“Sounds good. I just want to check on her, and then I’ll meet you at the bar.”
Bryce waved good-bye and walked toward the tavern. So much for him reading me like a book. I knew damned well that if Melanie was home, I wouldn’t be meeting my friend at the bar in a few minutes.
I’d be fucking the sexy woman’s brains out.
Chapter Two
Melanie
My body went numb. No. This could not be happening. Use your head, Melanie. There has to be a way out of this. You can kick open a car window. No problem.
So far he hadn’t bound my ankles. If I distracted him, maybe he would forget.
Keep him talking. Keep him talking.
“Is this actually the car that Gina used to kill herself?” I didn’t really want to know the answer, but I had to prolong this for as long as I could. Every second made a difference at this point. I had to throw him off balance.
“Do you really care?”
Did I? Whether or not this car had killed Gina, it could very well kill me. “Of course I care. She was my patient. I care about all my patients.”
“Do you, Doctor? Then why did you let her die?”
He might as well have sliced my guts open with a sharp knife. “I didn’t let her die. She killed herself.”
“Because you didn’t help her.”
My wrists burned as he applied another layer of duct tape tightly around them. My legs were still free. What if—
I turned quickly to face him, the black glint of his gun apparent in his waistband. He could easily grab it and kill me before I could do anything. But I had to try. I had vowed I would get out of this mess, go back to Jonah, and confess my love to him. I drew a deep breath and quickly kneed him between his legs.
“Oof!” He doubled over.
I raised my leg again, ready to axe kick the small of his back, but he turned over quickly, grabbing my ankle.
I screamed as pain shot through me when he twisted the fragile joint.
“You dumb bitch. I know enough to wear a cup when I’m working. Why the hell did you try that?”
He kicked my sore ankle, and another shard of pain lanced through me. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to will away the tears. But I was weak, both in mind and body. I had no idea how long I’d been here, and although he had fed me, it hadn’t been much. How much more would I be forced to endure? Would I have been smarter to have waited until he started the car?
No. I had to take every chance I had. Unfortunately, this one hadn’t panned out, and now I had the added debilitation of a sore ankle. I could move it, so at least it wasn’t broken. I might have quite a sprain, though.
“Dumb cunt. I ought to kill you and be done with it. But that’s not the plan.”
“What is the plan?” I asked. “Who sent you to do this to me?”
“Not at liberty to say.”
“Rodney Cates? Gina’s father?” It couldn’t have been Gina’s mother. She was still hospitalized.
“Still not at liberty to say.”
“Why keep me around for so long? Why didn’t you just kill me when you took me from my home?”
“That wasn’t the plan.”
“Screw the goddamned plan!” My ankle was throbbing. “Just tell me what you want. Money? I’ll get it for