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Chapter Nineteen

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Desperate

When Gina woke up, it took a second to get her bearings. She was cold and uncomfortable. Her eyes were covered and her whole body ached, especially her head, which felt like it had been stuffed with wool. She was lying on something hard and slick.

Gina opened her mouth to say, “What the fuck?” and discovered that she couldn’t. Her eyes and lips were taped shut, and her hands and feet were bound together with what also felt like tape. She couldn’t move at all. Couldn’t stand. Couldn’t scream.

That’s when she started to panic. She thrashed, her body knocking against something hard and cold. Wherever she was felt narrow, slightly wider than her shoulders. Was it a box? Or worse—a coffin? She tried to scream through the tape, but the sound came out so muffled it was barely audible.

A wave of dizziness nearly overcame her. Her lungs hurt; she wasn’t getting enough air. Feeling herself start to slip back into unconsciousness, Gina forced herself to relax. Carefully, she drew deep breaths in through her nose until her pulse settled. And as she did that, memories flooded back in.

The old guy with the knife. Shit. He’d forced her to his car and made her take some pills that knocked her out. But why? What else did this sick fuck want from her? He’d already taken her hair.

“Oh, good, you’re awake!” a hearty voice boomed from somewhere to her right.

Gina jerked away from it, banging her shoulder painfully.

A low chuckle and then the voice said, “Easy, now. No need to be dramatic. If you behave yourself, this will all be fine.”

Gina dared allow herself the tiniest bit of hope. Maybe he’d covered her eyes so she couldn’t identify him. He wore disguises, right? That’s why she hadn’t recognized him last night. Maybe he was going to let her go as soon as she gave him whatever he was after.

“All righty then. If I remove the tape, are you going to be a good girl?”

She nodded.

A pause and then he said, “I should tell you, there’s no point in screaming. We’re somewhere no one will hear you.” His voice hardened as he added, “And if you do scream, I’ll cut out your tongue. Do you understand, young lady?”

Gina hesitated, then nodded again. She couldn’t help yelping in pain as he ripped the tape off her mouth. The sudden ability to take in big gulps of air practically made her cry from relief. She filled her lungs greedily as he said, “Let’s get started. I have some questions for you.”

“Okay.” Gina’s voice came out raspy, like it hadn’t been used for a while. How long had she been here? She’d assumed just a few hours, but could it have been longer? Another wave of panic swelled inside her; she fought it back. Panicking wasn’t going to accomplish anything. She had to be smart about this. “I’ll give you a blow job if you let me go,” she croaked.

A long silence. She cocked her head, listening; was he going to take her up on it?

When he finally spoke, his voice was low, so quiet she could barely hear him. “So you really are just a filthy little whore.”

Gina shrank back again, shaking her head and stammering, “No, I just—I thought—”

“Silence!” he hissed.

Gina clamped her mouth shut.

“Now, then,” he said in a completely normal voice. “Please explain what happened last night. I’m particularly curious about the women who visited the motel after my departure. Any information you provide would be greatly appreciated.”

“Um, I’m not sure,” Gina said. “I don’t know a lot of them. Most are Dot’s friends.”

“And who is Dot, exactly?”

“She owns the motel. But Marcella manages it.” Should she be telling him all this? Would he go after them next?

Well, if so, too bad. Gina could only afford to worry about herself right now. And if that meant telling this asshole everything she knew about Dot and Marcella down to their bra sizes, that’s what she was going to do.

“And the motel next door? The Buggy Suites?”

“That dump? No, that’s not Dot’s,” she said, puzzled by the question. “I got crabs from the sheets once, it’s nasty.”

“I see.” Another pause, as if he was debating what else to ask. “And why was everyone congregating last night?”

“Um…” Should she lie? Or would that just piss him off more? Probably safer to stick with the truth; after all, it hadn’t been her plan. “To try to catch you.”

He laughed sharply. “To catch me? Goodness.”

“Yeah.” Emboldened, she said, “I had nothing to do with it; it was all Dot and Marcella’s idea. And their other friend, she does something with computers.” She searched for the name. “Georgia, I think? Something like that. Anyway, they got pretty mad about you shaving people’s heads. But like I said, I had nothing to do with it.”

“Shaving heads?”

Gina frowned. He sounded mystified. “Yeah. Like the other day, when you drugged me and shaved my head.”

A long pause, then he chuckled again. “Oh my. Is that what happened to your hair?”

Gina’s heart sank as the realization hit: This isn’t the same guy.

It was someone much, much worse.

“Well, thank you for being so forthcoming,” he said smoothly.

“Sure.” She swallowed, then said hopefully, “You gonna let me go now?”

The strip of tape was pulled back across her mouth. Gina screamed against it, bucking wildly. There was a note of regret in his voice as he said, “I’m afraid not. Bad girls like you need to be punished.”

Something wrapped around her throat. Gina struggled, but it was no use. He pulled it taut, and the darkness behind her eyes became absolute.