Still, it’s my best bet to find something, anything, I can use to break out of here. So I get close, click open the lock, put my fingers underneath the lid, and push it up.
I shriek out loud and immediately drop the lid.
Inside is a butchered carcass. Chopped into pieces. And it definitely wasn’t human.
My heart beats a million miles an hour, and I swallow to make the fear go away as I approach it once again and peer inside. It’s definitely an animal, bloody too, and it smells. I pull up my nose at the sight of the deer’s head.
Did Liam kill this poor thing? Is this the deer he was talking about earlier?
Suddenly, my eyes fall onto a small, glinting piece of metal lying underneath the deer’s head. What could it be? I lean in closer, but the stench is extremely off-putting. Oh, God, I’m gonna be sick.
I pinch my own nose with one hand and look away as I push the deer’s head aside and fish out what was underneath. Bile rises in my throat, and I quickly close the lid and step away, coughing wildly.
When the nausea subsides, I look at the metal in my hand.
It’s a knife.
And all the fear and disgust have suddenly made a place for bravado. This is my second chance. My last chance to make it out of here. Unscathed, I don’t know, but it’s worth a try.
Would I be able to stab him if push came to shove?
I wasn’t even able to shoot him.
I stare at the knife in my hand, wishing I had the same kind of fearlessness Jill showed when Liam almost killed her.
I’m not like her. I’m not nearly as strong and courageous.
In the face of danger, all I do is freeze and stare.
Stick my head into the sand and cease to exist.
Or at least pretend.
But right now, I am the only one who can keep Liam at bay. My sister’s safety depends on it.
So I clench my jaw, tighten my grip, and waltz to the door. And I ram the knife into the wood over and over, leaving cuts and splinters with every puncture. If he won’t come inside, I’ll go to him first. I don’t care how long it takes.
WHACK!
I retract the knife and stare at the tiny hole I’ve made.
I made an actual hole in the door.
Oh, my God.
I snort-laugh at my own strength but quickly regain my senses and lean against the door to peer through it. There’s not a soul in sight.
Is he really gone? Did he just leave me all by myself in this cabin in the middle of the goddamn woods?
Suddenly, the door caves in on me, and I’m left hanging in the air, falling forward.
Because the door is pulled open, backward, and my body can’t catch itself from falling… Straight into him.
It takes a moment to register.
His arms wrap around my back, and my face presses against his muscular pecs.
My eyes slowly turn up to meet his darkened gaze.