Page 21

Chapter Twenty

I screamed.

“Did you want to eat or not?”

I blinked fast, trying to adjust to the bright light and the woman’s voice, all while coping with the fact that my lips had been torn raw along with the duct tape.

I tasted blood.

“Well, are you going to eat? I don’t have all day, you know.”

She moved so she was no longer standing between the ceiling light and me. I could make out her over made-up face and bad bleach job.

I started to reach up to staunch the blood on my lips, and let out a cry. My shoulder burned with pain as I tried to move my arm. So did my side where the glass was still embedded.

“I’m not going to stand here all day, and I’m sure as hell not going to feed you. You either eat now, or I’m taking it away.”

“Where am I?”

“In the garage.”

I looked around a little more and realized I was in a one stall garage. I saw there was one little window on the garage door.

“I meant whose house?”

“My grandpa’s house.” She sat down in the chair at the workbench.

“Where is it?”

“Bitch, I’m not answering any more of your damn questions, just eat your damn food.” She stretched out her leg and toed the plate with a sandwich on it. There was no way I was going to be able to lift that to my mouth. Not with the way my shoulders were cramped up.

“My name is Maddie,” I said, hoping to establish a connection.

“I don’t care what your damn name is. I’m just supposed to feed you and take you to the bathroom. Shit like that. You’ve got one night here before you’re on the road again.”

“Can I have water?”

The blonde heaved out a long breath. She looked around the workroom as if expecting water to magically appear.

“Wait here.” She heaved herself out of the chair. Then she stomped to the door in her motorcycle boots and flung it open. She was wearing really tight jeans and a tank top that didn’t quite cover her left breast. She wasn’t wearing a bra. She left the door open and I heard voices.

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to will away the pain that suffused my body. It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch, but I was able to lift my shirt to see if I could yank out the piece of glass, but it wasn’t jutting out.

This was not good.

“Yeah, she’s awake,” the woman hollered. “I wouldn’t be out here getting water for her, otherwise, now would I?”

I heard the grumble of a male voice, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. His voice was too low of a register, but the woman? Her screechy voice I could hear just fine.

“Fuck yeah, I cut her loose. I wasn’t going to spoon feed her, for God’s sake.”

I heard the sound of flesh meeting flesh.

“Ow, that hurt!” she squealed.

More mumbling.

“How long are you going to stay this time, Grizz?” I couldn’t stand the whine in her voice.

There was a long silence.

“Can’t you take me with you? You’re going to need help with her, ain’t you?”

“Lana, shut up already!” Grizz shouted.

“All right. All right.”

I heard her heels on the wood floor before I saw her in the doorway. I could see the red hand mark on her face.

“I hope you’re happy,” she muttered as she threw the bottle of water at me. It bounced off my chest. I grabbed at it before it rolled away. As I did, my side howled in agony. Dammit, if the bleeding didn’t stop, or the glass shifted deeper, I wasn’t just stuck. I was screwed.

Shut it, Avery. Focus.

At least my arms were somewhat working, so I could move and eat and hopefully try to do something to get myself out of this mess.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Don’t be expecting me to do you any more favors. You ain’t worth it.”

Lana was now leaning against the wall beside the door, scrolling through her phone.

I uncapped the bottle and took a sip, then I grabbed the soggy sandwich and bit in. Of course, it was bologna and Wonder Bread. My life had truly turned to shit. I tried to pretend it was the roast beef sandwich that I had been about to eat at Trenda’s house, but my imagination wasn’t that good.

There had to be something around here I could think about besides shitty food and crappy companionship. I turned and looked at the workbench again. In the light, I could clearly see that the belt buckles were for rodeo events.

I choked down bite after bite, finishing off each one with a sip of water. I needed to keep my strength up if I wanted to get the hell out of here. I didn’t think for one moment that I could get away from Grizz and the other guy, but maybe I could get some kind of message to someone, and Lana’s phone was my best shot.

“Okay, time’s up.”

Lana put her cell phone in her back pocket, then walked over and picked up the plate and bottle of water and went back inside. This time I didn’t hear any kind of conversation. She came back holding a roll of duct tape.

“Wait,” I said as she started ripping off a piece.

“What?”

