Page 117 of Love Me Dangerous

This is different. Dustin is going to hurt me.

I land a kick to Dustin’s middle. “Bitch!” he growls while yanking me off the tailgate, his grip on my arm like a vice. The snowy wind howls in my ears, and the cold cuts into my bones. I just manage to get my feet under me to stand when Dustin cracks me across the face.

The hot sting burns up to my eyes, making me stumble backward. Before I fall, Dustin grabs me hard around my bicep. He’s breathing fast, and there’s a sour smell on his breath that makes my stomach turn.

“There’s more where that came from.” He bear hugs me from behind and yanks my hands together. I fight but he’s too strong, and in seconds he has a plastic tie cinched around my wrists. “Understand?”

Tears spill down my cheeks. As much as I don’t want him to see, I can’t hold them back.

Dustin gives me a crooked, cold smile. The swirling clouds part for an instant, revealing a dingy white trailer with a rickety staircase.

Terror floods into me. I jolt backward, digging into the hard ground with my heels. “No, no, no. Please, Dustin.” But my voice dies on the wind.

He tugs me in step with him alongside his truck. When we pass the front, something catches my attention.

Dustin’s headlight casing is cracked.

My mind somersaults. This is the truck.

Dustin attacked Zach?

Why?

Dustin flips through a keyring and jams a stubby key intoa giant U-lock, then flicks the hasp and yanks open the door. Inside, it’s dark, the walls stained by mildew. I resist, getting my foot against the side, but Dustin gives a firm tug, and we break into the room. He throws me into the corner, where I bounce across a bare, damp mattress.

Fear hooks my spine. Breathing fast, my hair in my face, I watch him, steeling myself for whatever he plans to do next.

But he grabs the door and slams it shut.

I scramble to my feet and lunge for it in time to hear him clasp the lock. I pound on the door. “Dustin!”

Where is he going?

I kick and thump with my bound fists, but the thin metal walls just tremble. Gasping, I lean my back against the wall and blink at the moldy ceiling.

My rational mind slowly takes over. I’m being held captive here, but the threat of harm from Dustin is less than it was a minute ago. I’m alone, but I have shelter. It’s far from okay, but I’ve survived so far.

I don’t know how long I’m going to be here, or what Dustin will do to me when he returns, but I am not going to waste time panicking. Maybe I can figure out where I am and how far from help. Maybe there’s something useful in here that could free my wrists. What does Dustin use it for? Are there supplies?

The decrepit kitchen stinks like rotten eggs and old paint. Snow is blowing in through the cracks around the tiny window, which is too small to wriggle through. The tap doesn’t work, and there is no electricity. I’m shivering in my coat and jeans, and my fingers feel like ice.

The open shelf in the corner is bare. I stand and look around, my molars rattling.

The trailer is nothing but an empty, cold shell.

I need to conserve my heat and my strength to make it out of this alive.

Huddling on the edge of the mattress, I draw my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around my shins. I’m still shivering, but maybe curling up tight will help.

Outside, the wind whistles and roars, and gusts bring in more snow through the cracks. I bury my face into my knees and turn my thoughts back to those moments when we firstsaw Dustin.

It’s then I realize what I saw in Zach’s eyes.

Aggression. Loathing.

Like there’s a history there. But how can that be when just days ago we worked side by side pulling fence?

Shivering, I pull my knees tighter and start to rock. It’s helping me think. Or maybe it’s a distraction from the fear that’s slowly eating through me.

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