“Hey…” An unfamiliar male voice filled my ears.

I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or not, but as I peeled my eyes open I focused on the man who had looked at me sympathetically the last time Clover was interrupted during one of his assaults. My eyes fully focused as realization that I wasn’t dreaming washed through me. Fear kicked in and I quickly pulled away from the man who knelt at eye level.

He held his hands up, “I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice was barely above a whisper, most likely to avoid waking anyone. Where he was kneeling, Maggie probably couldn’t even see him if she was awake.

By the feel of the temperature in the room, and the darkness where the outside light usually filtered in from the window on Maggie’s side, I knew it had to be late. The fact that this man was startling me awake in the middle of the night didn’t sit well with me. He was either going to try and use me for his own pleasures, or God only knew what else. I quickly scooted as far away from him as possible, pulling my knees up to my chin once my back hit the corner of the wall.

“What do you want?” My voice was low like his to keep from waking Maggie.

“I want to get you out of here.” His bronze-colored eyes shined in the shadows.

A staccato laugh left my lungs, and I rested my head back against where the two walls met. “That’s not going to happen, and you know it.”

“You have to trust me.”

“Well, I don’t. Why would you bother risking your own life to get me out of here? And what about Maggie? Are you going to help her escape too?” My words were like venom spewing from my mouth.

“I can only take one, and we’re running out of time. If you want out of here, come with me now. Otherwise, this conversation didn’t happen.” He lifted to his feet and turned to leave the cell.

“Wait!” I whispered as loud as I could without using my full voice. He turned to face me, the darkness enveloping the majority of his face. “Tell me why you want to help me.” I knew my demand would probably go unanswered, but I had to know. It made no sense that one of Clover’s minions would risk helping anyone escape, especially someone who didn’t ask for the help in the first place.

He heavily sighed as he ran his hands across his scalp and closed the distance between us once again. “I’m not a murderer, let alone the type of man who gets off on torturing women. This isn’t what I signed up for when I took the gig my cousin offered me.”

So, he is new to the group.

My eyes narrowed and I squeezed my legs tighter against me, “Why would you take a job if you didn’t know what you were getting yourself into?”

A humorless laugh echoed in the darkness, startling me enough to drop my arms from my legs and cower back into the corner even further. “Because the job I was pitched was a lie.” He was seething with anger. Terror shook my limbs at the thought of how much he reminded me of Clover in that moment. Unhinged, just like that maniac. He might’ve felt like he was different from the other men, but as it seemed he had a side just as dark as theirs that reared its ugly head.

His eyes dropped from mine and he shook his head, “I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just…” He ran a hand over his mouth and pulled on his facial hair, “I agreed to take a job that I thought would help me make some quick cash. Maybe involve theft, or running drugs even, but not this. I love women. I love life. I don’t want to be a deciding factor for someone to lose theirs without any rhyme or reason.”

My mind was whirling with the possibility of escaping. Was he truly going to make that happen, or was Clover playing another game? The uncertainty was thick in my mind. But the one feeling deep down in my gut that I was sure of, was that I wanted to see Gavin again. I wanted my freedom returned, and I wanted to be the number one factor that helped take down Clover’s entire fucked-up operation.

“Okay. Let’s get out of this hell hole.” I pushed from the concrete bed, my legs wobbling just enough for the man to notice how feeble I’d become. He hooked an arm around my waist to help me, and I allowed it, tossing my other arm over his shoulder for support.

“I’m sorry he’s hurt you like this.” True sincerity danced within his eyes before he continued walking us out of the cell.

Then it dawned on me, I hadn’t even gotten his name. A part of me was afraid to ask, thinking if he wanted me to know that kind of information he would’ve given it to me off the bat. But then again, he hadn’t asked for mine either.

“Care if you tell me your name?” My voice was weak as we passed Maggie’s cell. I couldn’t help glancing at her curled in a ball on her own concrete bed. She looked so frail…so broken. I could only imagine what I must look like.

I could tell by feeling my body, and seeing my stomach, that I’d lost quite a bit of weight. Along with a good majority of the muscle I’d built up from strenuous hours spent at the gym. But that didn’t matter to me. The only thing that mattered was the fact that I was still breathing, and on my way to freedom once again, hopefully.

