Page 61 of Gunner

Chapter 26

Lacey woke with a jolt,her heart hammering in her chest as the memory of what happened slammed into her. The smell of stale smoke was the first thing she noticed as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. It took a minute before she realised where she was, the pain in her cheekbone throbbing and clouding out everything else.

Rolling over, she welcomed the softness of the mattress beneath her, but the pull on her shoulders made her realise that someone had bound her wrists with a soft tie at her ankles and wrists. Lacey tried to sit up, her stomach muscles tensing, and she thanked yoga for her core strength. Swinging her legs off the bed, she realised she was in her own bedroom but not why, and that was the most important question, or perhaps she did know and fear was the thing keeping her from facing it.

A figure moved from the corner, and she bit back the scream in her throat as she saw Carmine move into the light coming through the balcony window cast from the moon. He’d dressed as he always did in a three-piece dark suit, the red tie he usually wore was missing and she knew then what the softness on her skin was. Lacey would have preferred the rough burn of rope or plastic to this pseudo kindness. Black hair swept back from his high forehead, it was difficult to see the handsome man she’d met who had charmed her and made her laugh. Maybe it was the truth of his character that made him seem so hideous to her now.

“I see you’re awake, beautiful.”

Her pulse pounded in her neck so hard it was almost painful, and she was convinced she was about to have a heart attack from pure fear. It took everything in her not to shy away from him as he moved closer, yet her body still shook. When he stroked her cheek, the impulse to pull away was too strong, and she yanked from his grasp.

Carmine’s face twisted in a cruel mask and he grabbed her chin in a painful grip she knew would leave bruises. “Don’t you pull away from me! You belong to me, Lacey, and I’ll touch you whenever I wish.”

Anger surged, and despite the tears on her cheeks, she locked eyes with the man who’d tortured her and hurt her in ways no woman should ever be hurt. A man who was cruel and nothing like the man who now loved her, a man who cherished her and valued her as a person.

“I belong to no man.”

Carmine pushed her away and laughed in her face. “Is that what you think, Lacey? That you aren’t property?”

He began to pace as she watched him like a hawk, making herself ready should an opportunity arise to save herself. Gunner and the team were away and, please God, she prayed Roz was safe, but there was no guarantee anyone would find her in time before whatever Carmine had planned for her happened.

“I’m not property. I’m a person.”

“No, you’re a trophy, a beautiful trophy, and you’re mine.”

“What do you want from me, Carmine?”

“Everything, Lacey. I want you to commit, to love me and give me heirs to show my father and brother that I can make you submit to me.”

Lacey angled herself until she was facing her tormentor as she wiggled her feet. She needed out of these binds if she had any hope of saving herself, but they were too tight for her to get out of.

“I need to use the bathroom.”

“Can’t it wait?”

Lacey ignored the petulant response and answered him, playing to his weakness. Carmine found menstrual blood disgusting, and she used that against him. “Not unless you wish to clean up the blood that is about to leak from my body.”

His lip curled, and she saw the open disgust on his face. He moved close and pulled her roughly to her feet, untying the silk from her ankles and wrists. It dawned on her that her feet were now bare, and her last shred of hope that the others would find her faded. Her boot with the tracker inside was nowhere in sight, and she was on her own. Carmine stood by the bathroom door that led to a darkened space behind her, the electric still off from the fire.

He grabbed her by her hair and angled her face, so his lips were next to her ear. “Don’t do anything stupid, little girl.” He shoved her away and stepped back as if her blood could somehow taint him. Lacey wasn’t on her period, that problem only lasting a few days, but it was her memory that had served her this time and the way he treated her every month as if she was a leper that needed to be confined to a room with no visitors.

Lacey closed the door and looked around for a way out of her nightmare and found none. Her breathing coming too fast made her dizzy as panic began to overwhelm her. Dropping her head, she braced against the sink and tried to control her breathing. When that was under control and the near-meltdown had passed, she decided to use the bathroom while she had the chance, not knowing when the next opportunity would present itself. Spotting a bottle of talc on the side, a hint of an idea came to her, and she hoped like hell it worked.

Eyeing the talc and trying to visualise the bedroom, she took a breath and readied herself. If this didn’t work, she was dead because she wouldn’t go with him willingly or allow him to touch her ever again. She’d worked too hard to be free, to see herself as worthy of the love of a man like Gunner.

Her heart broke as she thought of him. He’d blame himself if anything happened to her, his sense of guilt too strong. It was one more reason for her to get herself out of this mess. She wouldn’t allow him to go through life as he had; she wanted to be by his side, showing him they both deserved happiness.

Carmine hammered on the door, making her jump. “Hurry it up.”

“Just coming.” Lacey quickly washed her hands and took a breath as she grabbed the talc and removed the lid. She had one chance at this, and it had to work.

With the lid off and the powder behind her back, she opened the door using the darkness to disguise her intent. Carmine turned to grab her, and she brought her hand forward quickly throwing the fine powder at his face. He screamed, and she ran for the bedside, snatching the lamp and swinging with everything she had. Carmine screamed and went to his knees, but he wasn’t out, and she knew she had to run.

Lacey ran for the stairs, her feet slipping on the wood flooring in her haste. Getting to the bottom, she grabbed the handle and realised the front door was locked. She could hear Carmine moving and knew she had seconds to make a choice. Running for the back door and away from the boarded-up windows at the front, she sighed in relief when she saw the keys in the back patio door. Turning the key and flicking the switch she could have cried when the door slid open, the cold night air bathing her skin. Feet on the stairs had her bolting out into the night and towards the woods and the river.

Twigs cut into her bare feet, painfully tearing at the wounds already there. Branches lashed at her arms and face, but she still ran, knowing to stop would mean the end for her. Carmine was behind her, closer now as she heard the running water of the river up ahead. Making a split-second decision, Lacey headed for the water. She couldn’t outrun him, but she could definitely outswim him.

Standing on the bank watching the river rush past with only the moon to see, she panicked over what to do but the sound of Carmine moving closer reached her and she knew she was out of time and slipped into the frigid water.

Already up to her waist at the bank, she could feel the current pulling at her legs as she sank lower and began to swim for the other side, knowing Carmine wouldn’t follow.

“Lacey, you won’t escape me.”

Lacey turned and saw him on the bank of the river watching her and then felt horror as he followed her into the water. The water was deep as she reached the middle, and she’d misjudged the impact of the earlier rainfall and how bloated the river was with rushing water.

Her arms began to tire, and her legs ached as she kept swimming, turning just once to see Carmine was in trouble. His body flailing as he tried to fight against the current, but he seemed to be caught on something, and his head kept going under.

“Lacey, help… help me.”

He went under again, but Lacey couldn’t help him; she was fighting for her own life. Keeping her own feet up so as not to get caught on anything in the river, she turned to swim at a forty-five-degree angle to the current and hoped it helped push her to shore as her body began to tire.

Focusing on that, she didn’t see the log coming at her quickly until it hit her, and she went under, the black swirling murk of the water sucking the air from her as it rushed at her so fast she couldn’t fight it. Her body was sucked under as her need for oxygen began to overwhelm her.

Black spots tinged her vision, and her lungs burned with pressure to take a breath that would hold nothing but the water that would flood her lungs. As the desperate instinct to breathe won out, she opened her mouth, and the world went black.