It clicked the closer I got that she was calling for someone. She thought someone was down there with her. She must have heard the two of us talking and assumed that there was someone else down there. I’d have put her at ease, but she surprised me with her requests to at least be treated well. It looked like she’d be there for a while; I guess it only made sense to afford her some comforts. Maybe she’d put up less of a fight.
For the second time that day, I made the trek to the basement to see Natalie. I had limited my visits once per day in order to not get attached and to be persuaded away from the ultimate goal.
“Come with me now,” I announced when the door swung open. Nat was laying on the bed facing the wall, only her head and shoulders swiveling to look at me, her gaze falling lazily to the floor after brief contact with mine. She is losing her spirit.
I hardened my look at her lack of attention and barked, “I said now.”
She scrambled from the bed and was standing in front of me. A foul smell wafted around the room with each of her movements, making me grateful that she had requested a shower.
“And bring the bucket,” I instructed her.
“After you,” I said, gesturing toward the door. Her eyes shot to mine with a questioning look, and I gave a curt nod to confirm that yes, indeed I was asking her to leave the room.
She marched upstairs holding her bucket as I followed shortly behind. I could easily overpower her if she tried anything, but given the defeated attitude she was displaying that day, it seemed likely she would do as she was told.
Chapter Nine
Natalie
The bright light of the sun shining through the window as we exited the staircase was almost blinding compared to the single light bulb to which I had grown accustomed to. It was when my sight adjusted that I realized that we were in a house and he had imprisoned me in the basement. It was a beautiful nautical style, and the cozy looking living room called for me. What I wouldn’t do right then to cuddle up on the fluffy couch with a blanket, take a long, restful nap, and feel safe.
“Where are we going?” I asked, wondering what was about to happen to me.
“Keeping going.” Duke pointed to the stairs, ordering me upstairs as he continued to follow behind me.
There were probably a million things I could have done in those moments from the basement door to the second-floor landing to escape, but the energy to fight was waning.
It was the knocking of the bucket against my thigh with each step up that gave me an idea, and I mustered all the strength I could find.
I waited at the landing for Duke to climb the last steps, and when his foot was coming down on the landing, I swung the bucket at him, making contact with his shoulder. The contents splashed out onto both of us. He stumbled but caught himself on the railing.
The bucket fell from my hands and landed with a thud on the hardwood floor. It was then that I realized my mistake. I’d waited too long to make a move, and now I had nowhere to go. I couldn’t get past Duke on the stairs. I had to take my chances with something on the upper level. I turned and raced down the hall, away from Duke slipping and sliding on the wet floor, and muttering obscenities.
The door yanked open and smashed behind me as my eyes adjusted to the dark space. Groping along the wall, my fingers hit the light switch. The light filled the space. Shit! Of course, I picked the one door that turned out to be a closet. Now there really isn’t anywhere to go.
But at least there was a lock on the door. I clicked it into place, and evaluated the space, my options, trying to decide what my move should be. The locked door would only buy me so much time. He would come for me.
The linen closet. That’s where I was. Nothing useful here except a bunch of towels and sheets folded neatly on the shelves. I reached for a floral sheet and wiped myself down, trying to get as much of the moisture from the bucket off as possible.
The sheet dropped to the floor; the room went dark as I switched off the light, and I did my best to hide myself. Then I waited.
The sound of a drill vibrated through the small space, and I knew I couldn’t sit there and let him at me. I had to at least defend myself in some manner and delay the inevitable.
In the dark, I grasped as many linens from the shelves I could reach and started rolling them into tight balls.
He lifted the door from its hinges, set it aside, and I moved to my knees preparing for a slaughtering.
If I could take him by surprise, maybe there was hope of getting around him.
Chapter Ten
Duke
“You fucking...” I didn’t finish my sentence as a pile of sheets, towels, and whatever else she could get her hands on came at me.
Natalie was on her knees chucking waded up towels and bath rags at me. Eventually she’d run out of ammunition, and she’d be mine, and if I hadn’t been covered in her shit, I would have found some amusement in the situation. Instead, my temper boiled to the point of no reigning it back in.
I kicked the towels out of my way and stalked toward her. She hovered in the corner against the wall. My fingers wrapped around her throat as I snatched her from the corner, tightening my grip. Her eyes popped open wide, and I could see the fear, but she never wavered. Her hands wrapped around my own as she stared me down with loathing, accepting whatever fate was about to come her way.
My other hand twisted itself into her hair when I released her throat. She coughed and gagged with the sudden ability to breathe again. I yanked her from the closet by her hair, dragged her through the wet mess at the top of the steps, and released her only when we were ready to make our way back down the stairs. I leaned down, so I was flush with her ear and growled, “If you ever try something like that again, I will kill you. Now get your ass back downstairs.” My hand twisted in her hair again to keep her in line.
My threat hit its mark. She clambered to her feet and down the steps, her pace controlled by me with her head tilted back to accommodate the grip I had on her hair.
I literally threw her into the room where she stumbled across the space and smashed into the hard wall. My eyes connected with hers as she looked back at me. I gave her a boorish nod to acknowledge where the power was in our struggle, and then I let her stew in her own making for a while. Maybe then she’d learn how to act.
THE HOT WATER BATHED down my back, washing away the mess, and my head leaned against the wall of the shower in exasperation. This was not how things were supposed to be. I was turning into a cruel monster when all I wanted to do was finish this and protect Natalie along the way, which she was making hard to accomplish. It was one of the reasons I had to take a step away from it all. I took on too many characteristics of the person I was hunting, and I couldn’t determine who I was anymore. Was I the bad guy or the good guy?
My thoughts wandered to Natalie and how strong she was, not knowing what would become of her but still trying to gain her own control back. She’d make a great addition to the team someday. If she lived that long with her reckless decisions.
My dick twitched with the thought of Natalie running through my mind, and the power struggle we were experiencing together.
Content on making her wait it out covered in her own waste, I lost myself on my laptop where I spent hours making contact with old associates, trying to recruit a pawn to assist with the Morton downfall.