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“You motherfucker!” Danny says, spit flying from his mouth. The stranger shoves me toward the wall. I rub my head as he walks over to Danny, leaning down in his face.

“You keep your mouth closed.” He reaches behind him and pulls out a knife. Danny’s knife. The one he apparently took. Grabbing Danny’s jaw, he squeezes. “Or I’ll cut your fucking tongue out,” the stranger says. He reaches behind Danny and cuts the ties off his wrists before doing the same with his upper arms. Danny’s arms fall as if they’re broken. He cries out in pain.

“Get the fuck up,” the man orders after he reaches down and cuts the zip tie from Danny’s ankles. But Danny doesn’t get up. He tilts and falls flat on the floor. His face hits the wood hard enough to knock him out.

“Jesus Christ. This is the man you love?” he asks me. “This sorry fucker?” He kicks Danny and I scream, thinking about his already bruised ribs. I crawl over to him.

“Stop!” I say. “Just stop.”

He laughs. “You’re just as stupid as I was. Do you know who this man is?” he asks me. “Do you have any idea the ruthless things he’s done? The people he’s killed. How can you stand by a man like this?”

“Did you not stand by him?” I ask. “Surely if you know him as well as you act, then you’ve been witness to his crimes or, in fact, have done horrible things yourself. Look what you’re doing to us.”

He exhales, walking over to the window. Looking out, he says, “I did stand by him. I would have died alongside him, but he’s the reason for everything that’s gone to shit in my life.”

“How?” I ask. “How is he the reason?”

He turns to look at me. “Even after all these years, you still love him.”

My throat dries even more than it already is. Why does he keep saying things like that? What does he care if I love Danny or not? My mind starts to play tricks on me. Could this be…? No, no. Not Samuel. Why am I thinking that? Good God, he would never do this.

It’s not possible. I saw what happened. I was there. There’s no way. I’m going crazy. I’m losing it. “I care for Danny. But you’re wrong about the love part. I don’t love him. The man I love is no longer here.”

He laughs. “And that’s because of him.” He nods at Danny passed out on the floor. Walking over to me, he reaches behind and cuts my ties, too. I gasp as my arms come forward. My shoulders ache painfully. I can feel it getting worse every time he cuts them so we can use the bathroom.

“Get him up.” He walks out and I look down at Danny. I move the hair from his face, running a finger over his beard.

“Danny. Wake up.”

His eyes flutter open, and he turns over onto his back. His bones pop as he groans in agony. Stretching his leg out, he quickly sucks air in. “Cramp,” he says through his teeth. “I’m going to kill him.” He holds on to his ribs.

“You’re too weak, Danny. We both are.”

His eyes go to me, blood and dirt cover the skin I can see, and we share a look that says we might not make it out of here, but I don’t swim in it.

“Come on,” I urge before my hand goes to my mouth. “Oh God.” I look at his wrist when his sleeve rides up. “Your wrist, Danny. It’s swollen and looks infected.” I touch his forehead. “You’re burning up.”

“I’m fine,” he says. “Help me up.”

“You’re not fine. God, we really are going to die out here.”

“Don’t talk like that,” he says.

I wrap my arm around his waist and help him stand as he grabs ahold of the chair and straightens up. The stranger walks back into the house with some firewood. He tosses it into the wood-burning stove in the middle of the room. After lighting some paper and fat lighter, he puts them in there, too. “I’ll leave some wood here,” he says. “Bexley, you’ll stay untied. You can keep the fire going. It’ll be no fun for me if the two of you freeze to death.”

“Why do you care about the cold now? It’s been freezing the whole time we’ve been here.”

“Want me to take it all away?” he asks.

I shut my mouth.

“That’s what I thought. Be grateful, bitch. Come on, Bones. Let’s go take a piss.”

Chapter Four

Bexley

2006