Page 40 of Clawed
Chapter Fifteen
Wrestling Emotions
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AN ODD NUMBNESS HADsettled over Hannah, as though the cuffs he’d compelled onto her wrists had sedated her.Without the use of her hands, she was frozen, as if detaching herself from the ordeal could save her, but deep down, she knew better.
SheknewLawes.
Nothing’s going to save me this time.
There were no other prisoners to collude with and no obvious way of determining where the hell he’d brought her to.Hell, standing there in the dank little bathroom, she didn’t even know what had happened to her phone.She remembered she’d been using it when Lawes had struck, but she had no recollection of seeing it since then.
My life was on that phone.
Her brow furrowed at the wretched thought.There were a hundred better reasons for her woe—namely, her vulnerability—but for some reason, that single loss of liberty seemed pulverizing.The device represented the life she’d gotten back and had started to take for granted — the same existence Lawes had callously seized from her.
“Wait here while I run the water.”Grabbing her shoulders, he steered her back toward the basin.
She went without a fight, her head cloudy as he manhandled her.A distant part of her brain considered kicking him in the balls and making a run for it, but without the use of her hands, how far would she get?
The answer was perturbingly obvious.She wouldn’t get anywhere.Cuffed and trapped in the shabby house, there was nowhere she could go.Closing her eyes, she attempted to still her quivering hands.
It’s the shock.
She recognized its freezing tendrils, just as she’d seen that hungry look in his eyes too many times.
“You are so fucking gorgeous.”Whistling, he shook his head.“I hadn’t forgotten, but to have you here with me, it’s something else, little girl.”
Yeah, it’s a nightmare.
The answer popped into her mind, and on another, less stressful day, it might even have amused her.Not then, though.Staring at him, she didn’t know whether she wanted to scream or give in to the well of nausea forming in her stomach.
“Hannah.”His deeper tone shot her an unspoken warning.“I just paid you a compliment.”
She stared at him, watching his lips move, although the words hardly registered.
“Thank you, Mr.Lawes, sir.”She forced the words out, hoping it was the correct response.His softening expression suggested she’d bought herself a reprieve, but she still wasn’t clear why.The reduced blood flow to her system had anesthetized her, muting both his sentiment and her reactions.
Their eyes locked for a long moment, and although she couldn’t be sure, it felt as if the room around them had started to sway as he held her gaze.
“Do.Not.Move.”He enunciated the words as though she was a five-year-old.“Got it?”
She nodded, regretting the gesture immediately.“Yes, Mr.Lawes, sir.”
He was gone then, out of her personal space and leaning over the ancient-looking bathtub.Fleetingly, she cast her eyes over the vessel, surprised anything so old still worked, but the sound of water running from the faucets proved her wrong.The tub was apparently still watertight, and whether she liked it or not, it appeared to be where Lawes was intending to put her.
