I stayed awake for as long as I could, but Shawn began to give me the silent treatment as well. He didn’t freak me out as much as Todd and his emotionless face, so I fell asleep. While Shawn had seemed to be a safe bet for not hurting me during sleep, Declan was obviously not.
Morning brought Declan back into the room. I was awoken by him grasping my hair and twisting my head back with a sinister smile on his face.
“Good morning, Taya. I hope you slept horribly. I require your assistance in luring your family here. Would you be a doll and shed a tear or two for me? It would make the picture all the more enticing.”
I spat on his shirt. “Fuck. You.”
His grip tightened on my hair. “Listen here, you little bitch. Nobody is coming to save you until I want them to. I’m giving you the opportunity to make your last moments on this earth manageable. We can switch to the hard way if you’d like to continue to be difficult.”
“I’ve never done anything easy, so why should I start now?” I spat.
His beady eyes narrowed on me, and he let go of his grip. “Have it your way, then.”
Before I could blink, pain radiated across my face. I sucked in a breath, trying to get a grip on the agony, but he punched me again, and I lost it.
My wolf began a partial shift while I yelled and cursed. The chair I was still tied to teetered to one side, but Declan grabbed it before I could fall.
“Still want to do this the hard way?” His smirk was menacing. He was so far past sane, I knew there was nothing good left inside him. He would kill me as soon as he got what he wanted.
I let the tears fall down my face just as he had demanded. Yesterday, he had said he’d let my family stew for a few days and I hoped that meant I still had another full day before he set his plan into motion. One more day to figure out a way out of the hell hole I was stuck in.
Declan pulled his phone out and snapped a few pictures of me. I imagined I was quite the sight to see. My right eye was swelling, and I had no doubt that bruises were already surfacing. He hadn’t held back one bit when he hit me.
“Good girl.” He patted me on the head. “Though, for being difficult and making me angry, you can go without food today.”
He turned to leave the room and I noticed Shawn in the corner. His hands shook, and he still refused to make eye contact with me.
I took a deep breath and realized I had to pee. Like, really fucking bad. I was still in my pajamas and hadn’t gone to the bathroom since I was taken. I was thankful I had wanted to stay up watching a show the night before and wore real pajamas instead of something barely there like usual. Things would be slightly more awkward if I hadn’t been fully clothed.
I cleared my throat, getting Shawn’s attention. He blinked at me but didn’t say anything.
“I have to pee.”
“Huh?”
I rolled my eyes. “I have to urinate. You know, that thing your body does after so many hours? Guys stand, girls sit. Piss –”
“I knew what you meant. You’re not allowed to leave this room.”
“Well, what the hell am I supposed to do when I have to pee?”
They couldn’t actually expect me to go in the chair, could they? Beating me was one thing, but that was way worse than torture in my book. I at least needed a bucket and a break from the chains.
“We can’t risk you shifting by taking off the chains. You either need to hold it or go where you sit.” His face was serious. There was no waver.
“You’ve got to be shitting me? No pun intended.”
His lip curved up on the left. “You’re not getting out of that chair unless Declan takes you. I can call him back in here if you’d like.”
Fuck that. I’d hold it a while longer.
“What is he doing with those pictures he took?” I asked, changing the subject. Maybe if I warmed him a little, got him talking, I’d be able to at least convince him to get me a bucket.
“I don’t know. He’ll find a way to get the picture to your dad, I’m guessing. Leave them clues as to where we’re at, and then wait.”
I nodded. I already assumed that much, so it didn’t really tell me anything.
“What is his plan once they come for me?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think we should be talking. Try to go back to sleep. Declan has no reason to come back until tomorrow.”
“What happens tomorrow?”
He sighed. “Todd got offkey singing and I get all the questions, huh? I can’t answer that last one.”
“Why not?” I glared.
“Because you’re not the only one fighting something. Just leave it alone.”
I left him be, respecting his request, but only for the time being. If I couldn’t pee, then I would try to sleep some more.
I closed my eyes and focused on my bond with Liam. I had kept that part of my mind as closed off as possible, but I imagined my pain slipped through when Declan hit me. I wished I could speak with Liam, tell him everything was fine, that they needed to stay as far away from here as possible, but I knew neither him, my dad, nor Augie would listen.
So much hurt came through from Liam. That feeling was evenly matched with anger and frustration. I took a moment to send him as much love as I could in hopes of calming him. If all I could do was attempt to make him feel better, then I’d do my best at it.
Hopefully by now, they had figured out Sam was the traitor. There would be no reason for him to be missing at the same time as me. I couldn’t believe we had missed it before, but he had done everything right. As I fell asleep, I wondered how long he had been fooling us, and just how much Declan knew about our pack.
