Seconds later, he threw the blue tarp back over her. Her hands and especially her feet were going numb, and all she could do was pray to God they reached their destination. She didn’t know how long she could stay in this position or how much more she could take.
This thought made her tears start up again. What had happened to him? This wasn’t the Dex she’d known and loved.
When the boat slowed, Bailey tried not to panic. She was so hot; sweat dripped from every part of her. The day was easily nearing a hundred degrees, and being covered by a heavy tarp while under the sun made her dizzy and sick to her stomach. The boat movement and the speed at which he drove didn’t help either. He didn’t slow for rough waters, making it feel like she was being tossed around on concrete.
His speed decreased even further, and she prayed he was stopping soon. She felt the maneuvering and then the bump on the starboard side as they came upon what must have been a dock. Bailey couldn’t hear anything except for Dex’s movement around deck and the tiny splashes of water lapping against the side of the boat.
A moment later, the tarp was lifted off her, and she gasped for breath. Dex quickly untethered her from the anchor hooks and threw the tarp around her, tucking her inside.
“What are you doing?” Her breathing increased as she realized he was trying to wrap her in the tarp. “Dex, I won’t be able to breathe.”
He grabbed a fist full of her hair and tugged, so they were face to face. “Shut the fuck up and let me do this. The longer it takes to get you out of this boat, the longer you’ll be suffocating in the tarp.”
He haphazardly wrapped the tarp around her body on the floor of the boat. The heat and lack of air made it unbearable, but the more she struggled, the rougher he was with her.
“If you as much as squeak, I’ll knock you unconscious.” As he said this, he threw her and the tarp over his shoulder.
Bailey tried to stretch and work out the kinks from laying in an awkward position for so long, but Dex held her tightly.
She followed his commands and didn’t speak, and really, there was no point. The dock had only one other boat tied to it, and that was an old aluminum fishing boat. Before he’d covered her eyes, she tried looking around for help, but they were in the middle of nowhere. She couldn’t even be sure which side of the lake she was on since she didn’t see where he’d left from or which direction he’d navigated the boat.
Bailey couldn’t breathe. It was stifling inside the tarp. Dex carried her like that for a few minutes and then up a few steps before tossing her down onto what felt like a bed. She was no longer outside, or at least, not out in the sun. She twisted in an effort to unwrap herself. Her hands were tied behind her back, and her feet were bound together tightly. She thought she might be in some kind of trailer or something like that. Everything shifted when he walked, so it wasn’t stable enough to be a house. Finally, she was able to wiggle enough to get her head out of one end.
She scanned her dark surroundings and realized she was right; it was a small camping trailer. A very dirty and…oh, God, the smell was awful. Mold and dead animal. She gagged a little, then tried breathing through her mouth. But when she heard raised voices, she stilled, hoping someone else was out there. Yes. Two voices. Someone else was outside.
“Help! Please, help me! I’ve been abducted! I need help! Please!”
A second later, the door was thrown open and heavy footsteps approached. Dex stormed into the room, fists flying. Bailey buried her head in the disgusting mattress beneath her and tried to curl up. He didn’t aim at anything in particular, just threw punches, hitting her arms, her back, and the final two blows to the back of her head.
Each punch stole her breath, and with each blow, Dex muttered obscenities at her. “You bitch. You will not ruin my life, you fucking nosy bitch. I’ll kill you myself if you don’t keep your mouth shut.”
“Hey, hey, you don’t need to do all that. She’s just a little thing. She’s not going anywhere.” The voice sounded odd, like the man speaking was missing several teeth.
Bailey felt the shift. The entire rig leaned as Dex moved away from her. Then she heard another thud.
“Hey, damn it!” Feet scuffled along the floor, and the stranger said, “All right, lemme go. Lemme go!”
The rig shifted again, and she felt everything vibrate as something hard hit the floor. “If you want your money, keep your fucking mouth shut and do what I’ve told you to do,” Dex said breathlessly.
“All I was say— Hey, no, man. We have a deal. All I meant was, you don’t need to damage her.”
“What difference does it make?” Dex said, and the words sank into Bailey’s muddled thoughts, making her even sicker.
“You said I could do what I wanted, right?” Snaggletooth must have smiled when he said it. Bailey got a hint of joy out of his words.
“No. I said you have to get rid of her. There’s no negotiating that. I want her dead by this time tomorrow. If this bitch surfaces, I’m coming for you next. Got it?” She heard a slight slapping noise when he said it. “I need this bitch to disappear for good. She has the potential to ruin my entire life.”
Bailey sobbed silently and said, “Dex, don’t do this.”
The trailer shifted again, and Dex pounded
