Page 41 of Siccitas

I should have done something.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Idon’t know how muchtime passes. I know it’s getting dark, and I hear little footsteps in the house. The door is closed, so I can’t see the kids.

I consider shouting out to them, but Richter is clearly brainwashed, and I don’t want to know what Luke will do to Skylar if I make the first move.

Tears flow freely down my face, and I wait with bated breath.

But Luke doesn’t come back.

My head drops and I doze fitfully throughout the night.

When it dawns, the light streams through the window and wakes me.

I feel bleary.

The door swings open and Luke walks in.

“Can I have water, please?” I say, feeling dizzy.

“No,” he says calmly.

I lift my head and see the rope in his hands. “What are you going to do with me?”

“Use you, and then I’ll see how I feel,” he says with a shrug.

I watch as he walks over to a hook on the left wall and loops a length of rope through it. Then I watch as he does the same to a hook on the right wall.

He comes over to me and un-cuffs me.

I’m too weak to fight him—it must be the blood loss.

He carries me to the center of the room and ties the ropes around my wrists.

Too late, I realize what he’s doing.

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