammer she'd eyed. Crouching in front of it, he reached beneath it and produced another, much longer length of rope than the one he'd cut free from her. Her heart raced as he rose to his full height. The guy seemed to get taller every time he got to his feet.

"I need to contain you while I fetch the water." Stepping toward her, he flexed the binds between his fists. "Consider the rope my insurance policy."

"Insurance policy?" Her feet backed away at his approach. There was nowhere to run, yet she intended to flee just the same. She couldn't stay there to become a thing he could bind and maneuver at will.

She hadn't survived the day and managed to recover the use of her feet and legs just to be bound again. If Tucker had trust issues, that was his problem, not hers.

"That's right." His gaze darkened as he neared. "I like to keep my property safe."