Page 145 of Shadows of Obsession

I pushed the thoughts aside, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand. I had to find Anna, get her out, no matter the cost. Even if it meant killing Daniel with my bare hands. Even if it meant going to prison for life.

She's worth it. She's worth everything.

As the door swung open on silent hinges, I stepped inside, revolver held steadily in a two-handed grip, finger moving to the trigger. The cabin was dimly lit, shadows dancing on the walls from a single corner lamp. The air was heavy with tension and something else. Fear, maybe, or violence waiting to happen.

I moved forward cautiously, eyes scanning every corner, every hidden space, clearing the room with the systematic precision ofsomeone who had done this a thousand times in combat zones. My heart was in my throat as I searched for any sign of Anna or her captor.

Living room clear. Kitchen clear. Bedroom—

And then I heard it. A muffled sound from the back bedroom, not quite a cry, not quite a sob, but unmistakably human.

Unmistakably Anna.

I'm coming,baby. Hold on. I'm coming.

CHAPTER 40

Anna

Daniel's menacing chuckle echoed in my ear, so close I could feel his hot breath against my skin. The knife had just finished its slow, torturous path along my arm, and then suddenly without warning, he ripped the tape covering my mouth off in one violent motion.

The pain was immediate and sharp, but nothing compared to what I already felt. Warm, sticky blood trickled down my skin from the fresh cut he'd inflicted, joining the other trails of crimson seeping from wounds scattered across my legs, stomach, and chest, a roadmap of his cruelty carved into my body.

Don't break. Don't give him what he wants.

Despite the pain and the fear that threatened to drown me, I refused to break. I clung desperately to my resolve, to the tiny spark of defiance that was all I had left.

Anger surged through my veins, temporarily overtaking the terror gripping my heart. I hated this. Hated the way Daniel made me feel weak and helpless, especially after I'd fought so hard to overcome my past and find happiness. After everything I'd survived, everything I'd built and here I was, right back in hell. I had to fight.

"If you're going to kill me, just do it already, Daniel," I seethed, my voice dripping with venom and defiance, despite the tremor I couldn't quite hide.

"Oh, Anna..." Daniel whispered, his lips brushing against my neck in a mockery of intimacy that made my stomach turn.

I flinched violently, turning my head away in disgust. Every place he touched felt contaminated, violated.

"I can't do that until you're ready," he continued, his voice sickeningly tender. "You need to cry. The next time you ask me to kill you, you're going to be begging for it."

I'll never beg you for anything.

He rose from the bed, his movements deliberate and unsettling. I watched with growing dread as he began to undo the belt holding his jeans in place, my eyes widening despite my attempt to maintain a false bravado. A wave of internal panic washed over me.

For a horrifying moment, I thought he was going to hit me with it, and I braced myself for the impact, my muscles tensing uselessly against the restraints.

Instead, Daniel crouched back down beside me, a cruel glint in his eye. The look he got when he'd thought of something particularly sadistic. He slid the belt underneath my neck, and I felt the leather cold against my skin before he looped it around and pulled it taut.

The pressure was immediate. The leather bit into my skin, cutting off my air supply completely. I strained uselessly against the ropes, my chest tightening. I couldn't breathe. My lungs burned, screaming for oxygen that wouldn't come. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision.

"This is what it felt like when you left, Anna," Daniel told me, his voice cold and unforgiving, like he was the victim here. "This is how it felt every time I thought I was close, but then you escaped me."

A desperate, hateful thought clawed at the back of my mind:Good. I hope it hurt. I hope it destroyed you.

He tightened his grip on the belt, increasing the pressure until the spots dancing before my eyes multiplied, spreading like ink across my vision. My face felt hot, swollen, like it might burst. Everything turned red, then gray, then—

Just when I thought I might pass out, when the darkness was closing in completely, Daniel loosened the belt. Air rushed into my lungs in a painful, desperate gasp. I coughed and sputtered, my chest heaving as I tried to fill my lungs, the rush ofoxygen both a relief and a painful reminder that he controlled even this: whether I lived or died, whether I breathed or suffocated.

Tears stung the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them back furiously, determined not to give Daniel the satisfaction of seeing me break.Don't you dare cry.I focused on my anger, on the rage simmering beneath the surface, using it as a shield against the pain and fear. I focused on Jaxon. He had to be looking for me by now, right?

Even as I clung to that anger, to that hope, I could feel my resolve beginning to waver. The physical and emotional torture was taking its toll, wearing me down bit by bit like sandpaper against stone. I knew Daniel wouldn't stop until he had broken me completely, until he had reduced me to nothing.