Challenging Ryker (Kringle Security #2)

Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Amelia was prepared to fight as soon as Gavin popped the trunk open. Unfortunately, the man was smarter than she gave him credit for.

Some kind of vapor was pumped into the trunk that left her in a coughing fit with tears racing down her face. By the time the trunk was popped open, she was too desperate for fresh air to fight.

"Do you like my new trick? Comes in handy to keep women under control."

What he said filtered into her brain but she was too focused on trying to breathe that she didn't comprehend what he was trying to tell her.

"Up you go. I've got plans for you and we don't have time to waste."

She was tossed over his shoulder hard enough that any air she managed to get back into her lungs was once again forced out. The lack of oxygen was making her head spin and her muscles weak. All she wanted to do was lie down long enough to get herself oriented again.

She got her wish when Gavin unceremoniously dropped her onto a bed. Unfortunately, it also meant that she was right back where she started when Ryker initially found her weeks ago. The familiar sound of a chain being shackled to her ankle filled the room. Relief flooded her when she realized it wasn't the foot her anklet was on.

Unlike last time, Gavin allowed her to keep her clothes. She sent up a silent prayer for small favors. With any luck, Ryker and his team would find her before Gavin was able to cause too much damage.

"You've been a naughty pet." Gavin patted her head. His normally short blond hair now hung loosely in his eyes. His dark brown eyes looked closer to black than brown and his previously handsome features just appeared evil. Amelia couldn’t understand how she missed all the signs when they first met but now there was no mistaking there was nothing good about the man. "I told you to stay in that bed until I came back with our new toys but you let that bad man steal you from me."

How had she never noticed the way he spoke to her before? It was as if he was stuck in his young adolescent stage of life. It creeped her out and made her wonder if that was something new or something he hid from her.

"He didn't give me a choice," she croaked.

Amelia understood this game well. She needed to play along so that he thought she was on his side and willing to do what he wanted. It was the only way to stay semi-safe until help arrived. But just the thought of what he planned to do to her made her sick to her stomach.

Or maybe it was whatever chemicals he pumped into the trunk that was making her queasy. Either way, she felt like she was seconds away from puking.

She did her best to hold the feeling inside. It wouldn't do her any good to puke on him. Gavin had never beaten her but there was no telling what things had changed since the last time he had her.

"Don't lie to me," he whined. "I saw you with him. I watched the two of you together. You hung on his every word and gave yourself freely to him. You were my pet and you let him take you away from me."

This was nothing like the Gavin she first met. That man had been poised and educated. This wasn't even the same man who’d chained her to her bed just weeks ago. She had seen some new characteristics pop up then, but nothing like the disheveled person she was seeing right now. Amelia didn't even want to call him a man anymore because he sounded more like a child.

Was this the real Gavin or an act that got the judge to declare him unfit for trial?

"I'm sorry, Gavin. I never meant to hurt you." She didn't know what else to say. If he had been watching the two of them, then he already knew how she acted around Ryker. There was no way to deny it without further upsetting Gavin. It was best just to ask for forgiveness.

"You're going to be sorry alright. I need to show you that you're mine and the only way to do that is to make sure we have a piece of each other with us at all times."

Warning bells started going off in her mind. He had said something similar to her when she caught him looking at the women with the bite marks. If he was referencing what she thought he was, then there was no way she was going to be able to just sit back and wait to be rescued.

Amelia was going to have to fight back with everything she had in her.

"What are you talking about?"

She needed to keep him talking, keep him distracted. She hadn't been in the car for more than ten minutes. With any luck, Monica called Ryker as soon as she didn't show up for the meeting and he was already looking for her. She felt the delicate chain slide along the bone of her ankle. The reason Ryker would know exactly where to find her.

Never had she been so grateful that she allowed his team to convince her the tracker was a good idea. She had a feeling it was about to be her saving grace.

Amelia was so focused on her thoughts that she wasn't watching Gavin's hands. Otherwise, she would have seen the knife and been able to prepare for what he did next.

One quick slice and he filleted a chunk of his skin right from his forearm.

A bloodcurdling scream escaped her mouth before she could think better of it. And it didn't stop until her voice was hoarse from all the yelling. Even then she wanted to continue screaming.

Amelia pushed herself as far back on the bed as the chain would allow her. She wanted to curl up into herself but the need to get as far away from him won out and she was forced to keep one leg straight as it was chained to the floor. Mentally she made herself as small as possible. It did no good to put distance between them. Her first instinct was to cover her eyes but then she thought better of it. She couldn’t prepare herself for what was to come if she was blind.

"I better prep this for you and wrap my arm up. I don't want to bleed all over the place before I've had the chance to feed you."

The man was insane.

She had seen the reports, and had listened when Ryker's team spoke about Gavin but none of it prepared her to see it in person. He hadn't so much as flinched when he cut himself. There was no show of pain. Not even a wicked smile. Gavin had cut into his body without hesitation.

