demons. I moved over closer to the boy and put an arm around his shoulders. “I’ll do everything in my power to bring her home, I promise. I know how much she means to you.”
Daniel nodded but remained silent as he pressed his lips together. “What are you going to do?”
I didn’t know at that point but it had to be something. Should I call my dad yet? Should I start searching? Where, though? It would be to no advantage until I had a lead to go on. Sitting and waiting would drive me insane. “I’m not sure yet, champ, but I’ll think of something.”
Chapter Thirteen
Dakota
Throbbing. Swelling. Torture. These sensations were what I awoke to. Breathing hurt, so every time I inhaled it was with short gasps. It was dark. Listening for any sounds, there was nothing except the distant hoot of an owl. Inside was quiet. Too quiet. Where was John? Gone? Asleep? Sitting, watching and waiting?
My arms and legs were splayed wide apart and tied to the bed so I resembled a star fish. My body was still naked.
God, this was so bad. I was right back where I’d been all those months ago, except now I was tied up like John was trying some sick attempt at BDSM. How was I going to get out of this now? My window of opportunity had run out. I would have to deal with whatever he dealt me.
I attempted to pull on my shackles but they bit into my skin. The pain of that was nothing compared to the rest of my body and yet the mental agony far outweighed everything. He’d always been into degrading me and little had changed.
Just like Daniel’s father, the only way to stop him was to get rid of him. If I couldn’t find some way to do that, he would continue to brutalize me.
My throat was parched but I didn’t want to try and call out to get John’s attention. That was the last thing I wanted. Hopefully he would be sleeping off his own injuries.
The only way to get out of the mess would be to try and free myself from the bindings but they had been done up so tight, I didn’t know how that would be possible.
Wiggling my ankles and wrists, I felt for any give in the rope. Any slackness at all may be just what I needed to work an arm or leg free.
Twisting my wrists and trying to ignore the rope burn, I figured even if I had one hand to spare, I could use it to try and undo all the ropes.
The bed squeaked from my movement, stopping me in my tracks to listen for any sign John might have heard. If he caught me trying to escape there would be hell to pay. My body wouldn’t survive another beating.
Both wrists were bleeding, the warm liquid oozing down each arm. I didn’t need sight to know it was blood. It was irrelevant at this point, though. What else could I do apart from keep trying to wiggle free?
So far all I’d managed to achieve was the ability to twist my wrists within the rope. As for loosening it enough to fit the widest part of my hand through, that was going to take some serious effort.
***
Time passed but I couldn’t gauge how long because it was still dark. The sky hadn’t even begun to look like lightening. At a guess, it was probably around 2 a.m. It felt like I’d been trying to pry free for several hours but in actual fact it had probably only been one.
My mind switched gears to Kyle. He would be senseless with worry. Had he called the police? Were they looking for me? It didn’t really matter anyway because to find me in a secluded cabin at Big Bear Lake would be impossible. John had planned everything meticulously, there was no arguing with that. I only hoped he had left a trail of clues
I should be lying in Kyle’s arms, deeply asleep; not spread-eagled, naked, and beaten in a cabin with someone I hated to my very core.
If I could just get this damn rope off! While John was sleeping, I may be able to find some way out of this tomb. I could be out and gone before he woke up. It would give me the head start I needed.
I was sure that when it
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