Snare (Delirious book 1) (19 page)

“Fuck no,” I say, and then I grab her hand and pry it loose from the tree.

“Hey!” she squeals. “Get your hands off me!” I drag her away from the tree. She struggles, but I persist. My hand is wrapped firmly around her wrist as I haul her through the forest, careful not to hit any branches or rocks so I don’t lose her. She can’t escape. Not this time.

“Let go of me!”

“Not happening,” I say.

“You have
no
right. I’m going to call the cops.” She jerks so hard she almost twists her own arm, so I turn around and stop, looking her right in the face. I’m seething. What in the hell is she doing here? Didn’t I tell her to run—multiple times? She
is
fucking crazy.

“Oh, really? How?” I rummage in her pockets, while she tries to swat me away. “You’ve got nothing but empty threats.”

“Well, I’m not going to let you get away with what you’re doing.”

“What am I doing, then? Dragging you out of this forest? Yes, I am, because if you didn’t notice, I was fucking shooting with a shotgun, and you were inches away from being the target. Are you insane?”

“Yes, I saw you, and no, I’m not. I know you wouldn’t shoot me.”

“Don’t think you know me,” I scoff. I try to pull her with me, but she digs her feet into the dirt.

“No, I’m not going with you. Why should I?”

“Because you don’t know how dangerous it can be here,” I hiss. I’m pissed off but also very anxious to leave this place now that she’s here. Christ, she should’ve never come here. “How in the hell did you follow me here?” I spit.

She snorts. “You’re not the only one who knows how to tail people.”

I grab her arm tight and pull her closer. “You should
not
have come here.”

“I go wherever I want. I’m free, remember?” She arches her brow, mocking me. “And I’m free to haunt you for causing me pain.”

Dropping the shotgun beside me, I laugh, but then move in closer, challenging her back. “What pain? I gave you what you wanted; me.”

“That tape. Give it to me along with all the copies. ” She’s snappy. Unlike how she was before. This is new.

“And you thought you could get it? That I’d hand it over, just like that?” I smile and shake my head. “Do you really think I’m that easy?”

“No, but I know you want me gone, so I’ll do the opposite. You see, if you want something, you’ll only get it if you do something in return. Now give me the tape.” She holds up her hand.

Oh, what a delightful little thing, making demands like she’s all big and strong. This little fairy has some spunk in her after all.

I lean in, smiling, and place a finger under her chin, tipping it. I open my mouth and wait. “No.”

The fury that boils inside her almost comes out through her eyes. “Asshole!” And then she slaps me. In the face. For a moment, there’s silence as I place my hand over my cheek and rub. She gapes at me, breathing heavily as she stands still.

“That’s it,” I murmur, and then I grab her by the waist and lift her over my shoulder.

She squeals. “What are you doing?”

I ignore her, grab my shotgun, and push through the forest. I need to get out of here, right now. I don’t give a shit about her pounding on my back, squealing like she’s on fire. I will not risk my life for her.

“Sebastian?”

Shit. When I hear his voice, I stop in my tracks. Sweat drops trickle down my face from the heavy lifting, but I only notice it now.

“Who was that?” Miss Carrigan asks.

I take in a huge gulp of air. “No one.” And then I start walking again, faster and faster, until my legs are shaking and my lungs can barely keep up with my pace. I need to get moving; I have to get to my car as quickly as possible. I run toward the hilltop, and then down again, until I reach the road at the bottom. With her over my shoulder, I rush to my car and take out my keys, unlocking it before I get there. As I put her down on the ground, she tries to give me the knee, but I block it, luckily.

“Jerk!” she yells. “I am not your personal play thing.”

“Oh really? But isn’t that exactly what you asked? Being needed by me? Doing everything for me?”

For a moment, she’s flabbergasted. I know it might seem hard to understand, but I would not have any possible way of explaining it to her without sounding like a total lunatic myself. Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. Who cares, I’m just trying to survive.

“You know that’s not what I meant at all,” she says after a while. “Why did you bring me to your car? I’m perfectly fine with having this conversation in the forest, as long as you give me my goddamn tape.”

“It’s not
your
tape.”

“You know damn well what I mean.”

“That tape is none of your concern,” I say, as I open the trunk of my car.

“I’m not leaving until you give it to me. I’ll be happy to be out of your life forever once you’ve handed me that tape, but you won’t get rid of me anytime sooner. Not anymore.”

“Anymore? Did I ever get rid of you in the first place?” I scoff, grabbing a bunch of ropes.

With a confused look on her face, she watches me. “That is not the point.”

“It is exactly the point.” I smile as I come closer and throw the rope around her, pulling her close to me as if we were to dance a tango. “If you would not have come to me in the first place, none of this would have happened. You chose a different path.” Her mesmerizing eyes focus solely on me, so busy hating me, that it takes me a split second to wrap the rope around her arms and tie it around her back.

