I sit in front of him. “What makes you think I’m here to rescue you?”
“Because I’ve been good to you,” he answers.
Good? He really thinks he was good to me?
“You kept me locked up. You beat me whenever I did something wrong. You threatened to drug me each time I refused to do as you asked. You fucked me in front of your friends and watched as they fucked me…”
“You’re welcome,” Jim says.
I hit the uninjured half of his face with the back of my hand. Now his face looks more even. And as I rub my hand, I have to admit that felt good.
“You treated me like dirt,” I tell him through gritted teeth.
“I gave you a home and fed you.”
“Not always.”
“I didn’t tell the police you were the one who tried to kill me,” he adds. “If I did, your pretty ass would be in jail now.”
“The only reason you didn’t was so you could punish me yourself. I’m supposed to thank you for that?”
He just grins. I wonder how many more times I’ll have to hit him before he finally stops grinning. But before that, questions.
“Where is your new friend keeping Antonio?”
“I already told your new friends,” he answers.
So he does know.
“What? They didn’t tell you? Poor Christine.”
“Don’t call me that.” I take the bread knife I took from the hotel room out of my pocket and press the blade against his neck. “Now, tell me, where is Antonio?”
Still, Jim grins. “Do you really think you can kill me this time?”
“I have the knife against your throat, which I didn’t last time,” I point out.
That finally makes his grin vanish. Is he scared now?
I press the blade tighter against his skin. Blood trickles out from his veins.
“Tell me.”
Jim doesn’t answer. I grab his crotch and squeeze his balls, something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. He yelps.
“Tell me.”
Finally, Jim relents. “It’s an old house in a small town just outside the city.”
“Give me the address,” I demand.
He does. I let go of his balls but keep the blade against his throat.
“Are you going to kill me now?” Jim asks me.
It’s tempting. He definitely deserves to die. He’s caused me so much fear and misery for so long. He even hurt Antonio and threatened to kill Lara.
But no.
I pull the knife away. Jim laughs.
“Just as I thought, you can’t kill me, Christine.”
“That’s because I’m not a monster like you,” I tell him. “And I don’t have to. You’re going to jail, and you’re going to rot in jail and experience all the things you did to me.”
Fear flickers in his eyes. Now, that’s the look I was aiming for.
“You’re going to be miserable for the rest of your life,” I go on. “And me? I’m going to forget you ever existed. You may have wasted eight years of my life, but in the end, you haven’t really taken anything away from me, James Molder, whereas your life ended today.”
I look into his eyes and grin.
“I win.”
To finish my speech, I bury the knife between his legs. Jim yelps as it narrowly misses his balls. A stain starts to form there.
I leave him a mess. As for me, I feel better, stronger than I have in a long while. I walk out of the van with my grin still in place and my chin held high. If I can only get to Antonio, I’ll feel even better, and thanks to Jim, I now know how.
~
After giving Gina the slip – I promise I’ll apologize to her later – I take a cab to the address Jim gave me.
I find myself at an old house surrounded by lots of trees. I hide behind one as I try to come up with my next move. I haven’t thought things through.
Now what? Set the woods on fire to create a distraction, then go inside and look for Antonio? Wait here until he comes out?
I look around. If Jim told Agent Chandler and Cain what he told me, surely they’re already here. But where?
Suddenly, I hear leaves rustling behind me. Before I can turn around, a gun cocks. I freeze.
“You…”
In the next moment, I hear a thud. I turn around and find the man with the gun on the ground. Behind him, I see two men with brown hair and blue eyes. In spite of their nearly identical looks, I know exactly who to throw my arms around.
“Antonio.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Antonio
“Triss?” I narrow my eyes at her questioningly after I pull away from her arms. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you,” she answers. “And I’ve found you. But don’t tell Cain I’m here.”
My eyebrows furrow. “You’ve met Cain?”
“Cain’s here?” Leo asks almost at the same time.
Triss nods. I let out a sigh.
“I left you behind so you wouldn’t get dragged into this mess and Cain told you where I am?”