Page 77 of Savage Obsession

“You think they might hurt us? Kill us?”

“No.” I rake my fingers through the tangles in my hair. “I don’t know, but we need to hope that this is about money, and we’re worth nothing dead.”

Lily just gazes at me, wide-eyed. Her lip is trembling, and she’s holding back tears. I’d love nothing more than to reassure her, tell her it’s all going to be fine. I settle for wrapping my arms around her and stroking her hair, but this just brings on the sobbing fit that was hovering.

I let her cry it out, muttering soothing platitudes, knowing full well she doesn’t believe me. She’s not daft, she knows the danger we’re in, but as long as neither of us actually says it out loud, maybe we can keep the terror at bay.

Long minutes pass. I continue to rock my daughter in my arms, wishing desperately that I’d never even thought about defying Baz’s instructions. What possessed me to sneak out? I don’t even like shopping…

My gaze darts to the door at the sound of the lock scraping. It opens, slowly, and the dark-haired girl peeps in. She offers me a tentative smile before entering fully, a tray balanced in her hands. The door is slammed shut behind her, and the sound of the lock being secured is unmistakeable. They are taking no chances.

“I brought you some food,” she explains, unnecessarily.

The contents of the tray are obvious, a bottle of mineral water, two plastic cups, a baguette of crusty bread, and several slices of fuet, the salami-like sausage popular across Spain. The bread smells as though it’s freshly baked.

She sets the tray down on the floor and steps back. “Adan says you can’t have a knife to cut the bread, but you can tear pieces off. It’s still warm…”

Neither of us moves, so she continues. “I am Rosa. I will look after you while you are here.”

“Why are we here?” I demand. “How long will we be kept locked up?”

“I don’t know,” she replies.

“What do they plan to do with us?”

She shakes her head. Clearly such matters are above her pay grade. She backs away towards the door and knocks on it with her small fist. It opens, and she slips out again as quietly as she arrived.

Alone once more, we venture forward, and I pick up the tray to place it on the bed. At least the food looks okay.

Lily reaches for the water bottle and snaps the top. She pours herself a cup, then glances over at me. “Do you want some?”

I nod. My mouth is dry from fear and the ever-present heat of this island. The boarded-up window eliminates any hope of ventilation in here, so we need to stay hydrated.

We down the cups of water, then Lily refills them as I turn my attention to the food. Rosa was right, the bread is still warm and smells wonderful when I break the baguette in half. I’m less enthusiastic about the salami stuff, but beggars can’t be choosers. I take a slice and bite into it.

It’s a bit heavy on the garlic for my taste, but not too bad. “At least we won’t starve,” I say, passing the other half of the baguette to Lily. “Here. Try some.”

She nibbles suspiciously at first, but realising the offering is actually quite palatable, she tucks in. Minutes later, the plate is empty.

“Do you think they’ll give us more if we ask for it? I’m starving.”

I shrug.

“If we knock on the door, do you think anyone will come?”

Again, I shrug, but I see no harm in trying. I go over to the door and hammer on it. I dredge up the best English I can manage, since that does seem to be the common language here. “Hey, is there anyone out there?”

A female voice answers, Rosa, no doubt. “What’s wrong?”

Is she having a laugh? Every-fucking-thing is wrong. I settle for the more prosaic of our needs. “We’re still hungry. And we both need the loo.”

“I will bring more food. There’s a bucket in the corner.”

“A bucket? You expect us to piss in a bucket?”

“I’m sorry,” comes the muffled reply from the other side of the door.

I cast a baleful glare in the direction of the tin bucket placed strategically under what was once the window. “Bloody hell,” I mutter, but I resolve to make the best of it, for Lily’s sake.

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