Page 186 of Split You Open

“I trust these men to find, save, and love your daughter. I suggest you stop fighting the fucking inevitable and get with the program,” I tell him.

Anchor’s upper lip pulls up into a sneer but then he lets it drop with a sigh.

“Fine. Let’s come up with a plan for you four to save my daughter.”

Thirty-Nine

Blair

When I come to, the world is blurry.

Even when I try to blink the haze from my vision away, it lessens, but not enough to pick out any real details. I do, however, know that I’m in a vehicle of some sort. The new car smell is a dead giveaway, as is the lack of space as I try to stretch—which is a horrible idea.

Every little shift is agonizing as my injuries begin to reveal themselves as I come to. While the pounding in my head is the first thing that I notice, it’s not nearly the worst of the pain. That comes from the bullet wound in my leg. I can’t tell if the bullet tore its way through my leg or not, just that it hurts.

Or maybe it’s the bullet wound in my chest that hurts more.

Those are the major injuries, but the others make themselves known too. Like the burning along my hip and my… Crap, I hope most of my ear is still there…

Laying on my wounded hip isn’t helping the pain situation. I try to sit up to get my bearings and rub my eyes to see if that will help get rid of the blurriness, but when I move, I realize my wrists are bound behind me and my ankles are tied too.

“Shit…” I slur out.

“Hey, the girl’s awake. Go get Dixie.”

Oh, no! I have company. I didn’t even hear anyone. A hard shiver rushes through me as trepidation cools the blood in my veins.

There’s a shuffling of footsteps as someone walks away. A door opens and shuts. I know I’m not alone now so rather than lay there in terror, I figure it’s time to wake the hell up and figure out my next move.

Because if I don’t do something fast, I know what comes next won’t be good.

“Never get captured. It’s the worst thing that could possibly happen to you,” Dad used to tell me. “Death is better than being captured. Got that, Blair Bear?”

Dad’s words swim around in my foggy head as I twist my wrists to see if there’s any give in the rope wrapped around them.

There isn’t.

In fact, they’re tied so tight that my hands lack any feeling. That can’t be good. How long have I been out? I try to move my ankles but I’m in the same situation. My toes are throbbing from the lack of blood circulation.

Another tremor rushes through me as the reality of my situation weighs heavily on me. Fear threatens to consume me as my heart races.

Just as I start to breathe heavily and a hard trembling shakes my frame, I hear Dad’s voice in the back of my head.

“A clear head means a chance to see the sunrise.”

The mantra I’ve clung to my whole life comes rushing back, pushing away panic.

Now is not the time to freak out.

I need to focus on getting the fuck out of here.

With a groan, I blink rapidly again. This time, most of my vision clears. Looking around, I find that I am indeed inside a car. The trunk of a large SUV to be exact. To my surprise, the back door is lifted, open so that I can see the SUV is parked inside a garage and situated so that I’m staring out into the woods. Judging by the position of the sun it’s about midday. Unease pools in my gut as I realize I’ve been out for a long time. Last I checked, it was nearly midnight when I went to free Dad’s hostages.

Shaking away those thoughts, I search for signs of the second man. I don’t see the individual but I can hear them as they strike a match. I smell their cigarette a moment later.

It smells nothing like Rhett’s and causes my stomach to roll.

Trying again, I tug at the binds wrapped around my wrists. Nope, still no give. I’m absolutely trapped. What am I going to do? How the hell am I supposed to get out of this? Lifting my head, I look over my shoulder to see if Dad is with me.