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I struggle against my restraints, but I can’t free myself. “Momma’s coming, honey, I promise!”
“Momma’s not going anywhere,” Daniel comes in through the back door, wearing a smug smile and a thick winter coat. “Momma’s spending some quality time with Daddy, first.”
“What the hell did you do, you son of a bitch,” I snarl.
Daniel scoffs and smacks me across the face. He makes sure to hit me right where it’s already tender and swollen. It hurts like a thousand needles puncturing my skin at the same time, and I can’t stop the tears from flowing freely as I whimper from the pain. ““Don’t worry about our daughters,” he adds. “They’re fine, under lock and key until they learn to respect their father.”
“My God, Daniel, you’ve gone too far this time,” I manage.
“Oh, no, honey, I’ve just begun to explore my limits,” he says, taking a seat on the sofa.
Only now do I realize that I’m not as cold as I should be, given the cabin’s condition. The faint smell of heated metal has me turning my head to find an oil heater plugged into a far wall. There must be one in the girls’ room as well. At least he’s not letting us freeze to death, though I’m not sure what his endgame is anymore. He’s enjoying this too much.
“What is going on, Daniel? What are you trying to accomplish here?” I ask. Remembering some of the training that Kellan gave me in case I ever had to deal with such a situation, I decide I need to keep this bastard talking and buy myself as much time as I possibly can. Kellan and I only ever discussed this precise moment as a far-fetched scenario, not the blistering reality that it has clearly become. “Where are we? What time is it?”
My ex-husband smiles, leaning back into the sofa with great satisfaction. “Oh, now you wanna talk to me, Avery? After all my attempts to reach out and engage in meaningful and constructive conversation? Too little, too late, don’t you think?”
It’s light enough outside that I can see the forest. It was early evening when I found the apartment building, so I must’ve been knocked out for the entire night here. Kellan, Fallon, and Luke must be out of their minds with worry. They’re probably turning the whole county over looking for us. I didn’t think Daniel would go this far.
“I’m unable to move, and you’re probably going to kill me,” I tell Daniel. “So, you might as well tell me the truth.”
“I don’t want to kill you, Avery, but I do have to teach you a lesson. It all depends on how willing you are to learn,” he says.
Upon a more careful inspection, I notice the bleached blonde patches at the top of his head. He’s cut his hair really short, but I can tell it was dyed before. His stubble is thicker and darker than how he usually wears it. He’s wearing a plaid shirt and dirty, raggedy jeans—the polar opposite of his usual suit and tie. This man made it an essential part of his identity to always look good and perfectly groomed, and I know he is anything but comfortable looking like this.
“How long have we been here?” I ask again as I reel in from the pain of his violence. I need to make sure he doesn’t hit me again.
“Since last night,” he says, the corner of his mouth ticking with amusement. “The girls are nice and comfy in their room, you don’t need to worry about them. They’re well fed and taken care of. Not that you deserve to know, but I’m giving you this courtesy despite the way you treated me.”
“The wayItreatedyou? Seriously?”
He leans forward, cracking his knuckles—clearly itching to hit me again. “I’d mind what I say if I were you, honey. You’re not in a position to talk back to me.”
“Where are we?” I ask again, trying to change the subject.
“If you’re hoping that your boyfriends will find us, I hate to disappoint you. Nobody knows where you are, and nobody’s coming for you,” he says. “We’ve got this place all to ourselves, and we’re gonna take advantage of every moment we have together. With a little bit of luck and just the right amount of cooperation on your part, the four of us might walk out of here a family again.”
“My God, Daniel. You’ll never get away with this. You hurt me. You hurt Miley!”
With lightning speed, he gets up and slaps me again. I cry out in sheer agony as he towers above me. “Don’t you dare bring that up again!” Daniel hisses. “Do you think I enjoyed doing that? Do you think I wanted to hurt Miley? My own flesh and blood! You made me, Avery. You’re responsible for everything that happened between us!”
“Please, stop,” I sob, struggling to get over the dizziness that his blow left behind. “What do you want, Daniel? I’ll do anything, just let Annie and Miley go.”
“They’re not going anywhere. They’re our daughters, and you’re my wife. We belong together.”
“We’re divorced.”
“That’s just paperwork,” he scoffs. “I’m not letting you tear this family apart ever again.”
“The police are looking for you.”
Daniel grabs a handful of my hair and yanks my head back. My scalp burns as I try not to let him see how badly he’s hurting me, even though I can taste blood on my lips. “You’re to blame for that, too,” he says. “You should’ve been a better wife and mother, Avery. Maybe then we wouldn’t be in this situation. All you had to do was obey and cherish your man.”
“How did you find us?”
“Oh, you didn’t make it easy,” he laughs lightly. “But I’m a persistent man. And Nebraska ain’t as hard to dig through as you may think. It took me a while, I’ll give you some credit there. But I did it. I made some calls, called in a few favors. You’d be surprised what money can do in this day and age.”
That must mean corruption at some level. Somebody gave him information they weren’t supposed to divulge. He paid someone off. All he would’ve needed was a radius of my location to search through. Maybe I could’ve been more careful, even with a fake identity. But none of that matters now. The only thing that does matter is that I have to survive this somehow. I have to figure out a way to free myself and save my girls.
