Rules of Survival(57)

Deeds chuckled. “I’ve never had any complaints before. Maybe she’d like to find out firsthand?”

The weight of the situation settled over me and panic all but took over. Heart pounding and cold sweat breaking out across my brow—it was terror like I’d never known. I’d lived in fear of the unknown all my life, but this was entirely different. “Please just leave me alone. You’ll get your cash. Just get away.”

He wobbled forward and awkwardly positioned himself over me, sniffing my hair.

Every muscle in my body locked up and Shaun went nuts. He thrashed and yanked on the chains, screaming at the top of his lungs. Deeds reacted immediately, moving away from me and grabbing him by the throat. “Do I need to remind you that Jaffe doesn’t care if she’s dead or alive? If you continue to make noise, I’ll kill her and just be done with it.”

Shaun froze, eyes darting from Deeds’s face to mine. I begged silently for him to just let it go. I wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, but I knew when I was beat. Right now, Deeds had the upper hand. Pushing it would end badly.

“What? No smart-ass remark? No more threats?” He turned to me with a chuckle. “What about you? Anything to add?”

I held my breath and waited for Shaun to strike back—but he didn’t. He just sat there glaring at the older man. Relief washed through the room, and I let myself relax a little.

“If you sass me one last time, girl, you’re going to regret it. Are we clear? Maybe I won’t take it out on you.” He released Shaun’s neck and flexed his fingers. “Maybe I’ll take it out on him.”

I could only nod—which was probably for the best. Words—any words—might be taken the wrong way. A challenge. An invitation. Anything I said could cause one of us serious pain.

Deeds held my gaze for a moment—I was proud of myself for not squirming—before heading away to the bathroom. A few moments later, the shower hissed to life.

I counted to ten, then listened. The water was still running and there was no sign of him. I inclined my head toward the bag. “As soon as you’re sure he’s asleep, grab the cell.”

Shaun nodded. “Seems pretty drunk so he should pass right out. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll pass out in the shower. Crack his head open.”

“Oh…” I forced a smile. “That would be lucky!”

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I opened my mouth and stretched my jaw. The skin stung where Deeds’s fingers had clutched, but I was otherwise intact. “I’m good. Promise. I don’t think he’ll hurt us—at least not until he gets his hands on that cash.”

“I don’t really think he’s the pillar of restraint. If he gets mad enough—”

I sucked in a deep breath and grabbed the bed frame to steady myself. A tremor raced through me as I thought about what just happened. What could have happened. Shaun was right. The hunter was crazy. We couldn’t afford any more slipups. “Then, like you said earlier, we don’t get him mad.”

“What are we whispering about, kiddies?” Deeds said, ambling from the bathroom. He was wearing only a towel, and it showed off way too much of his orangey, over-tanned skin. I tried not to cringe.

He plucked the key from the dresser and stooped down low to unlock the second set of cuffs from around Shaun’s left wrist, as well as the one on my ankle. Patting the bed, he said to me, “It might get cold tonight. Why don’t you sleep up here with me, missy? We can keep each other warm…”

Shaun tensed, but I took his hand in mine and squeezed as hard as I could. “I think I’ll pass. Thanks.” Cool. Had to just play it cool—which wasn’t as easy as I’d made it sound to Shaun. Just being in the same room as Grayson Deeds, with his lecherous stares and unstable personality, terrified me.

He yanked the end of the cuffs he’d taken off Shaun’s left hand and locked it to one of the middle rungs on the headboard. This was becoming an embarrassing trend. Headboards and handcuffs. The universe was trying to tell me something.

“’Fraid I’m gonna have to insist. I have needs—”

“I. Will. Fucking. Kill. You,” Shaun said quietly.

Deeds let out a short laugh. “And maybe she needs a little time with a real man,” he finished with a wink. He was doing it on purpose. Trying to bait Shaun into doing something stupid.

But Shaun was smarter than that. I hoped. I needed him to be smarter than that…

Shaun didn’t respond. Instead, he just stared. Silent and dangerous.

There was no part of me that wanted to be in the same room as Grayson Deeds—much less lie on a bed next to him—but I could see this for what it was. An opportunity. “It’s okay, Shaun.”

“No, Kayla. It’s really not.”

“It is,” I insisted, willing him to understand. Being that close to Deeds would make it easier for Shaun to get the cell and call Patrick—Deeds was sneaky, but with me lying right next to him, there was little chance he could feign sleep without me knowing.

I slid onto the bed beside him, biting down hard on my tongue. I could do this without puking. I could. I’d done worse. Mom and I once had to hide out in a semi-full dumpster for over an hour to avoid our landlord. Someone had just emptied the contents of their fridge—most of which smelled like year-old chicken and fish. Getting this close to a scumbag like Deeds was nothing. “If you touch me, I’ll kill you myself,” I said as calmly as possible.