“I need to use the bathroom.”

“You can wait.”

She ripped off a long strip of tape and bent toward me.

“Please,” I said. It wasn’t hard for me to work up some tears. The idea of lying around in pee-stained jeans all night was just another level up in this horror show.

Lana looked me over, and my tears must have paid off, because she set the roll of tape on the work bench and pressed the ripped tape on the side of the bench. “Can you stand up?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“Shit,” she groused. She stepped over me again to pull a pair of clippers off the workbench, then she clipped through the duct tape holding my knees together. “There. Now you can walk. Get up, and I’ll take you to the bathroom.”

“Thank you.” I gave her the most pathetically grateful smile I could conjure. I pushed up against the cement floor with my shaky arms and tried to get my legs under me so I could stand up. Like I figured, they wouldn’t work. I fell back down.

“Oh, for God’s sake. Get up already,” Lana huffed.

“I’m trying. My legs have gone to sleep.”

“Try harder.”

I needed to time things right. I knew that if I made her wait for over two minutes, she’d play with her phone, which would mean when I got my hands on it, it would be unlocked.

“Can you give me five minutes? Just let me rub them, okay?”

Lana rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She flounced to her spot by the door, leaned against it and grabbed her phone out of her back pocket. I watched as she started to scroll. I rubbed my legs and felt them tingle.

I attempted to get up and made a big deal of falling down. It wasn’t hard. I looked over at Lana. She just rolled her eyes again. That seemed to be her go-to expression. I tried two more times, each time I landed back on my ass.

“If you could just lend me a hand, I know if I could just get on my feet, I’ll be fine.”

Lana shook her head in disgust, but put her phone in her back pocket, then walked over and reached out with both of her hands and braced. It was perfect. I grabbed her hands and pulled hard. She fell on top of me. I made sure my hands were all over her as I apologized profusely.

“You dumb bitch,” she screeched.

“I’m sorry.”

“Get off me!”

“I’m trying.”

She elbowed me in my ribs, luckily on my uninjured side, and I rolled to my back. “I’m so sorry,” I sobbed. “My legs won’t work. They need time to wake up.”

“I should just let you piss yourself,” she said as she climbed to her feet and dusted off the front of her jeans.

“Please don’t. Please give me ten minutes. I’ll be able to walk by then.”

“You damn well better be.”

“I’m sorry I ripped your tank top,” I murmured.

She looked down at her tank top, then back up at me. “You bitch!” She slapped me across my face. “This was my best tank.” I watched as she hustled out of the room. This time she closed the door behind her, and I hated that. I’d really hoped I’d have some kind of advance warning when she was coming back, but with the door closed, I was flying blind.

I pulled her phone out from underneath my butt. It was still unlocked. I swiped over it to keep it unlocked, then pushed up to my knees and pulled myself up, using the work bench. When I was leaning against it, I leaned in and read the one belt buckle I could make out. Champion Bronc Rider, 1972, Memphis, Tennessee. It had to be her granddad, right?

Resting my elbows on the work bench, I started a new text. The only numbers I knew by heart were my sisters. Trenda and Evie would know what to do, but the twins? Piper? They’re not used to?—

What if Trenda and Evie didn’t see it quick enough? Fuck it, I’d send the text to all five of them.

IT’S MADS. BEEN KIDNAPPED. NO JOKE. DON’T TEXT BACK. AT HOUSE WITH 1972 CHAMP brONC RIDER, MEMPHIS TENN. TELL SIMON.

I pressed send and deleted the entire message conversation, then dropped to the floor, flinging the cell phone over towards the water heater.

I rolled back over to where I was, doing my best not to roll onto the embedded glass in my side. I touched it and found that it was oozing blood. This was so not good. Three or four minutes went by. Where was she?

The door flung open. Lana stepped in, then slammed the door shut. She looked furious as she paced around the room. Then her gaze centered on me.

“Did you take my phone?”

“Huh?”

“My phone? Did you take it?” She stood over me. I braced for another hit.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

There was a ding. I recognized that sound. It was the sound of an incoming text. Oh please, say it wasn’t one of my younger sisters replying to my text. I should have only sent it to Trenda and Evie.

Dammit Beau. I really did love you .