Page 14 of Blood Ties

Riley

A nger pulses through me as I tear through the sandwich, bite by bite.

I can still feel the imprint where Knox touched me, the lingering heat of his fingers enough to make my skin crawl.

I hate to think of what I did with him, and what he did to my friends.

I hate him . I might hate Kai even more, for putting me here, and for looking at me with those puppy-dog eyes like he’s not just as much of a monster as the rest of his family.

I hate their Dad, and their uncle. The whole fucking family can burn in hell.

But I am grateful to Knox for one reason: he awakened this anger in me, now burning inside of my chest. My anger gives me life, gives me strength, gives me the will to move forward.

Because Knox was right: I was acting weak when I decided to give up.

If I die here, nobody will know the truth of what happened in this house.

My friends and I are supposed to be at the music festival right now.

It’ll be days still before anyone outside realizes something is wrong.

And even if someone comes looking for us in that godforsaken town, I’m sure the locals will say that Knox and his family fixed up our car and sent us on our way.

It’s clear that the Duvall family has been getting away with this for far too long. I’m not going to add my friends to the list of people who disappeared never to be seen again. I’m the only one left alive to get justice for them. To get revenge , if I’m smart enough.

The Duvall brothers insisted on keeping me alive. I’m going to make them regret it.

After I finish my sandwich, I shuffle over to the sink for the first time since they put me down here, the chain attached to my wrist clinking as I stretch it to its limits.

The setup down here, with a toilet and everything, makes my stomach clench with dread.

It’s obvious I’m not the first person who’s been trapped down here.

But I refuse to let panic take hold. At least it means my confinement won’t be short. Both of the Duvall brothers seem determined to keep me alive for a while. So I don’t have to act rashly. I have time to come up with a plan.

I clean my face and hair in the sink, scrubbing myself with the tiny, hard nub of soap left there.

Kai cleaned some of the blood off of me, but the stink of it is still thick in my nostrils.

I wash under my arms, too, and after a moment’s hesitation, between my legs.

It makes me sick to consider that it might be necessary, and that I’m trying to make myself desirable to them, but.

.. I’m not an idiot. They chained me up in the basement.

Knox already fucked me once, and the way Kai looks at me, I know he wants a chance, too.

I can use that. It’s the reason I’m alive, and the reason they’re likely to let their guard down. I may not be very strong or fast, but if they underestimate me, I can find an opportunity.

Once I’ve washed as best I can, I hobble back over to my corner. There’s not much I can do about the rat’s nest of my hair or my filthy clothes, but I have to work with what I’ve got.

As I curl up on the mattress and try to sleep, an idea begins to form in my mind.

*

W HEN KAI COMES DOWN the stairs the next morning, I’m waiting for him on the mattress with my knees pulled to my chest. Watching him. He slows as he reaches the bottom of the staircase, studying me. But after a moment he approaches, and holds out water and food, like he has the past few days.

But today, I reach out and take them. I let my fingers brush against his.

“Thanks,” I whisper, taking a sip of water and then a bite of the sandwich. It’s hard to stomach it with my nerves tying my guts into knots, but I do my best.

Surprise flickers across Kai’s face. “You’re eating.”

I force myself to take another bite. To stifle the absolute contempt I feel whenever I look at him. Still, I can’t quite fight off the flare of anger. “Your brother didn’t give me a choice.”

Kai grimaces, dropping his gaze. “I’m sorry about him.”

But not sorry enough to stop him . I bite my tongue until I can manage a better response.

“It’s... okay.” The lie tastes like ashes.

“It made me realize, um...” I swallow, let a tiny bit of the terror I’m feeling show through on my face.

“I don’t want to die.” I keep my eyes on my food, but I can feel him look at me. Feel him softening as he sees my fear.

Kai wants to play savior. So I’ll let him.

“You won’t,” he murmurs. “I won’t let that happen.”

I hesitate. “Then... what are you going to do with me?” I don’t have to fake the way my voice trembles as I think of all the worst possibilities.

“I...” I see the answer on his face as he trails off: he doesn’t know.

It drives me crazy that he threw me in a basement without any kind of plan, but maybe it will make it easier to manipulate him.

I bite the inside of my cheek hard enough that tears spring to my eyes.

“I’m going to keep you safe while I figure something out,” Kai says. I glance up at him, my gaze watery and soft, and there’s a stricken look on his face.

“Do you promise?” I ask.

“I promise.”

I don’t believe for a second that he’d do anything if his brother or the rest of his fucked-up family threatened me, but I nod and offer him a tiny, teary smile. “Thank you, Kai.”

He looks away. “Sure.” He hesitates for a moment, and then stands. I watch him from beneath tear-stained eyelashes. There’s an awkwardness about him, a discomfort with this situation. I assumed he meant to keep me as some kind of sex slave, but maybe that’s not quite the truth.

“...Kai?” I ask, as he turns to leave. He pauses, looks back without saying anything.

“Do you think, um... if it’s not too much trouble.

.. could you get me some clothes? And a toothbrush?

” I bite my lip. “I had them in my backpack, if that’s still here somewhere.

..” More importantly, that backpack also held my birth control.

He glances around the dim, horrible little basement as if realizing the conditions I’m in for the first time. Then he nods. “I’ll see what I can do.”

The moment he’s gone, I wipe the tears from my eyes and sigh.

He doesn’t just want to fuck me, and that makes my job harder. He wants to think of himself as some kind of hero — except that he’s too much of a coward to stand up to his horrible family.

There might be a way to push him into it. To force his hand with a gentle touch. But I’ll have to be very careful, and very smart.

If I want to survive, lust won’t be enough. I’ll have to make him fall in love with me.