Page 10 of Saved by Him

Five

Time was passing too fast,and I hadn’t done anything yet. Sometimes there was food, and sometimes I ate it. Nothing fancy. Sometimes cereal or toast. Sometimes peanut butter and fruit. Once there was some soup, but the peas in it sang, and I couldn’t eat them. It was my favorite song. I sang with them for a while, but I sang quietly because if I wasn’t quiet, the angry man came and told me that things would be bad if I made any noise.

I didn’t like the angry man. The scrawny man was better, not because he was nice, but because he didn’t say anything at all. Then, someone new came in. He was younger than the other two. Close to my age, maybe a year or two, younger. He was different, and not just because of his age. His face was soft, like he hadn’t seen or done as much as the other two. The thing that really stood out, though, was the expression in his dark eyes when he looked at me.

Pity.

I never thought I’d be happy to see someone pity me. I could use that, I realized.

Looking the way I did, I doubted a seduction would have worked. But if I could play the damsel in distress, maybe I could appeal to his inner white knight. He didn’t seem jaded enough to question my sincerity. If he hadn’t been one of my kidnappers, I might have felt guilty.

The next time he came in, I smiled at him. Not a sexy sort of smile, but the kind that said I was grateful for the smallest kindness. His eyes caught mine, and he smiled back. A part of me wanted to move right now, but I knew I needed to wait. I needed a clear head, and for that, I needed these drugs out of my system.

Which meant I needed to convince my white knight that I was harmless and no longer needed the drugs. When he set down the plate and cup, I cowered against the wall.

“Please, don’t hurt me. I promise I’ll be good.” To my shame, the quiver in my voice was real.

When he pulled the syringe from his pocket, I let out a whimper. That’s when I saw it. The glimmer of the doubt about what he’d been told to do.

“I don’t need that anymore. I won’t scream. Please don’t make me take it.” I wrapped my arms tight around my body and shivered. “It makes me see things. Scary things. Last time, I started screaming and…” I swallowed hard before I continued, “that’s when he hit me.”

The young man frowned. “He hit you?”

I sniffled and nodded. I put my hand to my cheek, wincing as if it still hurt. I didn’t need to fake how tender my ribs still were, only let it show on my face. I needed to be careful not to overplay my hand. If I pushed too much, I’d lose him and never get out.

“I have to give it to you. It’s my job.” He cast a furtive glance at the door behind him. “You don’t know what they’ll do to me if I don’t.”

I wanted to snap back that I knew damn well what they do to him because I’d been on the receiving end of one of Serge’s punishments. At least he had the freedom to choose whether to stay. I couldn’t say any of that, though, because I needed him on my side.

“Please,” I begged. “Maybe only give me a little. If anyone notices, you can say you didn’t want me to overdose. They might think you’re playing it safe, but they won’t be mad.”

I held my breath as I watched him consider the idea. It wasn’t the best possibility, but at least it was something. After a moment, he nodded.

“Alright,” he said, “I’ll give you half a dose. Hopefully, it’ll be enough to keep away anything scary.”

“Thank you,” I said breathlessly. “Thank you so much.”

I almost added something about how I could repay him, but I thought that might go too far. Besides, I didn’t want to put ideas in his head. I’d made it this farwithout being raped.

I closed my eyes and held out my arm, hating how submissive the gesture felt. It was one thing to not fight. It was something else altogether to participate. And this felt a hell of a lot like participating. Tears stung my eyelids, but I didn’t brush them away. I’d let him think they were tears of gratitude instead of shame.

“What’s your name?” I asked. For a moment, I didn’t think he’d answer me. There was power in a name.

“Yerik.”

“Thank you, Yerik. I’m Rona.”

I knew he knew my name, but one of the basics to surviving kidnapping or hostage situation was consistent reminders of humanity. I couldn’t become just another nameless, faceless woman. I needed to have a name.

As he stood, I looked up at him with pleading on my face, and said, “Will you come again, Yerik? Please. I’d rather it be you.”

His cheeks flushed, and after a moment, he nodded. We stayed like that for several seconds before he turned and walked away, leaving me with a clear enough mind to start thinking about escape.

I had to make sure no one else knew what Yerik had done for me. I wasn’t going soft. When I got out of there, I’d see that the FBI offered him a deal to flip on the others, but that was all he was getting from my gratitude. No matter how young or easily manipulated he was, Yerik was still involved in holding me captive.

I talked, doing my best to match the cadence and volume that I’d had the previous few days when I’d been on full doses of the drugs. I didn’t really think about what I was saying, letting random bits of what sounded like half of a conversation come out all on its own. It didn’t matter if any of it was based on real events or feelings. The privacy of my personal life wasn’t really my top concern now.

My brain wasn’t buzzing as fast as usual, but this wasn’t exactly a complex escape plan. It would come down to timing and sheer physicality. I would need to catch someone off-guard enough that I could not only get to the door but through the door. I couldn’t risk someone grabbing me just as I got outside the room.

---