Page 108 of Claws & Cover Ups
“I don’t… know… what—”
“Don’t bother. I know I got it wrong twice. They didn’t deserve to live anyway, so I’m not upset or anything. But this time I’m sure. What did you think? You were some sort of god making decisions about who gets to live? Well, now you have no power,” he says with a manic smile.
“No, you’ve got the wrong—”
His laugh startles me. “Is that really how you want to spend the little time you have left. Iknowit was you. You ordered the medicines. Cocky little shit, weren’t you? Thought no one would care enough to look. Well, I did,” he says.
“What medicines?” I try with my croaky voice. What else can I do?
“Shut up,” he yells. “Enoughof that. I suspected long before the medicines. There was no veterinarian conference in Arizona that weekend. You know what did happen, though? The body of a werewolf was found in a hotel. Died of a heart attack.”
He stalks toward me. I plaster myself to the back of the hard wooden chair to get away from him. He leans down until his face is right in front of me, just inches away.
“You really thought you got away, didn’t you?” he whispers. “Oh, Elliot, this is gonna be so much fun.”
A sharp noise distracts him. He backs off to check his phone lying on a desk a few feet away. I take this time to look around me. My mind feels sluggish, everything trailing behind. But at least I can see clearly now.
The room is dark, with an overhead light hanging from the ceiling above the desk, the only source of light here. The airfeels stale, suffocating.
So, a basement. That explains the lack of windows. Not that I’m complaining. I can’t expect the man to make his abduction room open and airy.
I look at my abductor again, now frowning down at his phone. Why the fuck did I trust him? Right, he said he’s Nicholas’s friend, and I believed him like an idiot.So fucking stupid of me.
Even then, I wouldn’t have just driven away with him to my own abduction. And he clearly knew that.
That explains the red-hot pain in my head and the bleariness.
He wants me dead. So, what’s all the theatrics about? He could have gotten rid of me right there on my front porch. He was in his uniform, no one would have questioned him much.
No, he wants to make it hurt. While that sucks, it also gives me a chance to survive this.
And then what?
Ifhefound me, Nicholas will too, if he hasn’t already. I might try to run. Succeed even. Then what? Sam has categorically said he won’t continue this. And while the normal life was fun, I can admit it was only because of Mickey, Ashley, and Nicholas. But only because I’m going to die soon. What’s the point in lying to myself anymore?
“I need to check something. I’ll be back,” Dominic says absentmindedly, leaving me alone.
I focus my attention on breathing and calming my heartbeat. Once the initial shock of the situation wears off, I’m just left with shame. How could I be stupid enough to trust a werewolf I didn’t even know?
But I don’t have any doubts in my mind that Sam must have sent out a search party for me already. How he manages that, I don’t know. Just like I never know how he does anything.
Still, I can’t sit here twiddling my thumbs, waiting to be rescued, especially because time is not on my side.
I can hear footsteps stomping on the floor above me. Irotate my wrists to gauge how securely he’s tied me.
A rope? Not at all securely, then, if you know what you’re doing.Oh, werewolves. Always so fuckingcocky.
I press the backs of my wrists together to create some slack. My hands are trembling, but after about thirty minutes of consistent pressure which makes my wrists raw until it goes numb, I feel the rope give a little.
I smile. Within minutes, I have my hands free.
I keep the rope handy, ignoring the pain and get to work on my legs—a cakewalk. I look around again, checking for exits. Just one that he left through.
I don’t dare to move from my chair. With the werewolf hearing, the man would know I’m free before I can take a single step. No, I need to wait for him and finish him off first.
I leave the rope lightly tangled around my legs, giving the impression of knots, and hold the other one behind my back, my only weapon here.
I’d rate my chances of beating a werewolf with just a rope at about two out of ten. But what do I have to lose? I’m dying either way. This might speed up the process and make it less painful.Alwaysa fan of feeling less pain.
