hovering behind her, she quickly grabbed a couple at random and hoped they were interesting enough to distract her from this fucked up road trip.
Back in the car, Dawn resigned herself to seemingly aimless miles, only now there was weird old music to fill the silence.
“Why didn’t you scream?” he asked.
“What?”
“I tied you up, but I didn’t gag you. You could have screamed for help.”
Dawn felt horrified at herself all of a sudden. Truthfully, she didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to her to scream, except that he’d told her not to. Even at twenty-three, was she still so used to doing what she was told? Obeying her pa rents, obeying Roy, even obeying Zach on occasion. It wasn’t much of a stretch for her to obey the guy who’d kidnapped her.
“I fell asleep,” she muttered. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t much of an excuse. Any normal person would have shouted till they were hoarse and banged the headboard against the wall until help a rrived.
What the hell is happening , she wondered. Her mental voice sounded hysterical. Tristan hadn’t hurt her yet, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t. Nobody knew he’d taken her or that they were bound for some unknown destination. He was probably going to bury her in an unmarked desert grave. God, she should have screamed.
She thought suddenly of Zach, of his sun-warmed muscles and hair thick with the wax he used to style it. He was a tough guy, uncomplicated, and she’d always known where she stood with him. A pang of missing him took her by surprise and she had to blink away the unexpected sting of tears. He was a sexist asshole to have said what he did about Leila, but at least he wasn’t a psychopathic ki dnapping asshole.
The road whirred beneath the tires as they passed miles and miles of monotonous landscape, civ ilization nowhere in sight. Tristan pulled over at one point and got out of the car. He kicked the front tire a few times. He put his hands in his hair and shouted. He put them on his hips and stared into the distance for a while. Then he got back in the car and changed direction and they continued on their way to … somewhere. She didn’t know where they were going, and apparently he didn’t either. Except maybe to hell. To some dark place she was never meant to see.
What am I doing? What am I doing here?
Dawn realized she’d been repeating the words aloud when she heard Tristan saying her name with force. He’d pulled to the shoulder again and angled his body to face her. She felt a sudden desire for him and had to look down when her cheeks started to warm. She let her hair fall between them as she busied herself with the books in her lap.
“Look at me,” he snapped.
With a sigh, she flipped her hair over one shoulder so she could see his face. His eyes were sharp and serious, and she knew hers looked much too wounded. She wanted to be strong, not vulnerable, but she was wearing down fast.
“You can’t escape,” he said fiercely. “You’re with me now, and you do what I say. If you start to lose your shit, you’ll regret it. I’ll make sure of that. Do you understand?”
“Fuck you,” she whispered.
“Maybe later,” he said savagely. He pulled back onto the road and drove.
It was midday when they arrived in a town called Mineral Springs. It was a small, unassuming town with Old West-style storefronts. There were two inns, both of them nicer than the motel in Ely. One was built to resemble a plantation, the other a log cabin. Tristan picked the log cabin and pocketed both room keys.
“What are we doing here?” Dawn asked hesitantly once he’d locked them in the room. “I mean, what are you doing? Are you supposed to be finding someone?”
“Yeah. But I only have a vague idea where he is. I’ve had to do this before. Fallon likes to run away.”
A nightmare vision of an eternal road trip to nowhere flashed in Dawn’s mind. She blinked it away, horr ified. “W-why do you need him?”
“I don’t
Back in the car, Dawn resigned herself to seemingly aimless miles, only now there was weird old music to fill the silence.
“Why didn’t you scream?” he asked.
“What?”
“I tied you up, but I didn’t gag you. You could have screamed for help.”
Dawn felt horrified at herself all of a sudden. Truthfully, she didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to her to scream, except that he’d told her not to. Even at twenty-three, was she still so used to doing what she was told? Obeying her pa rents, obeying Roy, even obeying Zach on occasion. It wasn’t much of a stretch for her to obey the guy who’d kidnapped her.
“I fell asleep,” she muttered. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t much of an excuse. Any normal person would have shouted till they were hoarse and banged the headboard against the wall until help a rrived.
What the hell is happening , she wondered. Her mental voice sounded hysterical. Tristan hadn’t hurt her yet, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t. Nobody knew he’d taken her or that they were bound for some unknown destination. He was probably going to bury her in an unmarked desert grave. God, she should have screamed.
She thought suddenly of Zach, of his sun-warmed muscles and hair thick with the wax he used to style it. He was a tough guy, uncomplicated, and she’d always known where she stood with him. A pang of missing him took her by surprise and she had to blink away the unexpected sting of tears. He was a sexist asshole to have said what he did about Leila, but at least he wasn’t a psychopathic ki dnapping asshole.
The road whirred beneath the tires as they passed miles and miles of monotonous landscape, civ ilization nowhere in sight. Tristan pulled over at one point and got out of the car. He kicked the front tire a few times. He put his hands in his hair and shouted. He put them on his hips and stared into the distance for a while. Then he got back in the car and changed direction and they continued on their way to … somewhere. She didn’t know where they were going, and apparently he didn’t either. Except maybe to hell. To some dark place she was never meant to see.
What am I doing? What am I doing here?
Dawn realized she’d been repeating the words aloud when she heard Tristan saying her name with force. He’d pulled to the shoulder again and angled his body to face her. She felt a sudden desire for him and had to look down when her cheeks started to warm. She let her hair fall between them as she busied herself with the books in her lap.
“Look at me,” he snapped.
With a sigh, she flipped her hair over one shoulder so she could see his face. His eyes were sharp and serious, and she knew hers looked much too wounded. She wanted to be strong, not vulnerable, but she was wearing down fast.
“You can’t escape,” he said fiercely. “You’re with me now, and you do what I say. If you start to lose your shit, you’ll regret it. I’ll make sure of that. Do you understand?”
“Fuck you,” she whispered.
“Maybe later,” he said savagely. He pulled back onto the road and drove.
It was midday when they arrived in a town called Mineral Springs. It was a small, unassuming town with Old West-style storefronts. There were two inns, both of them nicer than the motel in Ely. One was built to resemble a plantation, the other a log cabin. Tristan picked the log cabin and pocketed both room keys.
“What are we doing here?” Dawn asked hesitantly once he’d locked them in the room. “I mean, what are you doing? Are you supposed to be finding someone?”
“Yeah. But I only have a vague idea where he is. I’ve had to do this before. Fallon likes to run away.”
A nightmare vision of an eternal road trip to nowhere flashed in Dawn’s mind. She blinked it away, horr ified. “W-why do you need him?”
“I don’t
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