Slow Agony (Assassins, #2)(65)

The water was freezing.

*

They hosed Griffin down too. Now we were tied up in the corner of the basement, both wrapped in scratchy green blankets.

I was shivering in my blanket, staring out at the basement. “I know this basement.”

Griffin hadn’t said anything in a long time. He was shaking too. His eyes looked hollow.

“Did you hear me?” I said to him. I was afraid of what was happening to him. I needed him to keep it together. I needed him.

He stared forward, giving no indication he knew I was talking.

“Griffin!”

Nothing.

“This is Naomi’s basement,” I said. “I’ve been down here before. I remember because we talked about why there would be a hook like that down here. She thought it was for hanging plants, but I thought that was silly because there couldn’t be any plants growing down here. There’s no light.”

There were two tiny windows up near the ceiling. They were both foggy and dirty.

“And we were in the van for a long time, Griffin. Long enough to drive all the way back to Thomas. So, I think that’s where we are. I think he brought us back to Naomi’s house. Why would he do that?”

“He wants to break us,” said Griffin.

Oh God. He talked. “Baby, are you okay?”

He shut his eyes.

“Griffin, please talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, doll.”

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous,” I said, “to be in Naomi’s house? I mean, the police must have found her body by now. I had called 911, and I’m sure they’d be watching her house.”

“If Op Wraith is involved, then the police didn’t find any body. It wouldn’t be dangerous. No, he’s hoping that you’ll recognize her house, and that it will upset you. He’ll do anything to upset you. Because he knows that if you’re upset, I’ll be upset.”

I grimaced at the disgustingness of that. “He’s awful.”

Griffin nodded.

I was cold. I peered into the basement. It was dark and damp down here. It was depressing. I took stock of my situation. In the past month, I’d been chased across the country. I’d seen my best friend killed in front of my face. I’d been toyed with by Wolfman. I’d watched him carve a girl up. I’d killed him. I’d been stuck in a basement in Texas for days on end. I’d been captured by a crazy man, miscarried my baby, had my clothes cut off me, been hosed down like an animal.

It was amazing I hadn’t lost my mind.

“We’re going to get out of here,” I said. “And we’re going to stop him. We’re going to kill him.”

Griffin didn’t say anything.

“Griffin?”

“What?”

“Agree with me.”

He turned to look at me. His expression was haggard. “We’ll get out of here.” But his voice was bland, and I knew he didn’t believe it.

I tested the ropes that bound my hands. They were strong, and they dug into my wrist. Still, maybe if I could find something that was sharp enough, I could cut through them. I glanced around the basement again, searching. There had to be something. Maybe amongst those boxes over there.

Of course, I couldn’t walk because my ankles were tied up.

I looked at Griffin. His eyes were closed. Why wasn’t he doing anything? He was the trained assassin here. He had to have some idea of how to get out of a situation like this. But Marcel had hurt him before and the specter of that memory had frozen him. I had to help him.

But how could I do that? I didn’t know what to do against this madman that held us captive. I didn’t have the knowledge or the skills. I felt terrified and vulnerable. Here I was in this cold, dank basement, shivering and naked under the thin blanket wrapped around my body. I was tired and used up, just as much as Griffin. We’d been running for so long. If he was giving up, then how could I do anything?

Griffin’s fears were amplified because of what Marcel had done to him in the past. I needed to be just a tiny bit stronger because I hadn’t been abused by this man before. I needed to dig down...

Stay sharp. We’re going to need it.

I took a deep breath. Okay, I was the sharp one. What could we do to get out of these ropes?

Suddenly, it seemed obvious.

“Griffin, we need to get back to back.”

“It’s not going to be warmer that way, doll. I know you’re cold. I can see you shivering. But we’re just going to have to do the best we can to handle it.”

“No,” I said. “Not for warmth. To get free. If we can sit back to back, we might be able to untie each other’s ropes.”

His eyes widened. “Good thinking. Let’s try it.”

It took a lot of maneuvering to get in the right positions, but eventually, I was able to feel around and find Griffin’s ropes. The knots were very tight, but my fingers were small and deft. I was pretty sure I could get the knot undone. It was just going to take time. I’d have to be patient.

I set to work at once, keeping up a constant steady stream of chatter while I did so. I told Griffin all about my classes from the spring semester and about people we both knew in Thomas. I needed to fill in the emptiness with something. I needed to keep us feeling like we had normal lives. I needed to do it, because it made me feel like there was hope.