Page 89 of Bound By Secrets

“I can tell that you’re stressing out, Callie. It’s not fentanyl. I don’t want you to pass out on me again. I need to finish my story, and you need to watch my little movie.”

“Cameron, please. Just stop this.”

“It’s just a shot of adrenaline. Hopefully, it’ll keep you alert for a little while longer.” He walks towards me, a needle in one hand and a long metal stick with something bulky at the end in the other.

He passes me, forcing me to move my head and watch him as he walks out of the room and turns left, whistling an eerie tune.

Hope flares inside of my chest, realising that he’s left me alone with my arms unbound and I have a weapon stashed on me.

My eyes flit over to the laptop that’s placed on a small table in front of me, the paused image is of my bedroom and a quietwhimper leaves my lips when I make out a small figure slumped on the floor.

I squeeze my eyes shut, listening intently to Cameron whistle from another room, and I clench my teeth, clamping my jaw shut as I slowly lift my arm beside me. Pain radiates through my body with every inch of movement, and I feel exhausted, tempted to let my arm dangle again to save my energy, but I push through it, determined to get the knife so that I have a way to defend myself.

When my hand reaches my thigh, my fingers slide through blood, and my eyes grow wet.

If I’m going to die, then I’m going down with a fight.

Get the knife and then stay relaxed and limp.

Conserve your energy and then attack when there’s a chance.

I continue chanting inside my head until my hand slides against my skin, underneath my top. When I reach the metal underwire, I almost sob with relief. I carefully push my fingers beneath the cup of my bra until they connect with the flick knife.

The blood coating my hand makes it hard to grip, but the sound of Cameron’s whistling drawing closer has my fingers twisting until the knife drops from my bra and lands into the palm of my hand.

I quickly drop my arm, dangling it beside me again and pushing it against the leg of the chair, hopefully concealing the sight of Ryker's knife. My head drops forward and I breathe heavily from exertion. My scalp is now throbbing and my legs are both numb, but I force my eyes open and lift my head just as Cameron strolls back into the room with only the needle in his hand now.

His eyes narrow as he observes me and then he frowns.

“Hm, you seem a little more awake now. Maybe we’ll save this for if we need it later.” He drops the needle on the table and walks over to the table with the laptop, lifting himself until he’s sat beside it.

“Do you think I can break you this time, Callie? Because I’ve tried plenty of times before and every time, no matter what, you still had this little twinkle of hope inside of your eyes. Now, I’ve seen those little cracks. I can tell I’m getting to you this time, so, answer me. Do you think I can break you this time?”

I lightly shake my head and then wince.

“No,” I croak.

His eyes light with amusement, and a crazed smile spreads across his face.

“You sound so sure.” He laughs, hopping down from the table and stepping in front of the laptop, leaning towards me. “I think I can,” he whispers. “I have two more things planned for you. If neither of those breaks you, then I guess I’ll put you out of your misery and end your sorry little life. Maybe I’ll even go after Clarissa if I don’t get caught first.”

He turns to the table and wraps his fingers around the edge, dragging it closer to me before pressing play on the video.

“You can watch that whilst I go heat something up. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did at the time.”

His words cause a tear to drop from my eye, and dread settles in my stomach. I’m pretty sure I know what I’m about to watch.

His footsteps fade, and my focus lands on the screen as I watch my bedroom door open, light illuminating my naked, bruised body on the floor and my clothes strewn across the room. I frown, confused about when this was.

My heart drops when I watch Cameron stalk into the room, silently closing the door behind him. He steps towards me, nudging my body with his foot until he uses enough force to roll me over, and then he looks towards the camera and smiles.

My blood runs cold, and my chin begins to tremble.

I stare at myself on the screen, begging myself to move or get up, when Cameron begins stripping off his clothes.

“No, please, no.” My words are quiet and tears obscure my vision as I watch him position my limp body, legs spread open, and arms stretched above my head. As his hands brush against the skin on my legs, my head rolls to the side, and I hear myself groan, but then I fall silent again.

“Please, stop. This can’t happen,” I whisper, knowing it’s useless because I’m completely out of it in the video.

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