Page 9 of Sinful Scars

I try not to cringe as he gets to his feet and stalks over to me with an expression of disgust on his face.

Knowing that he has a gun tucked inside his jacket almost has me relieving myself right here on this chair.

“I need the bathroom.”

He wrinkles his nose before crouching in front of me, eyeing the rope around my wrists. “No funny business.”

I shake my head. “No funny business.”

He scowls at me before reaching out to begin untying the rope.

His calloused fingers sliding against my skin only increase the urge to vomit.

“You have one minute.” He tosses the rope aside, wrapping his fingers around my upper arm.

I nod, blinking past the tears in my eyes as I try not to imagine all the ways in which he could kill me with his bare hands.

He yanks me to my feet and drags me across the cramped room toward the bathroom. I half expect him to insist on coming inside to keep an eye on me but thankfully, there’s barely enough room to move between the toilet and the sink, both of which look like they haven’t been cleaned in a while.

“No funny business.” He pushes me inside the bathroom, slamming the door closed.

I don’t need the reminder, but maybe that’s the only sentence he knows.

I take a moment to just breathe.

My heartbeat pounds in my ears, and I sway on my feet as I try to take control of my emotions. This might be my only chance to escape, so I can’t afford to make any mistakes.

Wiping the tears away with the sleeve of my blouse, I reach down to slowly slide the lock across the door. It won’t be enough to keep either of the men out, but it might just buy me an extra few seconds which, at this point, could be the difference between life anddeath.

My body is vibrating from how hard my heart is beating in my chest.

Glancing around the cramped bathroom, my eyes land on the tiny window above the toilet.

Perhaps there is a silver lining after all.

Before I have a chance to overthink the fact that the window is barely large enough for a child to fit through, I climb onto the lid of the toilet and reach up to push against the glass.

The hinge is rusty and stiff but with another push, I manage to force the window open.

“Here goes nothing.” I step one foot up onto the toilet while gripping the edge of the window.

Just as I’m about to pull myself up, a fist pounds against the door, making me jump so suddenly that I almost lose my footing.

Shit.

“Hurry up!”

The handle jiggles, and the breath catches in my throat as a few curse words in Russian are uttered on the other side of the door.

It’s now or never.

I push up off the toilet and get my torso through the window just as the door is kicked open.

“For fuck’s sake!” He grabs my hips.

My hands scrape against the splintered frame as he roughly pulls me back through the window.

“Please.”

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