Page 147 of I'm Watching You

His acquiescence was more frightening than his ranting. Still, she didn’t advance. She thought about the mace in her pocket. If Lindsay was here, she could save her. Her hand slid into her pocket.

Richard was too fast. He grabbed her hand and jerked it back, twisting painfully until she dropped the mace. ‘You’ve learned a few nasty habits that I’ll have to break you of, Christina. Now, get inside or I’ll blow your friend’s kneecap off,’ Richard said.

Nicole knew he’d do exactly that. She had to swallow the rage and play along until she thought of something else. She reached for the rusted lock and pushed it up. The door swung open slightly farther. Hinges squeaked as she pulled the rotting door open.

The large room was lit only by the sunshine peeking in through the rafters, which stretched high up to a peak above them. The floor was compacted dirt. A rusted sickle and an old harness hung from a peg on a post. Mice squeaked in a dark corner. The room had a foul smell, as if something had recently died there.

‘Lindsay!’ Nicole shouted.

There was no answer.

‘Where is she?’

Richard pointed the tip of his gun to the northwestcorner. In the shadows, she saw Lindsay. She lay on her back, her hands and feet tied to stakes on the floor. She moaned, a sign she was still alive.

Nicole met Richard’s gaze. ‘What are you going to do with us?’

Richard closed the barn door behind them as if he had all the time in the world. ‘Lindsay has caused me almost as much trouble as you have, Christina. And now it’s time she learned a lesson, like the one I taught Claire.’

‘Claire? What did you do to her?’

He laughed. ‘We had quite a bit of time to chat. She’s a strong woman. Or rather,wasa strong woman. She had a high threshold for pain.’

Nicole felt sick. Poor Claire. She’d been so kind and had given her hope when she’d been so afraid. ‘Richard, spare Lindsay, and I’ll go home with you. I’ll be a good wife again. You don’t need to hurt anyone else.’

Richard pulled a set of handcuffs from his back pocket and clicked the first cuff on her wrist. He dragged her to the north side of the barn and clicked the other manacle to a wooden workbench. Driven into the center of the bench was a newly purchased ax.

Tears burned in Nicole’s eyes. ‘Let her go, Richard.Please. I’ll never run from you again.’

‘I wish it were that easy, Christina. I really do. But you brought all this on yourself. I want to be gentle and kind but you keep pushing me.’ His face hardened. ‘You need to be taught a lesson.’

‘Richard, please don’t hurt anyone else. I’m the one that you’re angry with.’

‘You drove me to this, my dear. You have only yourself to blame.’

‘I won’t ever leave you again. I’ll be a good wife.’

A smile tipped the edge of his lips as he pried the ax free of the workbench. ‘I’ve spent the last weeks covering for you and telling everyone you were in Europe. Do you have any idea how humiliated I was for having to spin those lies knowing my wife had abandoned me?’ His eyes glittered as he tested the tip of the ax blade with his thumb. The sharp edge sliced his skin and the tiny wound began to bleed. He smiled. ‘I did everything for you. I treated you like a princess. And you left me.’

Richard was a monster. He was truly insane. Nicole had to keep talking to him so he’d believe she’d surrendered. ‘I understand now how much I hurt you, Richard. I shouldn’t have run. That was so wrong of me. But I was afraid.’

Richard stared at her. Sadness darkened his eyes. ‘Why were you afraid? I rubbed salve into your muscles. I bandaged your cuts.’

That had been a truly horrible time. She’d laid battered and bruised on her bed and he’d tended to her injuries. She remembered how good the salve had felt. And how much she had loathed his touch. ‘You were good to me.’

He nodded. ‘I gave you everything. I molded you into the woman you are today.’

If she could just connect with him, perhaps she could spare Lindsay. There was no hope for herself. She would have to return with him. But if she could just save Lindsay … ‘I didn’t see that at the time. I should have.’

Lindsay groaned as if she were protesting, but she made no attempt to rise.

Tears spilled down Nicole’s cheek. ‘I love you, Richard.’

He closed his eyes for a split second as if he were overcome with emotion. ‘I’ve waited a month for you to say that.’

Her knees wobbled but she faced her husband. ‘Pleaseforgive me.’ The words tasted bitter.

For a moment his features softened. He looked at her tenderly. She thought she had him. She was going to find a way out of this mess.

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