“What are you doing?” she says, shaking her head. “First you want me gone; now you’re trapping me again? What am I not getting here?”

“I want you out of here, Miss Carrigan. Now.” I jerk on the rope until it’s tight enough, causing her to squirm. Then I tie it around her hands and make sure she can’t move her upper limbs anymore. I enjoy seeing her strapped up like this; it’s one of my favorite things to do.

“I’m not going to run, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m going to bother you until you give me that tape, and I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Good. I don’t want you to run. Not anymore.”

When I say this, there’s a hint of regret in her eyes. Too bad, she shouldn’t have followed me here. She has no clue how dangerous it is here—how much I could get in trouble for this.

I exhale loudly and tie the knots even tighter. “As a matter of fact, I am taking you someplace else. Since you seem so inclined on following me fucking everywhere, I figured I might as well be the one to decide where exactly that is. You don’t want to leave me alone? Fine. I’ll stuff you somewhere where you can’t get out anymore. Ever.”

And with those words, I stuff a cloth in her mouth and bind a part of it behind her head. She screeches, fighting me with her feet, but I hold her back by clutching the rope. The rope has always been my anchor, my way of controlling things. I love tying knots and creating intricate designs with it. Such a pity this was done only to get her out of here quickly. I would’ve loved to make more of an artwork out of it.

I open the passenger side door and push her forward. “Get in.” And then I close the door and crawl behind the wheel. The humming of the engine doesn’t block out her screams as I drive  away from her only chance at freedom and into the devil’s mouth itself.

Accompanying song:
“Nice to Meet Me” by Zack Hemsey (Instrumental)

Providence, Rhode Island – April 30
th
, 2013, noon

There have only been two moments in my life where I have been more terrified. One was when my best friend Ashley and I came back from vacation and discovered a horrific scene, one which I can barely remember. The other was when my father died. My real father.

I can still remember the glow seeping from his face like a wilting flower while he withered into a lifeless being. A man who was once so full of life, who desperately tried to see his children grow strong yet didn’t even outlive them. In the end, there was nothing left of the man I loved, my father, the one who was always supposed to be here for me. Terror filled with sorrow the moment I saw the light in his eyes extinguish. I cried louder than a slaughtered beast that day, holding his hand on the bed as he lay there like a puppet. It all went so quickly, I still couldn’t grasp that he was truly gone.

Even now, when I’m tied up with ropes, gagged, and being shipped off in a car to God knows where, I think of my father. In my head, any fear is linked to him. From the moment he died, everything in my life went spiraling out of control. Fear … any fear … makes me weak. It makes me want to do anything to either get out of the situation or kill myself. Desperation makes one do scary things.

One sole thought suppresses all reason in my mind; I have to get out.
Get out. Get out … it’s not safe.

In an attempt to break free, I shove my feet against the window and start pounding. It’s no use; they’re too thick for me to crack. Rage and fear take over my mind as I scream and growl, trying to rip away the ropes that bind my arms together.

“Stay still,” Sebastian admonishes. “You don’t want to hurt yourself.”

I spit out the cloth in my mouth. “You are the one hurting me!”

“No, I am not. I am simply taking you somewhere else.”

Ignoring him, I keep stomping the window. I won’t give up fighting for my freedom. God, I never knew it felt so good to be free until it was taken away from me again. “What kind of person takes someone against their will? I thought you were a gentleman, not some dirtbag.”

“Oh, I am being very gentle with you now, trust me,” he says, chuckling.

“You’re robbing me of my freedom, chaining me up like some caveman. You’re the one who’s dangerous.”

“You’re right, I am dangerous. I thought I told you that, multiple times, but you kept persisting, kept longing for me. Well, now you have me. I’m taking you somewhere where you won’t be a danger to yourself or me. I tied you up for your own safety.”

I burst out into laughter so vicious I almost scare myself. “You’re out of your mind.”

“Believe it or not, this car is a much safer place to be right now than those woods.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you scared of the deer or something? No wonder you were so keen on shooting them.”

Suddenly, he lunges back and grabs my legs, forcing them away from the window. “You have no clue what’s out there, Miss Carrigan. No fucking clue. You could
die
out there.”

“From your shotgun, you mean? Well, I doubt that. You don’t want blood on your hands.”

He shakes his head and muffles a laugh. “I’ve had plenty of blood on my hands. I’m used to it.”

I gulp. Jesus, it sounds like he means it. I really did miscalculate, thinking he’d be the same man as in the hospital. I should’ve known better than to keep going after him. What was I thinking? All this time, I was chasing a fantasy that never existed. It was all inside my head. I’d smack myself if I wasn’t tied up.

“Believe me when I say you don’t want to mess with me.
Or
what’s out there.”