Page 29 of Oh, Hell No

“I don’t know.” My voice came out whisper soft.

The words had barely left my mouth when Oz’s large hand wrapped around my throat, and he shoved my back against the cool metal door of the refrigerator. His grip tightened until I could just barely suck in oxygen. The slate-gray of his eyes was now the color of a stormy sea, harkening the impending doom.

When I tried to breathe deeper, his hand squeezed until I could get nothing to my lungs. The fear and panic exploded into utter terror as I stared back at him. He was going to kill me. I was going to die out here at the hands of a man who was unfairly beautiful, hiding the twisted evil that dwelled inside him where a soul should reside. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks.

The ringing of a phone broke the deadly silence, and his hand eased as he stepped back to grab his phone from the island where he had left it. I fell forward, coughing and gasping as I inhaled air again. My knees were shaky, and my vision was slightly blurry. Grabbing my knees, I stayed bent over until I could find my balance.

“Yeah,” Oz barked into the phone. The sound of his voice making me wince. “Good.”

I had to get away from here. Before, escaping wasn’t something I’d considered since we were so remote and I had no clue where we were, but I couldn’t stay here now that I’d seen what he wascapable of. He could—and most likely would—kill me. Running was my only option.

“Write these names down,” he said to whoever he was talking to. “Hans Warren. Check the San Francisco area. Portola Valley, to be specific. He was at a party there in December. They had gone to Stanford together. Also, Nikola, James, Fredrick, and William. I don’t have last names.”

He hadn’t asked me for them, but I wouldn’t have known. I only knew the last name Warren because Perry had said it when telling me whose house he was at when I spoke to him on the phone later that day.

“Yeah,” his gruff voice said into the phone as he started walking away.

He was going to get something. My eyes scanned the kitchen for keys or a car fob. If I was going to have any chance of successfully escaping, I needed a vehicle until I could get to a town or city. He’d be here on foot and not be able to run me down until I was far enough away. Not sure if I would go directly to the police station or not. I could go and tell them about the money Perry had given me. That I hadn’t known. But would they put me in jail until I could clear my name?

I looked at the refrigerator, where he had almost choked me to death, and decided that being alive was worth it. If I stayed here, that darkness in his gaze would eventually snap when I couldn’t tell him what he wanted. He’d have no use for me, and that would be it. If the phone hadn’t rung, it was possible he would have killed me. He might be coming back to finish the job.

With my heart hammering in my chest, I began to walk swiftly through the kitchen, into the next room, then toward the door, looking for any sign of a key or a fob. I was running out of time, and I knew it. I had to think. It was get away from here or die.

My brother had basically signed my death certificate. That was a break that I’d never be able to mend. Even still, I wanted toprotect him. It was what I did. All I knew.

I heard his voice as he continued talking to whoever was on the other line and hurried away from the sound. Not wanting to get closer, but farther away. Rushing down the hallway, I saw a key holder on the wall near the door that led to the basement. There wasn’t a car key on it, but the one key I did see I knew most likely belonged to the cell in the basement.

“I’m working on it.” Oz’s voice drew closer.

I had no time to debate this idea. I couldn’t walk myself through the outcome. Grabbing the key, I slung the door open and rushed down the stairs almost at a full-blown run. My heart slamming against my chest. The door to the cell was open, and I wanted to weep in relief for one last step. Heavy footsteps pounded above me, alerting me to Oz having realized I’d run down here. Although I doubted he’d guess what I was about to do.

Closing the gate behind me, I reached through the bars, using the key to lock it as my hands trembled. Adrenaline coursed through my veins at the sound of Oz coming down the stairs. The lock clicked into place, and I pulled out the key and backed away from the bars before his first foot hit the concrete floor. I was panting, but relief flooded me. I’d made it. I was locked in, and I had the key. He couldn’t get to me.

I was safe. For now.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he asked me with more annoyance than anything in his voice.

“Staying alive,” I replied out of breath.

He tilted his head and studied me. “You think this keeps you safe?” He took a step toward the bars. “That you won’t have to tell me the secret you’re keeping for your brother?”

Yes, I did. I had the key. He couldn’t get to me. But I didn’t say that. I said nothing.

“You’ll get hungry and thirsty. You’ll come out when you thinkI’m asleep. I won’t be.”

Okay, I hadn’t thought that far. He could still harm me in here by dehydration and starvation. My mouth immediately felt dry, reminding me how horrible it had been with just that small bottle every twenty-four hours. Now, he wasn’t even going to give me that. But at least he wasn’t able to continue choking me to death.

“I don’t know what Perry was talking about,” I told him.

His scowl returned. “Your willingness to lock yourself back in this basement tells me that you’re lying. You will do anything to protect him, yet he did nothing to protect you. In fact, I’d even say he just threw you to the fucking wolves. But then he could have been trying to make us believe you weren’t important to him. See if we’d let you go, stop wasting our time with you,” Oz said as he stepped closer to the bars, his hand wrapping around one, making me shiver, as if he had the power to rip it from the floor. “I think I’ll call his bluff.”

What did that mean? Call his bluff on what?

Oz let go, his hand dropping to his side before he turned and walked away. I listened as he climbed the stairs, then closed the door. Darkness ascended. I had no light. Why hadn’t I grabbed my phone? He’d taken the lantern with him when we walked out yesterday morning. Another thing I hadn’t thought about. But there had been no time.

Thirteen

Oz

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