Gabe glanced at our captive with a worried frown. “Shouldn’t I be here for this?”
I smiled at his enthusiasm. “Don’t worry, I won’t start without you. You won’t want to miss this excitement.” My laugh echoed in the cavernous room. “You have no idea how much fun we’re about to have with Detective Kline.”
24
Pain.
Cold.
A single drop of water plopped into a puddle, splashing cold liquid on Jillian’s ankle where her sock and pantleg left a small gap.
Eyes still closed, she winced as she lifted her head, and a sharp pain pounded through her brain.
Another droplet fell, adding to the moisture already clinging to her skin. The liquid was icy, lingering for an instant before trickling down into her sock. But it sharpened her dulled senses.
Jillian licked her lips and tried desperately to swallow, but her mouth was so dry. She sputtered and choked, coughing. Her head in agony, the coughing caused the pain to swell exponentially, hot tears squeezed through tightly shut eyelids, rolling onto her cheeks as another splash of cold water found her ankle.
Was she dreaming? Was this a nightmare? Because she couldn’t move. And it seemed like she was tied to…a chair.
Instinct kicked in, and she tried to appear as if she hadn’t regained consciousness, to regulate her panicked breathing as it echoed in the frigid room, but her head throbbed so painfully she couldn’t tell if she was successful.
“Wakey, wakey.” The voice was low but giddy. Male. Familiar.
A chill tightened her spine, and her heart quickened. Keeping her eyes shut, she could feel the heat off the man as he leaned in close. Hot breath caressed her face, a pleasant peppermint instead of the rotting stench she’d expected. Her curiosity got the better of her, and her eyelashes fluttered open, the glow of a single bulb hanging from a chain in the middle of the room bringing fresh tears.
“I’m hurt,” she managed.
“I noticed.” The older man from the car accident straightened with a shrug. “It doesn’t really matter. This will all be over eventually.”
Eventually? Not soon?
She tried to sort out her panicked thoughts, but fear bubbled up until she was dizzy with rage. She managed to keep her face passive, glaring at him defiantly. He was older than she’d at first thought, maybe fifty, with a not-unattractive touch of gray at his temples. The glint in his eyes, however, told her he wasn’t the trustworthy-looking older man his appearance would lead one to believe.
“There she is.” He clapped his hands together, delighted. “I knew Ellie’s best friend had to be just as feisty as she is.” He turned and spoke to someone over his shoulder. “This is going to be great fun, Ernest. Great fun.”
Jillian scanned the room, straining to see through the shadows that clung to the dank cement walls. “There’s no one there. Who are you talking to?”
He blinked, looking to his right, then left, and scowled. His mouth opened, and he briefly touched the side of his head. “There was a little accident, and I bumped my head. Nothing major.”
“You’re talking to yourself.” Jillian wished she could take back the words when she realized she’d just pointed out to the madman that he was a madman.
“I guess it could be worse.” When he didn’t finish his thought, Jillian shuddered. So many implications, and none of them good.
Jillian stiffened when the man slipped his hand into his pocket, and she clamped her lips together to keep from crying out in pain. But he pulled out a simple flip phone. Made of cheap, dull plastic, she knew right away it was a burner phone. Untraceable, anonymous.
The dread in her stomach grew. Did anyone know about the accident yet? Was she missed? And where was she?
Tapping his foot on the bare concrete as he dialed, he held the phone up to his ear with a wide smile plastered on his face. When the call was picked up, he didn’t even wait for the person on the other end to say hello. “Have you finished your errands?”
Jillian strained to hear what the other person was saying, but the man’s footsteps echoed so loudly in the empty space it was impossible to make anything out.
He nodded, satisfied with whatever answer he’d been given. “I need you here with me. Don’t keep me waiting.” Hanging up with a triumphant punch of the end button, he turned his attention back to Jillian. “He’ll be here soon.”
Grimacing, Jillian didn’t bother with a response. What was she supposed to say? Great. Can’t wait. The man was talking to her like he was her friend, and not like he’d removed her from the tangled wreckage of her car in broad daylight. An accident he had caused.
Closing her eyes again, reliving the sound of twisting metal and the pop of the airbag going off in her face, she struggled to piece together the moments leading up to the accident. Had he been following her?
She tested the binds that held her wrists to the sides of the wooden chair. Fiery pins and needles shot through her hands. Hissing through her teeth at the pain, she tried to flex her fingers, but they were numb. “I need to use the bathroom.”
He shrugged, taking out a small object and moving closer. Her cell phone. Smiling, he held it up to show the lock screen, which prompted him to put in the passcode.
“I won’t tell you the code.” She straightened and stared straight into his evil eyes, ignoring the pain still pulsing beneath her skin.
Laughing, he took the final step that separated them.
She wanted to kick him, but her legs were held firmly to the chair from just below her knees to her ankles. There was no way she could reach him. She scowled. “Ellie is on her way home. When she sees that I’m gone, she’ll come for me.”
He arched an eyebrow, a disturbing smile widening his mouth. “I’m counting on it.” He tapped the tips of his fingers together, tittering with excitement.
