Page 178 of Secret Obsession
Silence.
I stare at the inside of the lid, although it’s pitch-black. I can’t even see my hands in front of my face. But I reach out and probe, pushing at the lid. Then shoving harder, until my muscles ache and my breathing is sharp pants in my ear.
Stay still, some small voice in my head whispers.
Calm breathing will help me survive.
There’s no air in here.
Well, there is—but there won’t be for long.
Miles must know I’m at Steele’s parents’ house. He must’ve recognized it. I touch the lid, the sides. There’s water in the bottom, just a little, that soaks through my jeans. I shiver and curl into a ball, letting my head touch the bottom of the case.
My heartbeat is erratic, and breathing is hard. My mind keeps playing tricks on me, thinking I’ve suddenly run out of options.
And then the whole case jostles, and I let out another squeal.
I’m moving.
The sliding, scraping noise fills the interior, although it’s muffled.
One side rises sharply, and I crash into one of the walls. Then the other side is lifted. My body sways with new movement, and the fear almost takes over again. I pound my fists against the side.
“Let me out!” I call. “You don’t want murder on your hands.”
Nothing.
Maybe he does want murder.
Maybe his brother meant everything to him.
I close my eyes—for all the good it does. It’s the same darkness as with my eyes wide open. I don’t know how long this goes on. I try counting, but my numbers are off. Too fast, too slow. There’s no drastic shift in speed. I think he’s got the freezer on wheels, or maybe loaded in his truck. Minutes melt together.
He could take me anywhere, and Miles would never find me.
Eventually, it stops. I bang on the sides again, calling out, and get no reply.
Suddenly, the case is tipped over. It tumbles, and I scream again. I hit all sides of it like it’s being launched down a slope, and it finally stops moving.
My body hurts. Worse than after the fight with Amanda, or when Miles locked me in the walk-in freezer.
An exasperated huff escapes me. Of course this is thesecondfreezer I’ve been locked in, and damn well convinced I’m going to die in.
I lie there panting, waiting for the punch line. Or maybe for the case to open and the guy to tell me that this was all a pathetic joke. A prank set up by Miles to teach me some sort of lesson.
Wishful thinking, Willow.
There’s nothing left to do but wait.
And pray he finds me before my air runs out.
56
MILES
Ican’t look at my brother.
Or anyone.
