Page 86 of Right With You
I shut my eyes and breathed through the panic clawing at my ribs.
This is what we do.
This felt different than any K and R job we’d ever done, though. I’d cared when Jo had been taken—it’d felt personal then. But this?
This was a waking nightmare.
What if I didn’t get another chance to tell her I was so sorry for betraying her trust? That she deserved someone who respected her no matter what, whose actions reflected this even when they disagreed.
That I wanted more with her than I’d ever wanted with anyone. That I was terrified of loving her and losing her but that the possibility of never really having her to love in the first place hurt like hell anyway.
Or more to the larger, more unimaginable point, that I loved her so much I could hardly breathe without her knowing it?
CHAPTERFORTY-ONE
Elise
I’d seen Callum once in the last… some amount of time when he came in without a word, took a photo, and left.
It felt like hours, but I couldn’t be sure. The sun had shifted along the wall enough for me to know it’d been minutes, but how often did I hang around a room watching the sun move? And it was muted through the frosted glass so I couldn’t be sure.
My body ached from sitting. I couldn’t stand without slumping thanks to where he’d attached the cuffs, and I couldn’t believe how thirsty I was. I leaned into obsessively thinking about how dry my mouth felt instead of letting my mind wander to the worries clawing at me—that maybe Luc had no idea I was even gone. They circled my brain like vultures, and after I couldn’t stand it anymore, I started yelling.
“Callum! Callum, please. I need to talk to you!” If this resulted in my mouth being duct-taped, so be it.
Granted, easy to say now while my mouth wasn’t covered, but I convinced myself I could talk him into leaving me tape-free since I wasn’t screaming my guts out for no reason.
He opened the door with an irritated snarl. “Didn’t I tell you to keep quiet?”
“You did. I don’t have any other way to get your attention, and I…” I swallowed, realizing he wasn’t about to give me anything and the thought of sitting here for who knew how much longer without contact, without any information, made me feel like a caged rabbit. “I really need to use the bathroom.”
His jaw hardened, then his chin jutted out in this mean-mug look he’d given me a dozen times at least. “Fine.”
He approached with zero caution and pulled out a small silver key, then fiddled with the lock until the side attached to the radiator released. With a yank on my left arm, he turned me and connected the cuff to my right wrist, then hauled me up to standing.
My knees ached, but I happily stepped forward, eager to exit the room. As subtly as possible, I took in the space as Callum lead me to the bathroom. Sadly, I didn’t see much. White walls, a few other doors, all closed, and the bathroom. Clean and stocked only with toilet paper and hand soap—no towels I could see.
He shoved me in and shut the door.
“Uh, I can’t uh… I need at least one hand.” I ground my teeth against the urge to cry. How humiliating to have to ask someone to uncuff me so I could use the bathroom?
He shouldered back in and without a word undid the right cuff, then grabbed my chin and held ithard.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Leesy.”
Fury rose up in my chest and I was a heartbeat away from spitting in his face when he whipped around and shut the door after himself. I wanted to sink to the floor and cry or manifest a window and climb out of it. But, I moved through the motions quickly, too afraid to have him burst back in and find me moving too slowly. Then he’d think he had excuse to hit me again.
Something inside crumbled with that thought. I’d tried to stay away from it being him, but here he was. A man I’d once thought I loved. Who I’d been convinced loved me, in spite of some of his behavior. But here, he’d just shown clear as day that he’d just been waiting for an excuse to hit me.
At the same time, I’d been right. Not that I’d ever felt unjustified in leaving him, but now I knew. All those rough grips and harsh statements had been leading to more abuse.
Banging on the door jolted me into finishing rinsing my hands. With one last look in the mirror, I took a deep breath.
You can do this. You’ll make it through this.
As Callum marched me back to the room, I thought of my friends. I thought of Jo, who’d been held at gunpoint by a crazy person. Winnie had been abducted and had to be rescued, too. I thought of Jess, who’d saved so many people, and Liz who’d saved Jack McKean and his friend, not to mention all the spy stuff she’d done overseas to stop terrorists. I thought of Nikki, who’d fiercely protected Kiley and supported Bruce. They’d survived, and so would I.
Maybe we’d start a club.
