Page 16 of Seeking Evil

She would match him wit for wit. “You’re holding me hostage, restrained to a metal table, where I’m sure you have all sorts of awful things planned for me.” Her attention jerked toward the barrels where those who had gone before her rested.

“Maybe they disappointed me. Have you ever thought of that?” He was playing with her.

“Their torment didn’t live up to what you expected?”

A moment of anger flashed before his face broke into a smile, and then he doubled over in an all-out belly laugh. “Oh, Sierra. We are going to have so much fun. Would you like to get loose from the table for a bit? I have a sitting area over against the wall.”

This was her chance. Earn his trust. Get him distracted and then get out of here.

But she couldn’t give too much away. “Sure. We might as well get chummy before you kill me.”

Another laugh had her believing her plan was working. “I’m not the one you have to worry about.” The statement confused her. Was he talking about someone else or just delusional enough to believe someone other than himself did the killing.

She wanted to live. Wanted to have the chance to see Zeke again. Tell him she was sorry. She’d take whatever he was willing to give her.

“Now, don’t try anything. I’d hate to have to end our time together early.”

His warning made it clear. If she tried to escape, he’d kill her sooner than planned. She noticed her Glock on a tray along with other instruments of his trade. Some she’d seen before at other crime scenes. The thought of what they’d been used for in the past was frightening.

“Ah, I see you’re admiring my tools.”

“No, I’m wondering why you have my Glock.”

He went over and lifted it up. “Very nice. I’m assuming it’s Bureau issued?”

She thought this had to be the strangest conversation she’d ever had, and she’d already survived two attacks by serial killers. One had been a member of their own elite BAU team. The other, her psychiatrist.

Keep him talking . . .

“That’s right.”

He turned the weapon over in his hand, then set it down and returned to her side. “I’m going to release your wrists and ankles, and we’re going to sit over there in my nook.” He indicated a corner of the room obscured by boxes. “And you’re not going to try to use any of your FBI training because if you do . . .”

Sierra nodded, though she planned to take him down the second the opportunity arose. “I understand.”

Henry eyed her for a long moment. “I may be old, but I’ve been doing this for a long time. Never once has one of my girls gotten away. They all thought about it. Believe me, I can tell. Just like I can see it in your eyes.”

The threat hung in the air as he unlocked her restraints.

She was still fully dressed, so Sierra believed the motive wouldn’t be sexual.

“I need to use the bathroom first.”

Henry eyed her with suspicion. “There’s a small one over there.” He pointed to a toilet and sink in one corner.

She managed to stand though her entire body felt weighed down from the drug he’d used. With Henry’s help, Sierra made her way to the rudimentary bathroom.

Henry pulled a curtain to give her some privacy. “Don’t try anything, Sierra. We both know you’re not strong enough anyway and I would hate to have to dose you again.”

She hated to admit it, but Henry was right. She could barely walk. Once she finished, she washed her hands and dried them on her jeans.

She stumbled and almost fell as she exited the curtained area. Henry grabbed her arm again for support. “Easy does it.”

Henry smiled, his eyes twinkling like her grandfather’s. Yet they were nothing alike. Grandpa Ellis taught her to hunt and fish. They’d moved to his spread in Colorado following the death of Sierra’s father. She’d loved living there despite the tension that existed between Grandpa Ellis and her mother.

He pointed past the boxes while keeping one hand in his pocket. Sierra had no doubt Henry had another syringe in there.

She rubbed the spot on her neck that itched from the injection. Her limbs remained weak. Vision blurry. Whatever it was, it had been powerful enough to take her down quickly.

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