The kink and tightness in her neck caused a spasm, waking Katherine up. She slowly rolled her neck from side to side, but her restrained hands made it impossible to massage the ball of muscles causing discomfort.
Her eyes were heavy and the desire to sleep plagued her entire body. God, if only she could get out of this chair and lie down. This was unbearable; her joints ached from being in the same position for long periods of time, her bottom throbbed from the inability to shift her weight, and her muscles were stiff and began to rebel.
She willed herself to open her eyes, realizing that there was no blindfold. Light peered through the windows, leaving shadows on the floors. Katherine surveyed the room, searching for her captors. No sound of them anywhere. She looked to the stairs and caught her breath at the sight before her.
“Oh my God! Tony!” Her muscles instantly became alert and were ready to follow her command. All of a sudden, she seemed to possess superhero strength. She fought against the ropes to stand, but they were too tight. She used her feet to pull the chair an inch at a time across the floor toward Tony’s lifeless body, also bound to a chair. His head was dropped to his chest, and there was no movement except for the rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing.
“What happened to you?” The chair couldn’t cross the floor fast enough. He seemed to be a mile away, and she was like a snail trying to cross a road. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be hit by a car occupied by the green-eyed monster.
She had a renewed sense of energy; she needed to get to Tony. She needed to help him. How? She hadn’t yet figured that out. Katherine’s hands and feet were bound, so in reality, what could she do? It didn’t matter. She’d figure it out once she got to him.
Her determination grew by the moment. She wanted to holler at him—force him to wake up. But if she did, the green-eyed monster would hear and would come rushing down the stairs. She had to be quiet. Her muscles protested and even rioted with each movement she took. But it didn’t matter—she was in control now. Her mind was stronger than it had ever been. Nothing was going to stop her forward progression. Nothing.
When she finally reached Tony, she pulled on the ropes, hoping to free at least one arm so she could touch him. Katherine thrusted her body forward and nearly ripped her arm out of the socket with no success. These ropes weren’t budging no matter how much her mind wanted them to.
She talked softly, calling his name. No response. She tried a little louder, but there was still no movement—no sign of life. She used the only thing she could—her head. She leaned her body forward and placed her head at the nape of his neck. She nudged him gently at first. With each passing moment, without so much as a twitch of his muscles, she grew wearier. She pushed harder until his head swung to the opposite side only to return to center.
She hit her forehead against his jaw as hard as she could without knocking herself out. His jaw moved in a way it shouldn’t have. It seemed loose against the force of her head. When Tony let out a soft moan, she sighed in relief.
“Good, Tony. Stay with me. I need you to wake up.”
Katherine waited, looking for some sign of him arousing. Nothing. No movement, no sound, no nothing.
“Come on, baby. Fight! I need you to fight!” She headbutted him once more.
Slowly, he pulled his head back into a neutral position.
She gasped and closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the sight in front of her. Once she was able to get her bearings, she focused on his face. He didn’t look like the same man she remembered. His face was swollen, nose crooked, and was black and blue everywhere. Dried blood caked both nostrils and the corners of his mouth. The beatings she had endured weren’t half of what he had gone through. She took a deep breath and braced herself for the both of them. “That’s right. Now open your eyes for me.”
He turned his head to the side and grimaced in pain before slowly opening his swollen and blackened eyes.
“Good. Now, look at me.”
Tony’s eyes fluttered closed but slowly reopened. The light had burned out of the emeralds; now they were a cloudy jade with very little life left in them. His eyes closed again.
“No, no, no! Don’t close your eyes. Stay awake for me.”
He moaned and attempted to clear his throat before a cough forced its way to the surface. He doubled over as the force from the cough took over his body. Blood sputtered from his mouth landing on his shirt and pants.
She willed herself not to gag. She’d never seen anyone beaten this badly. The frank red blood exuding from his mouth indicated possible internal bleeding. He would die if he didn’t get help soon. Every instinct in her wanted to clean the wounds and nurse him back to health. Who could do this to another human being?
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the two lovebirds reconnecting. You made pretty quick work at coming to Romeo’s rescue. Too bad it’s not going to do any good.”
She glared at the green-eyed monster. “What have you done? He’s going to die! You need to help him!”
“This man does need help, but I can assure you it’s not going to be from me or anyone else.”
“But he’ll die,” she pleaded.
“I suppose that’s the point. Isn’t it?” The green-eyed monster smiled as he looked down on Tony.
“Why would you do this? He gave you what you wanted.”
“All the more reason. I have no need for him anymore. He’s just a minor bump in the road. Unfortunately, he’s adding extra work for me. I’m going to have to find some place to dispose of his body until I can get out of the country.”
“Have you no remorse?” Katherine was horrified by the green-eyed monster’s callousness.
“No. None at all. He was dead to me long before he ever met you. Now he’s just a thorn in my side. Something I need to rid myself of.”
“You…you’re heartless. How can you be so cruel?”
“You don’t know the half of it. You don’t know what they’ve done to me. He deserves this destiny. His family took my life, and now I’m going to take his.”
Katherine shook her head in disbelief. “They have a place for people like you!”
The green-eyed monster raised his foot and kicked her chair backward, slamming her head against the cement. Specks of white appeared behind her eyelids, and darkness threatened to take over. She had to fight it; had to find the resolve to stay awake and figure a way out of this mess. She had to save Tony before it was too late.
“I don’t believe in places like you’re describing. Even if they did exist, I’d be the godfather in there too.” The green-eyed monster grabbed her hair and pulled her across the floor. Her hands scraped the entire way, taking the skin off as she went. She screamed out in pain, but there was no stopping the evil man. He was determined to torture her, but she willed her mind to a different time and place to ease the pain.
“How about we leave you lying on your back like this? I’m sure your hands will feel mighty comfortable withstanding the weight of you and the chair. Oh, and good luck getting back to loverboy.”
The green-eyed monster gave a sadistic laugh before crossing the room and heading back up the stairs.
The pain was unfathomable, and tears fell from her eyes. Her legs were supported in the air by the legs of the chair. The wooden spindles lodged against her already raw and bloody hands were excruciating. The only relief was the pressure relieved from her bottom and placed on her back and legs. Just when she thought things couldn’t get worse. This gave a whole new meaning to hell.