Sometime later, Shawn shook me awake. “Wake up. My shift is almost over.”
I blinked my eyes several times. “How long was I out?”
“Just a few hours. Todd will be back in about in ten minutes. Try not to irritate him too much. I’ll be back tonight.”
“Wait. Where does Aiden think you are?”
Shawn hesitated. “He probably knows now and when I get out of here, I’ll be on the run, but it’s better than the alternative.”
I raised a brow. “Which is?”
“Enough questions, Taya.”
I gave him my best sweet face. “One more. Can I please get a bucket before you leave?”
He sighed and pulled his phone out. “Don’t say a word. I’ll kill you myself if you do.”
Without explaining beyond that, he slipped out of the room. I considered trying to move the chair or do anything that could give me any sort of advantage, but if Shawn was getting me a bucket, then just maybe I was getting through to him. I’d behave until time started to run out. I still had tonight.
He came back in the room with a small garbage can and toilet paper. I mentally perked up at the fact that I was getting through to him.
“You get one chance, Taya. Don’t fuck it up. I’m going to move your chain so only your right side is tied to the chair. You get to figure out the rest and quick. You have less than a minute before I need to put it back.”
I nodded, trying to hold back my grin. I still wanted to murder the asshole for getting Elijah killed, but part of me wondered if he’d only done what he had to do to survive and keep his loved ones safe. I couldn’t honestly say I wouldn’t have done the same thing.
I stretched out my left arm. My wolf rose to the surface, but I beat her back down. Not yet, girl. We have more work to do.
She didn’t like that, but I had control and kept my word to Shawn.
Once he had the chain moved, I reached for the bucket. The chair was still partially in my way and I ended up peeing on the corner of it, but most of it made it into the garbage can so I didn’t complain. I grabbed the toilet paper from my other hand and wiped before reaching between my legs to get the chair, too.
“Times up,” Shawn said.
I tossed the toilet paper in the bucket and pulled up my pants, grateful they were fleece and easy to move. I sat back in the chair, bringing my arms back together, so he could fix the chains.
I met his stare as he relocked the bolts. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
He grabbed the bucket, placing it in the far corner of the room. Hopefully, that would be for later use. I didn’t imagine that’d be the only time I’d need to go, even without food or water.
Shawn took his seat and minutes later, Todd walked in without knocking. They did some weird fist bump and switched places.
I was back to being alone.
Todd wore a plain grey shirt today, so I didn’t even get the benefit of having something to count over and over again. I refrained from singing per Shawn’s request, and I was bored out of my damn mind.
There was no way to track the hours that passed. I had no idea what time it was. I just knew there was less than a day before my dad received word of my location, and I needed to get out of here before any of the people I loved most got themselves killed.
I didn’t attempt conversation with Todd. I didn’t see the point. I had gotten some sleep, so it was easy to stay awake. Time went slowly, but it was manageable.
When the door finally creaked open, I tensed. I didn’t think it had been long enough for Shawn to be back, but sure enough, he was the one to walk in.
“Declan is headed out and wants you to come with him. I’ll take over again.”
Todd nodded. “Whatever you did to her earlier worked great. The bitch didn’t say a word the whole time. Thanks.”
A low snarl sounded from deep inside of me. I should have sung the fucking song.
Todd smirked, then shut the door behind him.
Shawn paced the room nervously. He didn’t say a word, and I just watched. Whatever he needed to work out, I’d let him do it on his own. I didn’t have time for other people’s crazy.
Finally, he stopped. His hazel eyes met mine head-on for the first time.
“I have to get you out of here.”
My eyes bulged. “Excuse me?”
“I was supposed to go with Declan tonight, but I couldn’t do it. He’s going to one more pack to recruit another group of shifters. The things he said… what he plans to do to those who won’t follow… I can’t be a part of that anymore. I’ve been a slave to Declan for two years, but rarely was it ever by his side like this. My family wouldn’t want this. It’s not okay.”
“Where is your family?”
“My mother and sister are still in the Catskills, but Declan has more men. Mercenaries. They’ll take them and torture them if I do this.”
Shit. He didn’t mention a father, meaning they probably had no protection at home from a rogue shifter. I could call Aiden and have them taken to safety, but I wasn’t sure how he would react if he learned I was working with Shawn. Would he understand why Shawn had betrayed them?
Probably not, but I did, and I had faith that Aiden would at least protect the mother and sister. Shawn might not ever get to see them again, but at least they’d be alive.
“What did you do that Declan is using against you?”
He paused, shuffling his feet, once again refusing to meet my eyes.
“I killed a human.”