“Paul.” His voice was uneasy. As if he wasn’t sure giving me his name was the best idea. Hell, there was no way for me to know if it truly was his name, but the tone of his voice was the indicator I needed to know he was being honest.

“I’m Blair.”

My throat thickened as we passed three more cells after Maggie’s. Two were empty, with no sign of anyone occupying them recently, while the third had large dried blood spots all over the floor. The pungent smell filled my nose causing a roll of nausea to hit me hard in the gut. I quickly halted, bending at the waist in case I did throw up.

“You okay?” Paul rubbed smoothing circles on my back.

I nodded, lifting back upright.

We slowly began to walk again when he cleared his throat, “I know.”

“You know what?”

“I already knew your name’s Blair.”

A chill rolled through my body, “How?”

“I’ve seen your face on missing posters.” His eyes connected with mine for a split second before he turned his attention to the large metal door just past the last cell.

My heart thundered in my chest. Wondering whether or not those posters had my true last name, or the one I was given for the op? But I knew deep down that it was my undercover name. The bureau wouldn’t allow my true identity to be plastered around the city, and all of America for that matter. Safety precautions had to be taken, even if they knew I was far from safe.

They hadn’t given up on me.

For the first time in a long time, butterflies fluttered within me. Freedom was a taste so close to my lips. I couldn’t help the rush of adrenaline pulsing through my achy body as Paul pulled a single key dangling on a four-leaf clover keychain from his front pocket and made quick work of unlocking the door. The smell of the outdoors enveloped my senses as we stepped outside. My eyes closed as light wind blew across my body. The feel of it against the bare parts of my skin that the thin linen clothes didn’t cover felt euphoric. The heavy scent of freshly cut wood filled my lungs as the sound of the metal door feebly screeching as Paul shut it brought me back to reality.

“I have a truck idling just past the tree line.” I followed the direction Paul’s finger pointed. The truck was maybe a mile at the most from where we stood.

My entire body was shaking as my toes curled into the dirt below my bare feet. The gritty texture was a welcoming feeling. I wasn’t used to going outside without shoes because of how sensitive the soles of my feet were, but nothing was going to stop me from getting to that truck.

Nothing.

“Shit!” Paul growled as headlights beamed from a vehicle turning into the drive at what I assumed was the front of the building. That meant we’d exited out the side, I made a mental note. “We’ve got to go now!” His voice was frantic as the headlight shined across our bodies before leaving us in the dark once again.

He linked our hands and took off in the direction he’d pointed to, “Do you think they’ve seen us?” My voice was shaking as my feet slammed against the dirt and grass mixture of the field.

Paul didn’t respond.

Anxiety reared its head. I was slowly losing the chance at freedom, and I knew it deep down in my gut. They’d seen us. Especially when yelling echoed through the night air behind us, followed closely by gunshots.

“They’re shooting at us!”

“Just keep running!” Paul sounded as terrified as I felt. “If they catch us we’re dead!”

I pushed forward with all my might, but my legs began to quiver from the overexertion. My muscles hadn’t been used with much extent in quite some time, and they were giving out on me when I needed them the most. I silently prayed I could make it to the truck, knowing Paul couldn’t carry me while running. Gun shots rang out behind us, peppering the field where we ran. Hopefully we were far enough away that a bullet wouldn’t reach us, but the roar of a vehicle barreling through the field behind us filled the air around us.

“They’re gaining on us!” I frantically cried.

Paul kept pushing on, almost to the point of dragging me beside him because my legs were on their last strand of energy, and the tree line was still too far away.

A bullet zipped between our heads and I shrieked in horror. The gunfire was too close for comfort. The vehicle barreling behind us would soon be able to run us over if they chose to do so. My freedom wasn’t going to happen. We were going to die.

“I’ll cause a diversion, you keep running,” Paul’s voice trembled.

“No,” I shook my head, “My legs won’t allow me to run much further,” I gritted out.

“You have to, Blair.”

His hand slipped from mine and I glanced back; he stood facing the oncoming vehicle bouncing through the field. I whipped my head forward again and kept running with all my might. My lungs were burning, and my legs were shaking so fiercely, I knew the only way I’d reach that tree line was if some kind of miracle took hold of my body and pushed me along. But that wasn’t happening.

