Page 53 of The Girl He Claimed

Adam was killing her the way hekilled all his victims.

"Adam," Paige said,trying to make herself sound calm in spite of the fear she felt.

"We need to talk, Paige,"Adam said, but he didn't move any closer. Paige felt her heart sink. He wasgoing to toy with her.

"There's nothing to talkabout, Adam," Paige said.

"Of course there is. For astart, we should talk about what's going to happen to you. In a moment or two,I'm going to finish tying you. Then, we'll talk some more. Maybe I'll cut you alittle to make you struggle nicely. Slowly, your body won't be able to supportits weight. That weight will crush down on your chest cavity, stopping you frombreathing. I'm told the lungs slowly fill with fluid. All of that is going tohappen to you, Paige."

"Are you trying to frightenme?" Paige snapped back.

"Ah, defiance," Adamsaid. "It's one of the stages, you know. First, they usually don't believewhat's happening, but obviously we know one another too well for that. Thencome anger and threats, defiance and the urge to fight back. After that,pleading, bargaining, begging. And after that... well, at the end, I like tothink that there's a kind of love there."

"You're a sick man,Adam," Paige said. "And I am not going to let you kill me."

"As I said, defiance."Adam looked pleased with himself, but then, Adam always looked pleased withhimself.

Paige tried to assess her situationand tried to look for a way out of it. Adam had left her gun where it hadfallen, but it was well out of Paige's reach. There would be no help there.Paige was partially bound, but she still had the use of one leg and her rightarm. A series of ropes hung down from the ceiling, obviously there for Adam tofinish his cruel work.

"Interesting how things workedout, isn't it?" Adam asked. "I never thought I'd end up doing thiswith your father's killer. It's almost poetic if you think about it."

"It's not as poetic as youthink," Paige said.

"Oh, I think it is," Adamreplied. "If I believed in fate, I would say that we were all destined tobe here in this moment. Tell me, Paige, did all your pitiful attempts tounderstand serial killers ever get you anywhere?"

Paige was silent, knowing that itwas a part of Adam's pattern to try to cause his victims as much physical andemotional pain as he could, just to show them how helpless they were. Silencewas a way to fight back then. Adam laughed.

"You have nothing to say,Paige? That's not like you. Usually, you love to talk. Or do you think that's away to win some small victory against me? It won't work. I know, let's talkabout the fact that in a room not far from here, the woman who killed yourfather is killing your partner."

That hurt Paige more than the rest.The thought that Christopher might be in danger was almost too much to bear.

"I could say I'm sorry it cameto this," Adam said, "I could even pretend to feel something for you,but I won't. You know what's going to happen, Paige. Now, I think we shouldfinish tying you, don't you?"

"And how do you plan to dothat while I'm awake?" Paige demanded. She tried the ropes that held her.They had no give in them, but she wasn't so tightly bound that she couldn'tbreathe, not yet.

"Oh, you'll let me, Paige.Sooner or later, if I cut you enough, the fight will go right out of you."

"I'd like to see you try,Adam," Paige said, trying to project a strength she didn't feel. The truthwas that Paige felt the first edge of panic. That panic told her that hersituation was hopeless. She couldn't live; she couldn't get out of the ropes.She couldn't fight back. Adam would kill her in the end.

Trying to fight someone with aknife while unarmed was almost suicidal. Her instructors at the FBI academy hadtaught her that much, telling her to create space and get to her gun. Trying todo it while half-bound was utterly impossible.

Yet Paige couldn't think of anotherway to do this. She couldn't wait around, looking for a way out of the ropes.Not when Christopher was in danger. Not when he might be dying in the nextroom. Her only hope was to lure Adam closer and hope that she had the strengthand skills to survive.

Paige didn't have the time towonder how she was going to do what she'd planned. She saw Adam move towardsher, and she took the only chance she had.

"Don't you dare come anycloser to me," Paige said, trying to make her voice hard and threatening,trying to sound like she had the strength of two people.

Adam wasn't fooled. He laughed andmoved closer.

"Scared, Paige?" heasked, sounding amused.

"Of you, never," Paigesaid, forcing a bravado she did not feel onto her voice. "If you want tofinish tying me, try it."

Adam started forward. Paige tensed,ready to move when he got close enough.

Adam slashed at her with the knife,obviously determined to hurt her and take the fight out of her. Paige pulledaway from the blow, but the pain was real. She bit back a cry of pain, but itwas hard. Adam had cut her, cutting the flesh of her shoulder.

"That's for shooting me in theshoulder before," Adam said, his voice savage now.

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