I writhe against his iron grip. “Let me go, you asshole. What are you even doing back, Rinaldo?”
“I couldn’t leave my wife behind.” He’s still smiling like this is normal, like he’s totally within his rights to kidnap me. “Now, we’re going to my room. I can knock you out and drag you up there or you can walk like a normal girl. If you make a sound, I’ll beat you within an inch of your life and fuck you bloody. If you’re good, I’ll wait until after the wedding. Deal?”
I glare at him, breathing hard and running through my options. I could fight, but what would that get me? He’d only kill anyone that came to help and keep running. He’s desperate and unhinged and Nico warned me over and over against messing with him.
If I’m going to escape, I need a plan and my strength. It won’t help anything if I provoke him for no reason right now and get myself pounded into a helpless ooze. I need him to think that I’ll cooperate and when he’s lulled into a half-aware distraction, that’s when I can make my move.
“I’ll walk.”
“Wonderful. Right this way.” He helps me out of the van and slams the doors. I’m barefoot, my knees are scraped and raw, my hair’s a mess, I smell like sweat and dirt and half-melted vinyl, and I’m covered in a fine layer of dirt. I wouldn’t get more than ten feet if I tried to get away right now.
Rinaldo grabs my arm and drags me along. I stumble after him, wincing every time I step on a sharp rock. The motel’s rundown and drab, and we’re far on the edge of town, maybe outside of the city limits. I don’t recognize anything, but it’s got a suburban vibe and there’s nothing around but a strip mall, a main road, and lots of desert.
“You won’t imagine how I felt when I saw you jump the fence, my darling wife,” Rinaldo says as he pulls me into a room on the bottom floor. The place is neat and tidy and smells like cleanser. He shoves me roughly onto the bed and fear spikes through my chest as he produces a long length of black rope from the dresser drawer. “You were like a vision in the night. I thought I couldn’t possibly be that lucky, but there you were, walking along like a zombie. I don’t think you noticed me following until I turned on my headlights and took you.” He laughs as he loops the rope around my neck.
“What are you doing?” Fear spikes in my chest and I grab at the rough-painted fibers, digging my fingers under them. He bats my hand away with a benign smirk.
“Making sure you don’t run.” He ties a tight knot, looping it into a noose, then ties the other end to the headboard. When he’s finished, I’m connected to the bed like a dog on a leash. “Your brother and Nico almost got me, you know. That was another bit of luck. I saw them sneaking up on me like foxes and I stole out the back and disappeared.” He laughs as he takes off his belt and uses it to tie up my wrists behind my back. I try to flex but he pulls it so tight it hurts. “There, that’s perfect.” He steps back and admires me.
“What are you doing, Rinaldo? You have to know kidnapping me will only make things worse for you.”
“Maybe,” he says, touching his dimpled chin. “But here’s the thing. I’m already in deep shit with your family. They already want to kill me, all because you squealed and cried like a pig when I tried to fuck you, which wasn’t great, by the way, really ruined the mood. I’m thinking if I want to keep breathing, I need a little leverage, and that’s where you come in.”
“They’re going to kill you no matter what.”
“I don’t know, darling, I just don’t know.” He double-checks the rope around my neck and the belt on my wrists before nodding to himself. “Looks like it’s a little past six now. You stay here while I go get some things for the next few hours. Think about me while I’m gone, okay? And, Karah, if you do manage to wriggle out of your bonds and I find you still in this room, I will kill you. So either get away or be a good girl, but save us both the trouble, all right, darling?”
He grabs a sock from the drawers and a full roll of duct tape. He shoves the sock in my mouth and duct tapes my mouth shut, and I try to scream at him but I’m extremely gagged. The cotton tastes like raw sewage like he wore it while out for a run recently and it sucks up all the moisture in my mouth. When I try to talk, it shifts deeper and deeper, threatening to slide down my throat—threatening to choke me.