“Do you recognise anything here?” he asks, still tugging.
“No. Nothing. I don’t even know why we’re here or what for. They didn’t say anything, only that I could scream if I wanted to now.” He grumbles to himself about something and moves another way. “I think they’ve gone. Or aren’t around, anyway. What are you going to do?”
“Get out of these fucking ties is a first.”
“Good plan. And then what?”
“One thing at a time. FUCK!”
“Swearing doesn’t work. Believe me, I’ve tried. In my head anyway. They gagged me all the way here. Could have been kinky if it was any other situation.”
He half chuckles as he looks at me and sighs. The look of him smiling a little brings a weak one to my own face, but it’s quickly covered by another concerned glower of annoyance. “You alright?” he asks.
“Think so. Knee hurts.”
“Face?”
“Not too bad.”
“Okay.” He looks around the building and then around the floor near him. Assuming he’s searching for something to help us out, I start scanning the floor, too. There’s nothing close by but some more old pieces of metal, all of which are out of reach. For me at least.
“It’s going to be alright, Ivy,” he says, some semblance of surety in his tone.
I nod and look back at him, believing that as much as I can if he’s with me. It’s going to be alright. Blake says so, so it must be true. Right?
Chapter Fifteen
BLAKE
My head throbs like a motherfucker, but I don’t have time to be incapacitated. Shit, I’ve been out a long time. There’s a bright light from the full moon illuminating us, and I scan the area. Red-hot rage and anger course through me at the sight of Ivy bleeding. Nobody puts hands on her except for me. Those bastards are going to pay. But all in good time.
The darkness makes it hard to tell, but I can’t see anything close to hand. “What else can you tell me about the guys who took us?” I ask.
“What, like their looks or build?”
“Were they armed?” I prompt, needing to know the level of danger and risk we’re in.
“Not sure. I wasn’t looking to get into any more trouble by checking that one out.”
The snark is evident in her tone, and for now, it’s a good sign. She’s not going into shock, and although I know she can handle herself in a situation, I'm starting to wonder if trouble just follows her around. “Fair point.”
I pull on the ties around my wrists. All it does is eat into my flesh, but there’s a metal rattle of sorts. I’m attached to an old pipe, and I track it along the edge of the building. There's nothing but broken glass, brambles, and weeds at the other end. Nothing within reach to break the plastic, and being bound in this position doesn’t offer the leverage I need.
I have to get loose.
“What’s going on in your head, Blake?” Ivy asks, a touch of impatience in her voice.
“Just assessing the situation,” I deadpan, making sure to look her in the eye and try a slight smile. The moonlight casts her face in light, and I can see where she was hit across the jaw. Bastards.
We both need to stay calm and focused if we’re getting out of here. Any form of flipping out or impatience won't get us anywhere.
The gravelly rhythm of footsteps has us both looking towards the door. I immediately shuffle back and let my body go lax, pretending to still be unconscious. I’m no good to Ivy if they take me out, and so far, they’ve been happy to leave me knocked out. Although, I have no idea how many times they’ve checked that in the last several hours. There’s no time to communicate to Ivy, so I hope she catches on.
The footsteps slow, as if he’s paused at the door before starting up again. My heartbeat thuds in my chest as the crunch of debris is right next to me. He kicks my leg, and I let my body slop in response to show no tension or retaliation that would give me away.
“Hey, why don't you come play with me instead?" Ivy says, out of fucking nowhere.
I curse in my head as he diverts his attention towards her. I’m hoping this is all an intimidation act, and I chance cracking my eyelids to get a look at our captor, but as he faces Ivy, I clock the unmistakable bulge of a gun at the back of his waistband. Not helpful.
