Page 37 of Merciless Angel

My hands were tied together in front of me with rope. My ankles were tied together as well. Another string of rope linked from my ankles to the post of the bedframe. I didn’t know where I was but it wasn’t Zane’s house. It felt like a cabin.

Not knowing what to do, I leaned forward, trying desperately to free myself of the rope holding me to the bed. The knots were tight and intricate. My hands were tied so tight my fingers were numb. It was impossible to pick the knots apart. Zane had done a great job on them.

Still, I didn’t give up. I kept working at the knots despite getting nowhere. Eventually it had to give, right?

Muffled noise from somewhere else in the house reached me. I was definitely not alone. My bracelet was gone. The Angels wouldn’t find me here. I was so screwed.

The door suddenly burst open, startling me so I screamed. Zane stood in the doorway. He glanced at the rope I’d been trying to untie and smiled.

“You’ll never get through that knot. Feel free to keep trying though. Nothing is getting that rope off other than a knife.” Zane’s voice had a cold, hard edge that immediately made me stiffen. He crossed the small room to the bed, staring down at me.

“Where are we?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“At my parents’ lake house. I guess it’s more of a cabin. They’re on vacation in Mexico this week and have no plans to come here until later in the summer. We have it all to ourselves.” Zane sat on the edge of the bed and reached to touch my face.

I jerked out of reach, pasting myself against the wall. “What were you thinking, Zane? You can’t just kidnap me and hold me against my will. This is so fucked up.”

“Looks like you’re wrong about that. I’ll do whatever it takes to have you, Clover. You don’t belong with the Angels. You belong with me. You just need some time to see that.” Ignoring my revulsion, he leaned in to touch me again. Stroking my disheveled hair back, he smiled a maniacal smile that chilled me to the bone.

“I have class on Monday. If I’m not there, someone will notice. They’ll report me missing. Raina will know you did something. The cops will come looking for you.” Desperation rang in my voice. How could he not see how messed up his behavior was?

“They won’t find us,” he said with a shrug. “By the time they find out about this place, we’ll be long gone. We’ll run away together. Somewhere nobody will ever find us.”

His crazy talk made me feel sick to my stomach. I thought I might vomit.

“Zane, please. Think this through. What you’re doing is not okay.”

“I love you, Clover, and I know you love me too. Those guys messed with your head. They made you think I wasn’t a good guy. I’ll show you that I’m the one you should be with.” Seemingly oblivious to the horror etched on my face, Zane rose and headed for the door. “Are you hungry? I can bring you something to eat.”

My stomach rolled at the thought of food. I didn’t want to eat. I wanted to get the hell away from this psycho.

“Um, yeah, sure. I guess so. Some water would be good.”

I waited for him to leave before trying again to loosen the knot holding me trapped to the bed. When it refused to budge, I worked on the knot tying my ankles together. Zane sure had done his research. The knots were tightly secured, pretty much impossible to combat.

After trying until my fingertips were raw and nearly bleeding, I flopped back on the bed and cried. Only for a few minutes. I let myself have my moment. Then I sucked in a deep breath and asked myself what Raina would do. Time to channel my inner bad bitch.

I would not let Zane make me his victim. Somehow I would get out of this.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CLOVER

I wasn’t sure how much time passed before Zane returned. The opening of the door sent adrenaline rushing through my veins. Too bad I couldn’t do shit with it.

“I brought you some water and a sandwich. I hope that’s okay.” Zane offered me a smile, like he expected some kind of praise.

“Thanks.” I was relieved to see that the water bottle was still sealed. I didn’t trust him not to drug me again.

My hands being bound tightly in front of me made it tough to open the water and drink but not impossible. My wrists and ankles ached, my fingers and toes were numb. I chugged back half the bottle to soothe my dry throat. When he offered me the sandwich on a paper plate, I shook my head.

“I’m not really hungry right now.” I eyed the open door, trying to see beyond it to the rest of the cabin. “Maybe later.”

“Sure.” Zane placed the plate on the bed beside me. “You should try to eat something soon though. Can’t have you wasting away on me.”

All I could see was a hallway with a photo of Zane’s family on the wall. I had no idea where this cabin was or how far I’d have to run if I managed to escape. I was slowly coming to terms with the fact that this maniac had kidnapped me. At least he seemed to want me alive. I didn’t want to give him any reason to change his mind.

“It’s kind of hard to have an appetite. I’m scared.” I turned a frightened look his way, hoping to appeal to whatever sympathy he may have had left.