Page 76 of Bedroom Therapy

But she knew the journey was going to come to an end, and soon enough she saw lights through the trees. The shadowy bulk of a house loomed in the forest. Pulling to a stop, he cut the engine.

“End of the line,” he said, the words sending shivers down her spine.

She wanted to beg him to let her go, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good. Choking back the plea, she watched as he held the gun on her with one hand and used the other to unlock the chain that secured her to the armrest.

She thought about trying to slam the metal cuffs on her wrists into his face but finally decided that she’d probably only get shot for her efforts.

“Let’s go. Move.”

She got up stiffly, and he gave her a shove toward the door of the van.

“Into the house. The door is unlocked. Open it.”

Awkwardly, she twisted the knob and stepped inside—and found herself in an almost empty room. There was almost no furniture, just a big, bare space with one chair and one table.

He marched her across to the far wall, pulled her arms above her head, and clicked another chain into place. All of it happened too quickly for her to formulate an escape plan.

Stepping back, he carefully set his gun down on the table, then slowly raised his eyes to hers. The way his gaze traveled over her body made her want to scream, but she managed to keep her lips pressed together, because she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her turn to jelly. That was probably what he wanted, and at least she could keep that much from him.

Or was that the wrong approach? Would it be better to scream and cower? Which strategy would keep her alive longer?

She was trained in psychology. She should know what to do, but she could hardly make her brain function.

His lips moved, and she realized he was speaking.

“You know, I had a lot of time to think about the best way to punish you,” he said in a conversational voice. “And what I decided was that since you presumed to give other women sexual advice, we should make this a sexual adventure together. I think we’re going to have a lot of fun playing out some of my most vivid fantasies. At least I will.”

He came closer, and her fear leaped up, making her lose control and kick out at him with her left foot. But he must have been waiting for some show of aggression, because he danced back—out of the way.

“Naughty, naughty,” he said, then slapped her hard across the face. “Resistance is futile. You know, like the Borg used to say on Star Trek.” He laughed at his own joke.

“But let’s make sure you can’t do that again.” While she was still smarting from the slap, he quickly knelt and secured her ankles to cuffs near the floor.

“Now we’ll get started.” He stepped back and looked at her. “Tell me why you took the job as Esther Knight.”

Okay. He wanted to talk. Keep him talking, she thought. The longer he talks, the better.

“My friend, Beth Cantro, needed someone to fill in.”

“Are you saying you never intended to make the job permanent?”

What was the right answer? Amanda licked her lips. “I hadn’t made that decision yet,” she finally temporized.

“I’m going to make it for you.” When he pulled out a knife, she made a strangled sound of fear.

He answered with a knowing smile.

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When the dot stopped moving and stayed in the same position for over two minutes, Zach banged his hands against the wheel. The bastard had arrived at his destination—and that was both good and bad.

Finding Tony Anderson was going to be a sure thing. But it also meant that he’d taken Amanda to where he intended to deal with her.

He could kill her now. But Zach was praying he wasn’t going to do that yet. He could have killed her at home, but he’d chosen to cart her away. Where he could have what he undoubtedly thought was quality time with her.

He made a low sound that was equal parts fear and anger. His foot pressed down on the accelerator. When he overshot the driveway, he had to double back.

The narrow lane led onto a rural property—and straight toward the green dot on the screen. Zach wanted to roar up the road and mow the guy down with his vehicle. But he wasn’t some kind of comic book superhero. He pulled to a stop in a patch of weeds and jumped out, making his cautious way on foot. The guy could have alarms out, but he was probably too sure of himself to think he needed protection.

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