Page 96 of Finding Carly
Gideon was sitting at the back of what she now realized was a boat…and he was laughing.
“So fucking pathetic,” he snarled.
Carly finally realized that part of the reason she was throwing up was because of the boat, and she always got seasick when she was on the water. Even if it was the smoothest day ever, she still got green.
Today was definitely not a smooth ocean day. Carly had no idea how fast they were going, but the small boat was bouncing as it flew over the water. There was no wheelhouse to protect them from the spray of the waves or from the rain.
And it was pouring. Rain lashed against her face, feeling like tiny stings from insects. Gideon didn’t seem to even notice the weather. He had one hand on the tiller, steering the engine behind the boat, and was smirking like a lunatic.
“It’s about time you woke up, fucking lazy bitch. I’ve been waiting hours for you to wake up. I didn’t even hit you that hard, but you’ve been unconscious for-fucking-ever. I could’ve thrown you overboard already. But I wanted you to be cognizant of what was happening—and why.”
Panic rose within Carly and her breath momentarily paused in terror. This was literally her worst nightmare come true. She was alone with Gideon, someone who obviously wanted to do her harm, hadalreadydone her harm. She didn’t know what his ultimate plan was, but it couldn’t be good.
She sat up…and looked down at her leg in confusion when it didn’t move easily.
Gideon laughed again. “You aren’t going anywhere until I want you to,” he told her with a nasty grin.
Carly stared in surprise at the kettle bell that was attached to her ankle by a sturdy-looking rope. There was only one reason Gideon would’ve tied a heavy weight to her leg. She looked over the side of the boat at the rolling waves, and another bout of nausea had her bending over to throw up once more. This time all that came out was bile.
Carly’s heart was beating a million miles an hour. She was completely on her own…and these were probably her last few minutes on Earth. Gideon was going to kill her. She knew that as surely as she knew her name.
The lessons Elizabeth had pounded into her surged to the front of her brain.
Fight. If you can’t get anyone’s attention, you’ll have to use your own smarts to try to get out of the situation. Whatever you do, you cannot give up. If you do, your attacker wins.
The very last thing Carly wanted was for Gideon to win. No way in hell.
Her mind cleared as if a set of curtains had been thrown back. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but giving up wasn’t on the list.
Maybe she could tackle Gideon and push him overboard. She could then drive the boat back to shore. She had no idea where they were, but if she turned in the opposite direction they were going now, she was bound to run into land at some point.
Or maybe she could pick up the weight tied around her leg and hit him over the head with it, knock him out and, once again, take control of the boat.
Different scenarios spun in her head as she tried to figure out what to do.
“I can see you thinking.” Gideon smirked. “Might as well stop, your poker face is shit. You can’t outwit me. You’re too goddamn stupid. I have no idea what Shawn even saw in you. You’re fuckingpitiful, and he told us all about how much you sucked in bed.” He snorted. “The thought of you even attempting to satisfy a man like Shawn is ridiculous.”
“If I was so bad, why’d he care so much when we broke up?” Carly couldn’t help but ask.
“Because he did you a favor!” Gideon yelled. “He was willing to take you under his wing, teach you.”
“Teach me what?” Carly asked.
“How to be arealwoman. How to satisfy him. How to be a fucking benefit to society instead of a goddamn leech. You were anembarrassment. All he ever tried to do was make you a better woman, and you threw that in his face! It wasn’t your place to decide when the relationship was over. Shawn wasn’t done with you.”
Carly stared at Gideon in disbelief.
He looked absolutely terrifying right now. The rain had soaked him through and his thinning hair was slicked back on his head. His face was red and his eyes bloodshot. He looked as if he was two seconds away from absolutely losing it.
Gideon took a deep breath and continued speaking. “He was my mentor. Taught me everything I needed to know about women. He even helped me find one. We had her all picked out, I’d started grooming her to be mine, just like Shawn did for you. She was young, impressionable, and shelikedme,” he said in a dark, low tone. “But after Shawn died, she didn’t understand why I was so upset. Couldn’t help me. And without him, I didn’t know how to make her come to heel. She left me. Just like you did to Shawn. It’s all your fucking fault! You shouldn’t have left him! If you hadn’t, I’d still have my own woman. She’d be trained by now. Would do whatever I asked. Cook, clean…open her legs whenever I demanded. It’syour fault! Yours!”
Jesus. Shawn was teaching him how to manipulate a woman. How to reel her in and denigrate her and make her feel as if she had no other options but to stay with the man abusing her. She knew Shawn was an asshole, but had no idea he wasthatbig of one.
And Gideon?
Gideon was fuckinginsane.
Deciding she needed to do whatever she could to mollify the man, Carly said, “I didn’t know. I’m so sorry he’s dead.”
