Page 61 of Vanishing Point
She breathed until she had stilled some, until her vision calmed. Everything was going to keep throbbing no doubt, so she ignored the pain.
And focused on the nail in her hand. There was no way to bend her fingers or hands to get the nail to push against the plastic of the zip ties. She did everything she could, even as the plastic bit into her skin. But it was no use.
Okay, so that doesn’t work. Doesn’t mean it was pointless.She looked down at the two shards of wood, then back up at Dianne. Who now had a full sandwich on a paper plate. She didn’t so much as glance Vi’s way as she rushed into the hallway.
Murmured voices, a shout, but Vi couldn’t pay attention to it. She crouched and picked up the pieces of chair. She examined them. One was flimsy. Any kind of pressure on it and it would snap. But the other had some decent thickness to it, though it was a little sharp.
What the hell did she think she was going to do with these sad items?
Something. I’m going to come up with something.
A crash sounded from the other room. No thuds followed, so Vi assumed Eric had just thrown something, not hit Dianne. She knew the sounds all too well.
Vi straightened, just in time for Dianne to come rushing out. She kept her back to Vi, but Vi could see the woman’s shoulders shake, like she was crying. Still, it was a silent cry.
Eric didn’t appreciate tears.
She started putting the food away, back to Vi.
“Are you going to knock me around if I sit on the ground?”
Dianne looked over at her with a sneer. Her eye was bloody, along with the tears, and it gave Vi a full body shudder. “I guess you’ll have to risk it and see.”
Which didn’t feel like too big a risk considering the woman was hurt and crying, and no doubt knew she would get worse if she left a mess in the kitchen and Eric reappeared.
So carefully and slowly, Vi lowered herself to the ground, using the wall behind her as a kind of balance. With the zip ties around her ankles, she could only either keep her knees up at her chin or slide them out in front of her. Carefully, so her legs would hide the chair debris, she straightened her legs and leanedagainst the wall. It wasn’t the most comfortable sitting position, but it was better than standing.
Dianne was sniffling in the kitchen, occasionally eating the tiniest bite of food. And Vi just…didn’t understand. This woman had been a professional in a law enforcement job. Maybe Vi didn’t know what her childhood had been like, but on the outside she seemed like a strong, successful woman.
And she was letting Eric knock her around. Why? Why did he just get todothis? What made a mean, vicious man so powerful?
It didn’t make any sense. Maybe she could see why Eric had targeted her, manipulated her, but she’d been vulnerable and desperate to find somethingsolid, and he’d pretended to be just that.
But this woman was none of those things. Sohow?
“Don’t you want to stop this?” Vi demanded. Undeniablyangry—not even at Dianne, but at this whole situation and that one mistake years ago had upended her entire life to bring her here. Kidnapped and injured, even after finally clawing her way out.
And now, because he’d found some new woman to manipulate and torture, she was sucked back into this hell.
Butthatwoman wasn’t tied up.
“You can walk right out that door. You can grab that gun and stop him. Why are you crying andtakingit when you can get the hell out?”
Dianne stood very still, her back to Vi. And for a moment, Vi felt a surge of hope so big, so deep that tears sprang to her eyes. Maybe she could get through to Dianne. Maybe she could end this right here. Right now.
But Dianne didn’t move, didn’t speak, so Vi wracked her brain for the right thing to say. What would have gotten through to her if she put herself back there?
It was deflating, because she wasn’t sure anything would have. She’d been so certain it was her punishment for the mistakes she’d made. It had only been saving Magnolia that had become bigger than that shame. And only after she’d gotten out did she realize none of it was her fault or her shame.
But that didn’t mean she could give up on Dianne.
“I know you can do this,” Vi said. “Idid it. And it tookeverythingI am.” And a bigger purpose. But if she thought about Mags anymore right now, she’d just lose it. “But you’re…you’re in such a better position. You can take him down, Dianne. We can stop him from hurting us and other people.”
“He has the bullets,” she muttered. “And two more guns in there.”
Which wasn’t ano. Vi’s heart was beating against her chest, almost like she’d run a marathon. “We can outsmart him,” she whispered. “I know we can.”
Dianne finally turned to face Vi. Her eye was bloodshot, likely from a blow. A trickle of blood came from the corner of her mouth. But Vi didn’t see any kind offightin her eyes.