A single gunshot rung out, causing me to jump. My head whipped over my shoulder and I watched in horror as Paul’s knees buckled and landed hard against the ground. A second gunshot sounded and I watched as the back of his head exploded. Tears streamed down my face as I pushed myself even harder.

He was dead, and I was most likely next.

The engine roared, not bothering to stop and pick up Paul’s body. He wasn’t the target to retrieve. I was. I’d gotten a second wind, and no matter how badly my limbs were hurting, I had to do everything in my power to get to that truck he’d stashed for our getaway. His death couldn’t be for a failed attempt at freedom. I gained momentum as the field sloped downward enough to take some of the exertion off of my body.

Just as I hit the tree line white hot pain radiated up my shin as my ankle roughly twisted to the side. A blood-curdling scream ripped from my lungs as I tumbled to the ground. Dirt scratching my face, tree limbs cutting my arms, and sobs wracking my body, the reality of not getting away crashed down on me.

Get up, Blair!

My palms burned as I attempted to push myself up from the ground, but my elbows gave out and I crashed back against the dirt and tree limbs once again. A vehicle door slammed, alerting me that my captors were about to close in on me. I shoved my hands against the ground and pushed once more, this time managing to get to my feet. Walking, let alone running, was going to be difficult, but I had no choice.

I ran my hand across the trees to help guide me down the incline of the hill. The voices behind me grew louder, they were so close to finding me. I couldn’t let them find me. So I forced myself to hobble down the hill. When a dark green pickup truck came into sight just past two rows of trees, my heart leaped from my chest with happiness.

A shaky smiled tipped the corner of my lips as I guided my way down the tree line. “You’re not going to get far!” One of Clover’s minions called out, his voice remarkably closer than I’d anticipated him being.

I knew once I reached the truck I had a very short amount of time to get in and get the hell out of dodge. Hope squeezed my heart like a vice as I broke through the trees and rounded the truck to the driver’s side. Paul must have known we would need a fast getaway, because he had left it idling. I jumped into the crew cab, threw the gear shift into drive, and took off down the dirt path that lead to who knows where. Warm tears blurred my vision before relentlessly racing down my cheeks. A heavy, shaky breath left my lungs and I rested my head back against the seat.

Cool metal pressed into my skull, “You’re going to want to stop the truck, my love.” A chill ran down my spine as my eyes connected with Clover’s in the rearview mirror.

Just like that, freedom slipped through my grasp as he shoved the gun harder against my head once the truck came to a stop. His men quickly surrounded us, one throwing the driver’s door open as I held my hands up in surrender. They jerked me from the vehicle, causing me to cry out in pain from my foot slamming against the doorframe.

“Shut up, bitch,” one of the minions spoke at my ear as he pulled me by the hair toward the jeep that had been chasing us. Once we reached it, the man shoved me into the passenger’s seat.

“My lovely little Blair.” Clover rounded the door of the jeep with his gun in tow. “Out of all the people who’d I thought would try to escape, you were not the one. You seemed to enjoy the moments we had.” He flicked my breast with the revolver in his hand, “Those perky little nipples of yours enjoyed my hands on them, and I was so sure you’d scream out my name in pleasure once I fully claimed you as mine. But no…you had to go and screw things up, didn’t you?” He ran his free hand down my hair, smoothing it across my cheek, before gently cupping the side of my face. I knew better than to show fear, Clover lived and breathed for it, so I kept my face as indifferent as possible under such stress. His forehead rested against the other side of my face for a brief moment before he lifted his head and stared at me with undeniable conviction. “Unfortunately, you must pay for what you’ve done.”

Before I could try to charm Clover back into my good graces, he lifted the revolver high in the air, and I watched for a split second as he brought it down against the top of my skull. My vision blurred as the voices around me faded away, and blackness claimed me as its victim.

* * *

A horrible pounding filled my head as I rolled onto my side. Throbbing pain from my foot up to my knee had me groaning with any movement. I attempted to open my eyes, but everything seemed so damn bright. I squeezed my eyes back shut before giving another go at trying to see once again. Blinking a handful of times before my surroundings slowly focused, and the realization that I was back in hell hit me like a ton of bricks.

I was back in a cell.

