Page 64 of The Atonement

She wasn’t listening, too busy trying to stand up, and then, without warning, she opened her mouth and screamed with everything she had left in her. I clapped a hand over her lips in an instant, ending the noise.

A second later, she went limp in my arms.

There now, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Let’s get you home.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

AINSLEY

When I awoke, I instantly knew something was wrong, though my mind was dense with fog, only bits and pieces of memories coming back to me. Voices, smells, images.

The kids.

Grass.

Music.

A stained shirt.

A stained carpet.

Everything hurt. Nothing made sense.

Where was I?

Why was it so cold?

Why were my arms—

Tied.My arms were tied. I was tied down to something.

Panic shot through me like a bolt of lightning. I struggled against the strength of the material bindingme as I tried to make sense of it all, tried to clear my blurry vision and ease my pounding head.

As I began to find focus, I realized the issues with my vision weren’t due to whatever was wrong. I couldn’t see because it was dark. Pitch black. We were either moving, or my head was spinning.

Then, the smell hit me.

The dank, cool air.

The musty smell.

The darkness.

I recalled the darkness most of all.

No.

Not so long ago, I’d tiptoed across this room and slit the throat of a woman my husband intended to kill. Watching him take in the fact that he’d never get the pleasure—never get to be her whole world—was one of the joys I would take to my grave.

Now, I had to wonder if that grave would come sooner than I’d hoped.

Would I be just another body buried in the woods soon enough? Just another victim rotting under a concrete patio? Once, I could say with certainty he’d never hurt me. Now, though, all bets were off.

One of us was going to have to kill the other, and he clearly, as I struggled against the ropes that bound me, had the upper hand.

I jerked my arms and kicked my feet, trying to break free however I could. The chair scooted across the concrete floor, its rubber feet shriekingwith each movement. As a last-ditch attempt, I leaned over, throwing all my weight to the side.

Again.