Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 87961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
As soon as Jude slams the door behind him, Bob grabs me by the shoulders and pushes me forward. “Get the fuck back in that room.”
Every few steps, he shoves me and I stumble. We come to the door and I see Caleb standing at the end of the hallway. Bob pushes me through the door and I fall against the chest of drawers.
Caleb walks in after me, and I hear the lock click shut. There’s an awkward silence between us, and he can barely look at me.
I wish I could tell him I’m sorry, but I have this stupid gag in my mouth. My head hurts from where it hit the ground. My feet are cut and my knees are skinned. Worst of all, though, it was all for nothing. I barely made it fifty yards before they caught me.
Caleb looks up at me and sighs, running his hand over the back of his neck; I’ve noticed he and his brother both do that when they get angry.
I’m waiting for him to shout at me, but he doesn’t. “It’s my fault,” he mumbles. “I knew not to trust you.”
I shake my head, trying to talk around the gag. The look on his face nearly kills me. He looks hurt and angry and confused, because surely he knows he shouldn’t feel sorry for me.
Caleb is nothing like his brother. He’s kind, too kind for this corrupt shit, and I just kicked him in the nuts for it. Literally.
Taking pity on me, he steps forward. His eyes have gone all puppy dog. He sighs, shaking his head as he unties the makeshift gag.
Guilt is eating me alive.
“I’m so sorry, Caleb!” I blurt the second I can speak.
“I trusted you, Ria. I felt bad for you.”
Oh my fucking God, could he make me feel any worse right now? His round brown eyes are gutting me.
He frowns, and a look of hurt crosses his features.
“I’m sorry!” I can feel my eyes starting to prickle. Shit, this is ridiculous. I feel guilty for trying to escape. Something is seriously wrong with this picture.
He rubs at his jaw, and I notice it’s red and swelling.
“What happened to your face?” I ask quickly.
He sighs. “What do you think? I told you he would kick my ass for letting you out of this room.”
“Shit.” I lose my grip on whatever emotional stronghold I had in place, and the dam bursts. I start crying—like ugly crying.
“Oh, fuck!” His eyes widen and he’s checking me over as though I might be hurt, lifting my chin like he’s looking for choke marks or something. “What the hell did Bob do to you?”
“I can’t...I just…” I cry through heaving breaths. “I miss my sister, and my job, and my fucking life, Caleb! I don’t want to die here!”
His shoulders drop a little, and his eyes soften even more. “Look, I know this is in no way ideal, but I promise, you’ll get that all back soon.” He paces for a second. “You’re not gonna die. I mean, hell, this is not normal. Not normal at all. Jude doesn’t deal with hostages. So you”—his eyes scan over me and he shakes his head like he’s sorry for something—“you are not meant to be here. Trust me.”
“You don’t see the way he looks at me, Caleb. He’s going to fucking kill me!” I sniff through my tears.
His eyes close and he pulls his lip in. “No, he won’t. I know you can’t see it, but he’s not a bad person. We’re all fucked up. We grew up in this shit, so…” He pauses and looks at me. “But he won’t kill you.”
“Jesus Christ, Caleb, wake the fuck up. He is a killer. It’s what he does! I’m going to die in this fucking place. My sister will never know what happened to me. I’ll never become a doctor…” My voice breaks on a loud sob.
“He’s a bookie, not a killer. It’s just business.” He pats my back, his face the image of uncomfortable. “Don’t cry,” he says, trying to sound reassuring, but I can hear the slight tremble in his voice. “I...it’s...shit. What do you want me to do, Ria?”
“Nothing,” I wail. “There’s nothing you can do.”
Poor guy looks like he’d rather shoot himself than deal with me right now.
“Ria, I promise I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?”
I stare into his big brown eyes, and despite my inner turmoil and my fear of Jude, I actually believe that he means that. The problem is that if Jude wants to hurt me, nothing will stop him, and certainly not his baby brother.
Forty minutes after leaving my house, I pull into the gravel lot outside of the lodge. As I walk toward the entrance, I watch a few drunk old men stumble out of the doors and head to their cars.