Page 68 of Captive Heart

She was naked again. That was the first thing she realised. A tear formed in the corner of her eye. Why was that so much more humiliating than the vicious beating she knew V would deliver?

There was a crack of light still coming through the boarded slats, so it wasn't nighttime yet, but it was muted, so either the weather had broken, or it was getting later in the day. Did it matter? Yes… because it meant she hadn’t been here that long.

Micah. The name wound its way through her consciousness. Of course! Micah had saved her. Beautiful, gentle Micah. Would he have realised that she was gone yet? Would he even realise what had happened?

Or would he just think she'd taken off again?

No, her things were still there. He would know she hadn't left willingly, and he would have alerted the police… for all the good that might do her. To her knowledge, they had no way of knowing where she was. Had come no closer to making sense of the information she’d given them over the past few weeks.

Melody tried hard to keep tears of despair from falling. They would give her away, and she knew from harsh experience that V wouldn't bother with her while she was unconscious. He liked tormenting her too much. He'd want to watch her suffer and hear her scream. Playing dead was her best ploy to keep him away until she got her wits about her.

She almost laughed out loud at the irony of her thoughts. It was only staving off the inevitable, she knew. He'd surely kill her this time and take as much time as he could to make her suffer along the way.

But if she was going down, then she'd at least like to start out fighting and not be as weak as a newborn kitten.

44

Micah raced down the stairs to his car. Although it would have been quicker, he avoided taking the lift, since that was more likely to be noticed as the security system would automatically kick in if motion was detected. Even though the monitors were in use while the two detectives scoured the recorded footage for clues, they were being scrutinised too closely for him to risk anyone being alerted.

He’d managed to record five addresses, two of which had tentatively been ruled out because they were outside the area which was deemed possible for Melody to have walked.

One of them was also believed to be the address where she had lived with Thomas Sutton, the man she had called Daddy. The others were all within a fairly close radius.

Xavier hadn't believed that Melody could have covered more than two miles an hour at the very most, given her condition, and likely less than that, since she'd been suffering frostbite, malnutrition, and exhaustion. Only two of the addresses corresponded with any kind of watercourse, which she'd told them she'd had to detour, and the first one of those was only a couple of miles away, so he was going to start there.

Micah jumped in his car and quickly drove out of the car park, pulling up just out of sight of the club in order to input the addresses and get his Satnav to formulate the quickest travel route between the three of them. Then he took off, driving in the direction of the first stop before the device had even finished its triangulation. He wasn't wasting any time, and he wasn't waiting around for the others to realise he'd gone.

Every hour Melody spent with that thug, was an hour too many. And every hour that passed decreased the likelihood of finding her safe. She'd already been gone too long.

A scarce ten minutes later, Micah pulled up outside the first property.

It wasn't this one. He knew that already.

Or at least, this wasn't the property she had escaped from. It was in a busy street with children playing, and neighbours chatting to each other over the fences. The question was what did he do now? Did he stop and ask around, or did he move on to the next address?

45

The clang of a heavy metal pole against the bars of the cage caused Melody to start despite her best efforts to keep quiet.

"Ah, so you are awake," said a familiar, malevolent voice. He heaved the bar against the sides and the top of the cage a few more times, but Melody closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, resolutely refusing to be intimidated by the cowardly bully, despite the noise that clamoured around her aching head.

The reverberation of the metal resounding off of the concrete floor signalled he’d thrown the baton aside. A more familiar sound hissed through the air and a distinctive thwack slashed onto the ground beside her as V reverted to the use of his favourite tool of correction. This time, she couldn't help but flinch, a motion that didn't go unnoticed, and the sound of malicious laughter echoed off of the basement walls.

"So…" His footsteps sounded eerily loud as he walked deceptively slowly around the area where the cage stood in the middle of the room. "You thought you could escape me, did you?"

A whistle spilt the air mere seconds before the vicious quirt in his hand slashed across the outside of the cage. The enclosure provided little protection to her bare skin, wedged as she was inside the tiny enclosure so her flesh pressed flush against the wire. The weight she’d gained ensured she had even less space than before, providing an ample target for the brute's wrath.

White hot slices of pain seared across her skin in any place he could reach, her shoulders and back, her buttocks, thighs, and the tops of her arms as he thrashed her pitilessly, never lightening a single one of his strokes.

Melody screwed her eyes tight shut, biting her lip so hard she felt the metallic tang of blood on her tongue, but she wasn't going to give him the pleasure of hearing and knowing her misery until she could no longer hold it back. He really was a coward, she thought hazily. His aim was clearly to ensure she was suitably subdued before he freed her from confinement for his final torment.

V paused while he caught his breath. He wasn't the fine specimen of a man Micah was. He was unfit and out of shape and, thankfully, tired easily, despite having his irrational rage to spur him along.

"You should know better than to think you can outmanoeuvre me, you little slut," he spat as he sucked in breath and shook out his whip hand.

Melody tuned him out and retreated inside her mind. It was a trick she’d perfected long ago, the ability to hide inside the recesses of her mind, moving to a different place within herself. A place which did much to mitigate the physical effects of pain. A place where no one else could reach.

It used to be a cold place, empty but for her own pitiful anguish screaming to be silent as she internalised her pain and hid it from her tormentor.

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