Page 7 of Dangerous Affair (The Phoenix Three #2)

Q uinn grimaced when she opened her eyes.

The sunlight coming in the window hurt. Had she forgotten to close the curtains last night?

And her head. A royally pissed off tiny drummer must have taken up residence in her brain.

Had she drunk too much wine? That would explain forgetting to close the curtains. She really, really had to pee.

She frowned as she took in the room. Right, this was the cabin where Jasper had taken her. She remembered that he’d hit her when they’d fought for the gun. She wasn’t nauseated and her vision wasn’t blurry, so she didn’t think she had a concussion.

She lifted her hand to see if she could feel a bump on her head.

What? It took a moment to comprehend what she was seeing.

What the hell? Manacles attached to heavy chains were fastened around both wrists.

Her gaze followed the chains up to the wall where they were secured to one large hook over the bed.

The jackass had chained her up! Now she was furious with him. She stood and tried to yank the chains out of the hook. They wouldn’t budge. When the door swung open, she backed up to the wall and pressed against it.

Jasper strode in, a smile on his face as if chaining her to a wall was normal. “You finally woke up. Good.”

“What the hell, Jasper?”

“Tell me where my thumb drive is, and you can go home.”

“I don’t believe a word out of your lying mouth.

” Would he really let her leave if she gave him the thumb drive, which she might or might not have?

She didn’t think he was going to pat her on the shoulder if she did have it and gave it back.

As long as she kept her mouth shut, she might find a way to get out of this still breathing.

“I have to wonder if you think you can steal my payday for yourself,” Jasper said.

“What payday?” Maybe she could get him to tell her what this was all about. She wanted to ask about the children who were getting sick, but that would tell him she’d overheard his phone conversation.

He narrowed his eyes as he studied her. “Why’d you leave without a word, Quinn? Could it be that you had my thumb drive and wanted to leave before I found out?”

Should she tell him the truth or lie? “Take these things off, and I’ll tell you.”

He laughed. “Nice try. Tell me where my thumb drive is, and you’ll be free to go.”

“I don’t have it. I swear I don’t. What’s on it that’s so important that you’d…” She rattled the chains. “That you would do this to me.”

“Don’t you know? You looked at what was on it, didn’t you?”

“How can I look at something I don’t have?

” Maybe she could convince him she was really hurt.

“I don’t feel so great. I think you gave me a concussion.

” For effect, she rubbed the side of her head.

The chain banged against her face, which made her mad all over again.

“Seriously, Jasper, I need a doctor. And take these damn chains off me.”

He laughed. “Not happening. I have a question for you. If you don’t have my thumb drive, and you haven’t looked at it, why are you in Hope Corner?”

She couldn’t answer that without admitting she’d overheard his phone conversation, so she just stared back at him and said, “You’re a bastard. You know that?”

“I do know that, pretty girl.” Something dark and dangerous was in his smile and his eyes. “I have to go out. While I’m gone, think real hard about telling me where my thumb drive is if you want to leave this cabin.”

She’d told him more than once that she didn’t like pet names, and that he’d ignored her and kept calling her things like babe and pretty girl had been a red flag she’d ignored. Any man who didn’t respect a woman’s wishes was a jerk.

“What about food and water? I’m hungry.”

He walked out without responding.

“Bastard.” Although relieved he was gone, what if he never came back? No one knew where she was, and she’d die here. She remembered reading that people died from lack of water before starvation.

How far did the chains reach? There must be water or at least ice in the cooler on the counter. Maybe even food. The chain wasn’t long enough to get to it she learned when she reached the end and was a foot from being able to touch it.

She went back to the thick S-hook screwed into the wall, but as hard as she yanked on the chains, the hook wouldn’t give. She tried to unscrew it, but that didn’t work either. “Damn you, Jasper,” she screamed.

Her gaze shifted around the room, landing on her camera bag. If she was able to escape, she’d grab the bag. She was able to reach it, and after putting everything back in it, she zipped it up. There, ready to go.

The closed door next to the bed caught her attention.

It must be the bathroom, and she could reach it.

Disappointment that the room was empty almost crushed her, but there was a hand pump over a basin.

A well? Maybe water? She eagerly pumped the handle, and at first nothing happened.

She almost gave up, then a trickle of rusty water dribbled out.

It wasn’t anything she wanted to drink, but as she kept pumping, the water cleared up.

Would it make her sick if she drank it? She cupped some in her hand and smelled it.

It didn’t have an odor so that was good.

She stuck her tongue out and tasted it. It seemed fine.

As thirsty as she was, she wanted to lap it up, but the last thing she needed was to get sick from drinking it.

She’d test a tiny bit, see if she felt okay in an hour or two.

Even the little she drank seemed like the best thing she’d ever had in her mouth.

Now for the other thing she needed. She eyed the toilet, recognizing the compost toilet.

She’d used one before when she was overseas.

“Desperate measures,” she muttered as she lifted the lid.

There wasn’t any toilet paper, but that was the least of her problems. The last thing she wanted was for Jasper to return while she used it, so she made haste.

Better, now that her throat wasn’t so dry and her bladder relieved, she left the bathroom and returned to the bed.

Bored, she napped for a few hours. When he still wasn’t back by dark, and since the water she’d drunk earlier hadn’t made her sick, she returned to the bathroom and drank some more.

The water in her stomach helped a little with the hunger pains.

How long had he been gone, anyway? Did he plan to starve her until she turned over the thumb drive? She could only assume that she did have it if he didn’t. No one else had been in his rental house before she packed up and left.

If she trusted that he’d let her go, she would tell him she might have it at home, but she had a strong feeling that her life depended on denying she had the stupid thing.

Or maybe she was being too dramatic, and she should just tell him.

She didn’t know, and the not knowing was what was going to keep her from saying anything. At least for now.

Movement outside the window caught her eye.

A cardinal landed on a branch, a male. She could tell because he was a brighter red than female cardinals.

She wished she had her camera in her hand.

As she watched him, a female landed close to him.

The male chirped his love song, and the female chirped back.

The female cardinal flew off, and Quinn wished for wings so she could do the same.

The male continued his song, perhaps begging his lover to come back.

After a few minutes, he flew away. Was he chasing his girl bird?

Was he fighting off the attentions of other males who wanted her?

Was he swooping in like a white knight in a fairy tale, saving her from the evil cardinal trying to steal her away?

She wanted a white knight for her own.

She wanted to be a cardinal and fly free.