Chapter 3

Stephanie

I have never done drugs. Even on nights out with my friends, my hangovers could only be so intense because I was too poor to actually drink the good stuff. Hunger, on the other hand, is a pain that I am used to.

Nothing, however, could prepare me for the pain in my head as my eyes opened, trying to adjust to the pitch-black darkness. My muscles were tense. I feared rigor mortis was setting in. I could hardly move. My eyes felt heavy, like all they wanted to do was close again.

I let out a small groan, trying to move, but my body wouldn't respond.

"Where am I?" For a fleeting second, I could convince myself that I was in Jake's penthouse suite, the sounds of the London traffic faint beneath the many floors below where people were milling about. How his warm arms would hold me tight and tell me to go back to sleep or he would make me.

A small smile tugged at my lips, but I wasn't in my bed, nor was Jake holding me. The harsh, cold metal pressed into my skin and bones, completely unforgiving.

Was it because of the drugs my body felt out of sorts, or was this really where I was? My eyes tried to adjust as my stiff fingers tried to feel my surroundings.

The air was cool and thick, making me believe if I could see where I was, dust particles would swirl in the air around me.

Slowly my arm moved enough that I could feel the metal wall on one side. Then I managed to do the same on the other. It didn't take much. I couldn't stretch even one arm out. The walls were so narrow. It was like being entombed.

My stomach dropped. Is this what Carter meant as a punishment for me? He literally locked me up in a... I couldn't breathe. No wonder the air was so thick. There wasn't any room for more, and me hyperventilating was just sucking up the air even faster.

Get it together before you pass out and die for real.

No matter how many times I ordered myself to breathe normally, it wasn't something I managed. The air seemed to grow thin. No matter how much I inhaled, it was still never enough.

A bright white light blasted from behind me along with a whirl of a fan. It seared my eyes so dots appeared. The cold air rushed over my skin, making my tense muscles even tighter as I tried to shiver.

I moved my arms to wrap them around myself as I pressed my body in on itself, or as much as I could manage in the tiny metal box I was in. Fear took over as I made out the four metal walls I was encased in, like the storage units for a morgue. My dress was gone. Everything was gone. I was just left here naked in this cold metal box.

The blinding light did nothing to hide anything from me. I saw it all in plain detail. It was horrifying. The fan whipped my hair around so fast I could almost believe it was blowing my body, hurting, towards what I assumed was the door out of here.

My eyes had finally started to adjust to the harsh light until everything came to a crashing halt and I was plunged into pure darkness. I couldn't see a thing. The sound of the fan slowing down was the only thing other than my racing heart I could hear.

Where was I?

What did I even know about Carter? What he was capable of?

This had been far more than just kidnapping—not that I was a kid, but I didn't know what the term was for an adult. The last blast of cold air hit before the fan went still. My body convulsed in shivers. I had thought I was cold before, but nothing could prepare me for this.

I tried pinching myself, hoping this was all a terrible dream and I would wake up with Jake beside me. We would laugh. He would make me breakfast, and we would kiss before he would carry me to the bed to make love to me once more.

I pinched my arm so hard I screamed from the pain. It didn't help that my fingers were stiff and numb, that my arm felt more like a marble statue—it was hard to pinch. I did it a few more times until I gave up, reality crashing into me like a tornado.

I was trapped.

Carter had taken me.

Jake... does he even know I'm missing?

Does he know where I am?

Would he even find me in time?

Deep down, I knew what that meant. A sickening feeling coiled in my gut that didn't give me a lot of hope.

From what I knew of Carter, he was ruthless, single-minded, and hell-bent on getting back at Jake for something that, in my mind, could never justify this.

This wasn't just about Jake. I couldn't solely blame him for me being taken.

I knew this was about me.

From the second Carter saw me, I knew what he wanted. It's a look all girls fear when a man stares at you like you're his. A toy. A vessel. His property to treat as he pleases, no matter what she tells him. "No" is not a word that Carter takes kindly.

Carter saw me as something he wanted, made all the more appealing knowing that Jake wanted me too.

Right now, a small part of me wished I had never met Jake. That we hadn't fallen in love, and despite my mounting debts, I would have found a way to fix things.

A single tear crept down my cheek. I could feel it freezing over as it touched my skin. I wanted to cry more, get it out of my system that way I might have a fighting chance of surviving this.

A shudder rippled over my body.

How long had I been in here for?

Was it a day?

An hour?

How long does a person have to be missing before a trail goes cold?

Before the police give up and they are never seen again?

Was I about to become another statistic?

Stop it. Thinking this isn't helpful.

Maybe I just needed to sleep. It would give me energy, clear my head, and make it so that somehow—there would be a possibility that I would be able to outmaneuver Carter. He wanted me, and maybe that was something I could use to my advantage.

I closed my eyes tight, holding onto myself in an attempt to keep warm and attempt some sleep.

Seconds later, the light blared and the fan whirled. With it, any trace of sleep was gone.

It carried on and on like that until sleep became an impossibility. My eyes felt itchy, heavy, and I knew they would be red.

My eyes could never adjust to the extreme light changes. There was nowhere to hide and nowhere to go.

I managed to flip onto my belly. A huge fan the size of the wall blasted me with cold air.

To my horror, I saw a tiny red flashing light just behind one of its wings.

Carter was filming me.

He was watching.

As soon as he caught me noticing the camera, it went pitch black again.

My thoughts were jumbled together like a back-to-front jigsaw. I—I—

The light came on again, blasting me with its sheer volume. All I could see was white. It was so blinding as it reflected off the metal walls.

Darkness.

Where... what?

Why am I naked?

The fan whirled harsher now, the cold air feeling like little needles piercing my skin. It was agonizing, but I didn't have the energy to shiver, to move, to even feel it. Everything was numb.

Darkness came again, and I tried to count to track how long before the light came back.

Honestly, I didn't know what was worse.

The blinding light started up again. I could feel it cracking beneath the surface, like it was trying to break my skull apart. I tried to scream for help, but no sound came. If it did, I couldn't hear it over the fan.

There was a tiny red dot.

A camera.

Is someone watching me?

Where am I?

Darkness once more.

The temperature seemed to drop too, hurtling further and further. I could no longer feel my toes, my feet. My hands and arms felt disconnected from me. I was certain I would be able to see my breath mingle in the air if there was a shred of light.

My body wanted sleep, and each time my eyes closed, the light came back on. The sound of the fan jarred my system. My teeth itched. I couldn't stand it much longer.

Another minute and I would beg anyone—give them anything if only I could get out of here.

"Please," I told the air. My vision was blurry when the light came back on. Everything was fuzzy, and pinpricks hit my skin.

The fan stopped slowing, and for the first time I thought I heard another voice, a tap of a shoe walking, that someone might be close. Darkness came again.

Who would put me in here?

Did I even want them to open the door and let me out?