Page 18 of Four Times Saved

He shot me a look and I began to tremble from the cold in his stare.

"What was that?" She asked, looking over my shivering body. Her brows drew in when she glanced at the thermometer. I wasn't shaking because I had a fucking fever. Read the signals! I screamed on the inside.

When I didn't repeat myself, she adjusted the temperature in the room and took my temperature once more. "Hmm. Well, so far, your vitals are looking good, though your body is still experiencing some aftershocks. However, you've woken up which is a great indicator that you're on the mend." She smiled at me. "You're a lucky lady."

"Yeah," I scoffed beneath my breath.

"You might not feel that way right now, but in seventy-two hours you'll be good and ready to get out of here," she assured me.

"Seventy-two hours!" My kidnapper almost burst a vessel. I almost thought he was about to give himself away. Hope sprang forth within me.

The nurse spun around to look at him, curiosity marking her face. "Is that a problem, sir?" she asked.

Now he was the one lost for words. I stopped breathing, waiting and watching.

He cleared his throat.

"Thanks for bringing her in. You are aware that you can leave, right? We'll make sure we find out all we can about her and get her home safely."

"No!" He cut her off.

Come on, nurse. You must be able to see what's happening here. I communicated that with my eyes, looking from her to him, my pupils popping.

"No. Sorry." He softened his tone. "I don't mind taking her where she needs to go."

She looked at me now, eyes meeting mine and my heart was damn near tearing my chest open and jumping out. My cheeks trembled, anticipating joy.

"Are you comfortable with that?" she asked me.

All I needed to do was say no and he'd be out of here. I took in a breath and opened my mouth. But the glint of his blade caught my eyes. He was flipping his pocket knife open and shut. It dawned on me that I could be endangering her life as well, and with a cramping in my chest, I lied.

"Yes," I rasped.

She looked between the both of us again. Lucky for him, he managed to hide the knife in time. I was dead meat. I'd never escape this place.

"Okay. If you're sure. Until I come back, you're free to watch some T.V. Unfortunately, the only thing we have access to is the news." She grinned, picking up the remote and pointing it at the screen.

The kidnapper started to sweat. So did I. But we were sweating for different reasons.

"Would you like that?" she confirmed.

The kidnapper's eyes penetrated me, but I ignored him. We were too damn close. This could be the answer. I gripped my gown in anticipation. By now, my face should have been plastered across the screen with the caption MISSING PERSON. Freedom was so close I could taste it. She'd see my face, press the emergency buzzer on her belt, and I'd be back home with my men and mother by tonight. I didn't care. I was risking it.

"Yes, please. I'd love that," I nodded.

She smiled. Her finger went to the power button in slow motion. I could hear the kidnapper's droplets of sweat hitting his clothes. My heart stopped beating and I watched her press the button. My eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open as I waited for her reaction. She turned and walked out the door. The voice on the television broke through like a speeding truck heading toward me and I whipped my head around, heart in my mouth, to find some other news report on screen.

And the kidnapper was far from happy with me.

Chapter 10

Ryan

There was no air in the room. Ants, spiders, something was crawling all over my skin, beneath the covers, on top of my head. I was sweating, there was a pinching ache in the side of my head, nausea swelled inside my stomach and I couldn't breathe. I didn't know why the fuck I was in bed, fighting against the thoughts in my head. Images swarmed my mind, buzzing in my ear like the wings of a fly, gnawing at my consciousness, begging me to pay attention to the idea of Lily being close to death. Slapping my head didn't help. Throwing the stupid suffocating sheet from my body and pacing around my bedroom with my nerves on fire did nothing. Tears stung the inside of my eyelids and I shut them against it. There wasn't a breathing exercise on this planet that would help me calm down tonight. I wouldn't be able to rest until Lily was safe and sound.

Freezing as my temples grew stiff as if there was a screw drilled in from one end to the next, I took a deep breath, waiting for the discomfort to pass. I almost tripped over myself when my phone rang. Looking around the room, frantic and panting, I forced my brain to remember where I put the damn thing. When I found it under my pillow, my heart leaped, hoping it was the kidnapper again, so I could tell them what I'd do to them if Lily wasn't safe and sound. And so I could beg them to hear her voice.

My heart hit the floor in disappointment at the caller. It was just Ann-Marie. There was nothing she could do for us right now. And there was nothing I could do for her. She'd want updates. I couldn't handle updates at the moment, when things kept getting worse. Damn, I wanted fucking updates. Fifty fucking million dollars. I knew Matt and Ethan were filthy rich, but did the kidnapper expect them to have that kind of money lying around? It was ridiculous. Who even demanded that much money? It was almost as if they didn't want to send her back to us and they were looking for a reason to kill her, or taunt us because they already had.

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