Page 32 of Protection for Rowan

The bandage explained why her ankle didn’t hurt as much, but that didn’t take away from what he’d done. A shiver hit then another wave of nausea. She was able to hold it down this time.

It took her a few minutes to get up and brush her teeth. She ended up drinking water from the tap, her mind reeling over how he’d violated her. She stumbled back to the main room, staring around, searching for a way to escape. She had to find something that would help her. No way would she last. She had to get out.

She needed to clear her mind, and the only way to do that was to flush out the toxin from whatever it was that he'd used to knock her out. After drinking two glasses of water, she made coffee, searching for anything that could help her escape while it brewed. She'd already tried to break the lock and chain, but that didn't work. It seemed like there was nothing inside the rooms she could find that would help. He'd removed all the tools, along with the sharp knives. She guessed he didn't want her attacking him.

She wished she had a gun because she would think nothing of killing the bastard, even if it meant she wastrapped here forever. She would rather die than be abused by him again.

She leaned against the counter, trying to hold it together. She couldn’t believe that he’d taken off her underwear and done that. God, she hated him.

She wiped away the tears that slipped out. She wouldn’t cry, not right now. Later, when she knew he wouldn’t show up, she would let it all out. No way would she let him see her upset. The man was atrocious, and she couldn’t imagine him offering some type of sympathy. If he tried, she would stab him. With what? A fork? It would take too long to do damage with the forks.

She opened the silverware drawer and confirmed that the sharpest thing was a fork. The butter knives wouldn't do any damage. She picked up the fork and studied it. The tines weren't that sharp. If she stabbed him in the eye, it might work. But he would have to hold still for that.

Being trapped out here with no escape was depressing as hell. Her mental state felt like she was balancing on the blade of a knife. One tip to the left or right would cause her to fall into an emotional crisis. She needed to do something to keep herself from falling apart, but it was hard to come up with a reasonable action to keep herself grounded after he'd raped her. This was the type of situation that tried people. She couldn't imagine how women who were held for years coped. She was barely able to keep her mind together, and it had been less than a week.

A car pulled up outside, and fear and revulsion filled her. Her chest heaved as she tried to calm down enough to not fly apart when he entered the house. No question, if she had a weapon, she would use it. Maybe there were weapons here she didn’t see. She needed to be much more inventive in what she could use as a weapon to take down this bastard.

She couldn’t think of that now. Holding herself together and not falling apart was taking all her energy. No way in hell did she want him to see her break down. He wouldn’t hold that power over her.

The door opened, and she froze, her breath stalled, and her head swam. He seemed chipper, and his steps had a pep in them. His smile looked genuine, which scared her even more than no smile would have. He had no idea she wanted to tie him to a pole out in the yard and drench him in gasoline before she lit a fire that would burn him alive.

She blew out a breath, forcing the rage and violence away. If she got too wrapped up in her fantasies of revenge, she wouldn’t survive. She had to be smarter than him to stay alive.

“I brought donuts and two breakfast sandwiches. I hope you’re hungry.”

Rowan cleared her throat, trying to focus on making him trust her. If she attacked him without a plan to disable him long enough to get away, he would retaliate.

“Thank you. I am hungry.”

Charles’s smile fell for a blip of a second before he flashed a grin that made him look innocent. “Good. Come eat.”

Rowan had to keep her cool. She would be forced to play his game to make it out of this alive. Once he left and she was alone again, she could search the room, looking for anything to use as a weapon. Surely, there had to be something here that would help her escape. She wouldn’t die in this cabin without taking him as well.

Chapter 25

Shine arrivedhome a little after midnight, tired and ready for sleep. The first thing he did was text Rowan, telling her he was ready to see her and to call him when she woke. He needed to dust, and he had a stack of clothes that needed to be washed, but cleaning the house wouldn't take too long in the morning. He could spend the next two days tidying up. He didn't need to be back on base again until Friday morning, which meant Wednesday and Thursday would be about cleaning and seeing her. Just the thought of pulling Rowan into his arms and showing her how much he missed her was making him hard.

After jerking off, he dropped to his bed and didn't wake up until the birds outside his window demanded to be heard. He rolled over and grabbed his phone, expecting to see a reply from his woman, but there was nothing other than notifications from his bank and some news sites.

A weird feeling slid through him. Had something happened? He got up, his thoughts on what they’d done before he left for his mission. Rowan hadn’t given any indication that she wanted nothing to do with him.

After coffee, he decided to call his woman. Maybe she'd been busy. It was close to noon, which didn't surprise him, but what shocked him was the lack of contact from her.

The call went straight to voicemail. What did that mean? Was her phone off? He knew she turned the setting to do-not-disturb during sessions. Maybe she was in a session.

He made eggs and toast then sent a text to his team, making sure everyone was doing okay. When they'd formed this team, he'd taken it upon himself to text everyone after coming back from a mission just to check-in.

The replies to his text ranged from serious, Sharp saying that one of the girls had strep throat, to silly, as Apple sent a video of himself dancing in his underwear. Then Squat asked him how he was doing. He felt silly telling the team that his woman was ignoring him, but these guys were the only ones who would care.

His phone rang right after he sent the text telling them that Rowan hadn’t called or texted after he’d sent her a message. It was Griz.

“Dude, do you think something is wrong?”

Shine let go a heavy sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe she dumped me and is ghosting me.”

“Do you really think the woman you were in a plane crash with would just ignore you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

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