Amelia watched as he stood on the other side of the dingy room and applied pressure to the cut area of the skin. He didn't even wince. She wanted desperately to look away but was too scared that she was next.

Gavin had proven he didn't bother to prep. There would be no advanced warning when he did the same to her, so it was best she kept alert at all times.

"Do you prefer it boiled or roasted?"

Was he fucking serious right now?

Gavin looked at her expectantly and she realized he was serious. Holy hell, she couldn't believe this was her life right now. How had she missed how delusional he was?

"Neither," she hissed.

She was done playing nice. She was done trying to keep him calm. This was survival of the fittest and she would win. There had been a lot of things she put up with until she could escape, but eating human flesh wasn't about to be one of them.

"It doesn't taste as good raw, but if that's what you prefer." He shrugged. Then he turned back to her with the skin hanging between a pair of tongs and the decision was made. She needed a few more minutes to devise a plan.

"Okay. Boiled," she said without much thought as to which practice would take longer. She didn't really care as long as he stayed over there, far away from her, while she had time to find a way out.

"Good choice." Gavin turned back to the stove. "That's my preferred way to eat it as well. See? I knew we were meant to be."

Amelia threw up a little in her mouth at his declaration. She didn't want to be anything like him. And deep down she knew she wasn't. Nothing about this situation was normal.

She sat up on the bed and looked around for anything she could use as either a weapon or to unlock the shackle attached to her ankle. It was no surprise Gavin hadn't left anything within her reach. She traced the chain to where it was attached to a ring on the floor. It didn't look that strong, but there was no way she could test the theory without giving Gavin the heads-up to her plans.

That left fighting with her body. She was no martial arts expert, but she could scratch and kick like the best of them. And she would be doing all that and more when he came over to try and feed her. It would be a cold day in hell before she let that piece of flesh anywhere near her lips.

"Does that mean I'm not the first woman you've done this with?"

She already knew the answer based on the report she read but she wanted to keep him talking as long as possible. Anything to keep him from feeding her, and then slicing her up.

"No," Gavin answered with a sigh. "My sister was my first, but I realized that family didn't taste that good. Not nearly as good as my first girlfriend. She had gone to her parents though, and that's how I ended up in prison the first time."

Amelia knew from the report Caden gathered that prison wasn't where he started. He had been in and out of juvenile detention as a kid but those records were sealed, as were his sister’s, so she didn't know the extent of what he did to her. But she could guess based on what he just said.

Gavin whistled as he cooked. For a second he was the man she had first met. If she ignored the fact that what he was cooking was actual human flesh.

Then the smell hit her. It was putrid and sweet. She could all but taste it on her tongue and it burned her nostrils. She knew without a doubt that she would never forget the smell as long as she lived. She had to fight the urge not to throw up all over the bed.

"Dinner is served, my pet."

This was her chance. She needed to go down swinging. Amelia waited until he walked closer with the plate, and then she seized her opportunity.

She swung both of her arms with all her might and upended the plate. She scrambled to get on her knees as the piece of wrinkly flesh flew through the air and the plate clattered to the floor.

"Nooooooo!" Gavin screamed. "You bitch ! That was sacred!" Red-hot fury was directed her way. Never had she seen him so mad. "Why are all you bitches so ungrateful ?"

Amelia didn't get the chance to respond or even understand the full meaning of what he said before he pounced on her. He wrapped his hands around her throat and squeezed.

Once again she was devoid of oxygen, but this time, she wasn't sure she could get out of the situation.

But she refused to give up. Her only weapons were her hands and she wheeled them like they were a sledgehammer. Over and over again she slapped at his head. She even attempted to pull at his hair. When that didn’t work, she changed up her tactic. She tried to buck him off. As a last resort she attempted to dig her nails into the wound on his arm, but nothing worked. He was immune to the pain. And she realized for the first time she might not make it out of this alive. All her hard work, and she would die by his hands either way.

It sucked to think this was how she would go out. She had so many things she wanted to do in life now that she had someone to do them with, but at least she got to know what real love was. She got to experience her own book boyfriend, even if only for a short time.

She closed her eyes and pictured Ryker's face. If this was going to be how she died, then she wanted to see the man she loved, not the monster who was taking her away from him.

Her lips tipped up in a small smile as memory after memory flashed through her mind. Their time together was short, but packed full of good things. That was how she wanted to remember her life.

Amelia had accepted her fate when a loud bang jarred her out of a particularly great memory. She tried to open her eyes to see what was happening, but her vision was tinted with black and suddenly the sounds in the room were muffled.

She no longer felt the pressure on her neck but she couldn't tell if that was because Gavin had removed her hands or if this was the end.

She thought she heard Ryker's voice screaming for her to stay with him just before the darkness took over.