CHAPTER 3

Melina snaps out of her reverie when the lights come on. She covers her eyes to fight the brightness. While adjusting to the light, she feels someone grab her left arm. She turns toward them, wondering who’s holding her and why.

"Get up," the strange, scary-looking, and bulky man says. He pulls her up and begins to drag her out of the room.

"Where am I? Where are you taking me? Where’s Thomas?"

The man ignores all her questions and drags her into an open area. The place is poorly lit, so Melina can't see much other than the chair the man throws her on. She quickly stands up to run but gets pushed back. He glares at her, warning her to stay sitting. Fearing his gaze, she melts into the chair. She looks around, trying to figure out where he’s brought her or what he plans to do to her.

"Ouch." Melina looks down at her right hand. Her eyes widen as she realizes he’s using cable ties to strap her hands to the chair. He does the same to her legs.

"Why are you tying me down?" she asks, trying to pull her hands out of the cable ties. She stops when her skin begins to tear.  

The man takes a step away from her as the room brightens up. Her eyes become saucers when she sees what’s in front of her. Different types of knives lay on the table a few feet away from her. Knives she’s never seen before. Pliers, a sponge, and scissors are also on the table with what looks like a car battery.

Melina looks between the man and the table. The thought of them using any of those things on her has her close to peeing in her pants. To distract herself from the horrible thoughts swimming in her head, she looks around the room again. They were in a windowless place, likely underground. A staircase leads up, and a few chairs are scattered throughout the room. Her brows pull together as she realizes they’re arranged to face her. Breath fans her neck making her jump in her seat.

"Hello Melina, it's been a while since we last saw each other," Kimberly whispers. She drags her long nails on Melina's shoulder as she walks to stand in front of her. Her red-painted lips are pulled into a smirk as her blue eyes shine with happiness.

"Hello Kimberly, it's nice to see you again." Melian says with a force smile.

Kimberly is Thomas's family friend. Melina met her a few times while she dated Thomas. She’s like a sister to him and hates Melina. Kimberly picks up a dagger and moves closer to Melina. As she brings the knife to her neck, Melina screams and thrashes in the chair.

"Shut the fuck up," Kimberly growls at her. Melina immediately closes her mouth and stares at the knife as it rests an inch away from her neck. Her heart races and tears fill her eyes as she watches Kimberly and the knife.

"Where is the fucking money?"

"I…I don't know, I don't have it," Melina rasps out as she trembles on the chair. Kimberly moves the blade away from her neck and steps behind her. Melina’s shoulders sag as she releases a breath of relief. She was surprised Kimberly believed her, but she was happy she did.

Kimberly grabs a handful of hair and pulls her head backward. "Do I look like I’m fucking playing here?" she yells.

Melina screams as she feels a burn in the back of her neck.

"Please stop! You're hurting me!" Twisting, she tries to pull her hand out from the cable ties to get Kimberly's hold off. More cuts form on her wrist as she tries to force it free. Realizing she’s only hurting herself more, she shakes her head, but instead, this causes Kimberly to pull harder.

"Where’s the money?"

"I already told you. James has it."

"If James has it, where is James?"

"I don't know; I haven't talked to him in months."

"I find that hard to believe since he’s your husband. We’ll do things a little differently now." She releases Melina's head, throwing it forward. Tears roll down Melina's face as she looks at her bloody hand and longs to massage her aching neck. "I’m going to ask you again, and if you don't tell me the truth, you’ll face the consequences t."

"I swear to you, I’m not lying." Melina lifts her head and stares at Kimberley.

"We’ll see about that once I’m done with you." Kimberly moves to the table and puts on gloves. She picks up a cable with pliers attached to its ends. She wiggles it in Melian's face, grinning. The cable is connected to a car battery. Kimberly attaches a sponge to the pliers and dips the sponge into a bucket of water under the table. Kimberly moves toward Melina with the wet sponge in her hands. She grins wide as Melina pushes back into the chair, trying to get away from her.

"I swear I don't know. Please don't!"

"Really? You don't know?" Kimberly asks, holding the sponge a breath away from Melina's stomach. Melina's heart hammers as sweat drips down her forehead. Her hair sticks to her face, and her sight blurs with fresh tears.

"No, I don't." Melina’s eyes plead with her.

Her pupils widen as a piercing scream rips out of her. Her ribs fry, and her body thrashes hard against the chair as electricity flows through her body. Kimberly continues to press the wet sponge to her stomach, screaming along with her like a maniac. Melina's hands and feet pull at the cable ties cutting her skin as her body shakes. Blood begins dropping from the cuts from the cable ties. Kimberly runs her fingers through the blood that decorates the chair and licks it.

"I can taste your fear," she whispers, taking the sponge away. Melina's head drops forward as her body goes limp in the chair. She breathes hard, trying to slow her racing heart down. Kimberly grabs her hair and lifts her head. "You either tell me now, or I make you feel worse."

"I swear to you, I don't know," her words come out in a pained whisper.

"Alright, suit yourself." She’s about to shock me again when a voice stops her.

"That's enough for today." Melina recognizes the voice immediately.

Melina looks toward Thomas. She can't see clearly with tears blurring her eyes. She blinks to clear them and finally catches him. His arms are folded across his broad chest, and his sleeves are rolled up, showing off his tattoos. His nose flares up, and frown lines appear on his forehead as she stares at him. He must be furious that she isn't saying where James or the money is. If she knew where they were, she’d give them to him in a heartbeat.

Her sight of Thomas is blocked by the man from earlier cutting the cable ties. She lets out a relieved cry as she looks at her bloody wrists. She moves her finger to touch it but stops when the action causes a sharp jolt of pain. Looking down at her legs, she cries out when she sees blood there too. She bites her lips to swallow the pain, but it barely helps. The man pulls her out of the chair and drags her back to the room she’d been held in earlier.

A cry leaves her lips as he throws her on the cold floor. Melina tries to stand up but immediately regrets it. More blood seeps from her wrists and it stings. She gives up and lies down on her back. She wants to wrap her arms around herself, but her wrists hurt too much. Silent tears flow down her face as she stares at the ceiling, unable to believe what she just experienced. She knew he’d come for her when she discovered his real identity, but she had hoped he’d never find her