Not my cell, but the bloody one at the end of the row. Eerie silence filled the air, while the entire room was lit up brighter than a landing strip at night. The horrible pungent smell of dried blood was all around me—in my sinus cavities, my hair, clothes, and skin. There was no getting away from it. I quickly choked down the vile scream that threatened to rip from within me at realization that I was lying in one of the giant dried blood spots.

My body moved faster than I anticipated as I quickly scurried away from the dried blood splatter all over the floor, getting onto the concrete slab. I clenched my leg in my hands. The pain was so intense it was causing my bottom lip to tremble, and tears to prick my eyes.

“Why is it so bright in here?” I growled in pain.

Everything about the man-made jail was driving me insane. The silence, the bright lights, the horrid smell of death. Where were the minions? Or Clover, even? My brain was jumbled with thoughts and questions when an image of Maggie flashed behind my eyelids.

“Maggie?” I slapped my hands against the concrete wall. Knowing damn good and well she wouldn’t be able to hear me making noise a couple cells down. I’d be lucky if she could hear my voice at all, it being raspy from the dryness of my throat.

The burning in my lungs, rapid erratic beat of my heart, and my clammy palms all hit at once. I was on the verge of a major breakdown. Freedom had been within my grasp, but Clover had pulled me back. Paul was dead because I’d honestly thought he could be my saving grace, my way to leaving behind the hell I was caged in.

I’d been so stupid, so gullible to think it’d be that easy.

My head dropped into my hands as I rocked back and forth trying to slowly talk myself down from the panic attack. The last thing my body, and mind for that matter, could handle would be flying off the rails. I had to ground myself again, to find the strong woman who’d shown all of the people who didn’t believe in her that I was a force to be reckoned with. That I could survive anything. Could I survive anything? The internal voice that used to push me to accomplish things had turned into my voice of uncertainty.

Uncertainty was an enemy I didn’t need to encounter. I already had far too many enemies to count.

“My dear Blair…” The haunting sound of Clover’s voice caused me to still from rocking. I didn’t dare lift my head, afraid the tears in my eyes would show just how fragile I’d become. “I see you’re awake.”

Fear can be a crippling emotion. It can become so intense the thought of your heart exploding from its erratic beating, or even passing out from the overload of adrenaline pulsing through your veins, become realities flashing within your mind.

It took a lot for me to truly be afraid. Hell, I’d been involved in some major undercover operations that put me in undeniable danger that most people wouldn’t have made it out of alive. But the fear that had grabbed hold of me like a vice, when it came to Clover, was undeniably the worst I’d ever experienced.

“Look at me!” His demand boomed.

I slowly lifted my head and raised my eyes to meet his as he slipped the key into the door and clicked it open. My heart flopped as I watched Clover pull the heavy door open with zip ties clenched in his other hand. There was no changing the fact that I’d tried to escape, that I’d blown the chance of manipulating him to believe that I was his lost love, or even loyal for that matter. Clover wasn’t a fool, I knew that. Whatever punishment he was going to bring down on me, I’d brought upon myself.

“I need you to stand.” Without hesitation I lifted to my feet, trying my best to keep from stepping in the dried blood. “Turn around.” His face was void of any kind of emotion, so I didn’t bother arguing or pleading for forgiveness. Clover was in business mode, and there was no way to stop him.

I turned as fast as I could while putting the majority of my weight on my good leg. He wasn’t easy as he grabbed my arms and jerked them behind my back, securing my wrists with the zip ties. Much like he’d done to me before. Clover got off on torturing people, and he was salivating at the mouth to do so to me once again. I was a traitor, someone who reminded him of Juliana. The woman who seemed to have broken his heart.

Once the zip ties were secured, he turned me back to face him. My leg screaming in pain, causing tears to fill my eyes once again. “Don’t cry…” He swiped his thumb across my cheek. The tenderness of his gesture made me wonder if the vulnerable side of Clover was still lingering in the back of his mind. If I could possibly grab it by the hand and pull it forward. No sooner than he wiped the tears from my face he shoved me forward, causing my leg to buckle, and my face to smack the floor from not being able to catch myself.

Dark specks danced within my vision as I inhaled deeply. “Please…” Hysterical cries ripped from within me. I was no longer able to hold my pain at bay. My body had been through too much.

He crouched down, but all I could see were his perfectly clean dress shoes, “I do love a girl who begs.” The seductive tone would’ve made me cringe if my body wasn’t already shaking. Clover clasped a hand down on my shoulder and hastily stood, jerking me up from the ground.

A blood-curdling scream erupted from my lungs as the pain in my leg radiated even stronger than before. “M—my leg.” Tears raced from my eyes. To my surprise Clover scooped me up into his arms without saying a word.

He might’ve been a ruthless piece of shit, but every now and then a glimpse of the man he could’ve been shined through. I wish I knew what Juliana had done to hurt him so badly. His psychotic behavior wasn’t her fault, but she was definitely the trigger. Her and maybe his sister, since he had told Jamie she reminded him of her. So many questions I’d probably never know the answer to.

Clover kicked open a door I hadn’t noticed during the escape. It was directly across from the door Paul and I had exited the building through. My heart stopped at the sight in the center of the mostly empty space. Crimson stained the concrete once again, but in a much larger quantity, and not just on the floor. A single metal chair sat in the center of the room, with a large haphazard circle of dried blood surrounding it.

A chill raced down my spine as he sat me in the chair, maneuvering my arms behind the metal backing. Even though I’d never been in the room before, it was painfully obvious that this was where he’d drag his victims to play his twisted little game. My time had finally come to see what fate had in store for me.

“As you know,” Clover’s shoes tapped against the floor as he circled the chair to face me, “you did a very bad thing trying to escape. I thought we had something good, Blair. I really did. But your lack of commitment is too painful to bear.” He knelt so his face was mere inches from mine. His eyes dropped from my face, to my chest, to my lap, and finally focused on my bum leg. The crease between his eyebrows deepened as he lifted the linen pants leg.

My mind was racing with ways I could twist the story to try and make him believe I didn’t want to leave. To give him even the tiniest inkling that I cared for him, even if it was furthest from the truth. Lying was the only way to survive, I had no other choice. “Paul took me against my will. I would never leave you or betray us.”

He stilled, as if he was taking in what I’d said. Without a response his hand smoothed down my injury, gently rubbing the bruised and swollen area at my ankle. “I’m sorry you got hurt in the process.”

Maybe this could work.

I choked back the distaste of what I was about to say and forced myself to spit the words out as caringly as possible, “I’m sorry you got hurt as well.” Clover lifted his eyes to mine, but I couldn’t tell what he was feeling. So many emotions seemed to flash within his eyes before he settled on anger.

“I might have fallen for your games before, but this time, my sweet Blair, it’s not going to happen.” The palm of his hand covered my face and shoved me back against the chair. I squealed out of shock, there was no getting away from my fate this time.

Clover rose to his feet and pulled a revolver from the waistband of his pants. If I had known it was there I would’ve made an attempt at grabbing it, but the pain I’d been experiencing had clouded my ability to pay very good attention to my surroundings.

“But—” I attempted to come up with some kind of argument that would make him believe I really cared for him, but I had nothing. He knew I was merely trying to survive and not trying take the place of his dead love, Juliana.

The butt of the gun came down against the side of my head, not hard enough to knock me out, but hard enough to shut me up. Clover’s voice was muffled by the ringing in my ears as he rambled on about why it was time for me and fate to have a dance. Liquid ran down the side of my face, most likely blood from the wound he’d inflicted on me. The metallic taste filled my mouth as I licked my lips once it streamed overtop them.

“My precious, Blair, I believe it’s time for you to see what the future holds. Don’t you agree?” The revolver lowered toward my head. Fear punched me in the gut and forced my eyes tightly shut.

My teeth chattered due to the tremors rolling through my body from fear of what was to come. I kept my eyes tightly shut and focused on the burning of the zip ties digging into the flesh of my wrists. The cool metal of the revolver pressed deep into my temple as I listened to Clover begin to count backwards from five. My life was about to be over, I could feel it.

“5…”

My eyes snapped open as a wave of resistance flooded through me. If I died from this little game of his, he was going to watch the life leave my eyes.

“4…”

Erratic breaths left my lungs as my chest heaved.

“3…”

The vile smile adorning his lips enraged me even more with each announced number.

“2…”

Please let someone find my body, so I can be laid to rest.

“1…”