Tease Me (Private Listing #4)

A car starts outside as I free Hope’s ankle. This is our chance. Maybe the stalker left, maybe Anna got away. Either way, we have an opening.

“Can you stand?”

She nods and we both look up as the car heads off. With bated breath, we wait for a few minutes, listening to find out if he’s still here. When nothing happens, I help her to her feet, and we walk to the bathroom first. It’s pretty sparse compared to the one upstairs.

There’s a cup and I fill it with water for her.

“Has he fed you at all?”

She nods while she swallows down more water. “Once a day.”

Fuck, that’s not enough. Even though she’s small, that’s not enough food. She lowers herself onto the closed toilet with shaky legs and leans forward, obviously exhausted just from walking in here. She’s not in good shape. If we have to fight, it will just be me fighting for us.

“Are you ready to climb the stairs?” Because I’m not leaving her down here alone. Fuck no. I hope Anna got a call out to the police before the guy arrived. If she’s really on our side.

Nodding, Hope sets the cup on the counter. She gives me a steady look. Holding her hand, I let her use me to help her walk. We go slowly. I doubt the door is unlocked anyway and I don’t know how much time we’ll have before he returns.

We get to the stairs and need to pause to let Hope rest for a moment.

I glance up at the door and the light that edges in around it. “Why don’t you stay here and I’ll check to see if it’s locked.”

I don’t want her to waste her energy. She nods and sits on the steps.

Creeping up the stairs, I get to the top and wait a moment to listen. No movement still, but what if there really is more than one of him? We heard the car drive away, but what if that was Anna, escaping?

The other option is that sound of something being dragged was Anna. A shiver races down my spine. It feels futile. Like he knows my every move before I do it and I still know nothing about him.

Even as hopeless as I feel, a little light shines deep inside me.

Blake will find me. He always does. He has to.

Closing my eyes and hoping, I twist the knob. It doesn’t move. I shine my phone light on it and it’s smooth on this side. Studying the door, I know it swings out into the kitchen so I check the hinges. They’re on my side.

I could potentially pull the pins out with the right tools, or the right makeshift tools. I glance at my phone screen. The flashlight is draining the power, but the phone has no service here. It does however have wifi, which is how the stalker is sending me messages.

During the car ride, I checked and the phone has limited capabilities. Everything is password protected except the messaging. I can’t even check to see if he blocked numbers.

I press my head to the door. Even if I could get a message out, the stalker would know, and I don’t even know where I am or how to tell them how to find me.

Returning to Hope, I sit down next to her on the steps. “I have wifi, but there’s a lock on the administrative tasks like adding additional apps. I don’t know the guys’ numbers, but even if I did, all I know is this is Anna’s family vacation home.”

“Can I try?” Hope holds out her hand. “I know Jason’s number by heart.”

“This is the stalker’s phone. He can probably see anything we send.”

“Good.” Her blue eyes harden. Her strength is still there even after days of captivity. The stalker never should have dragged her into this.

I place the phone in her hand. She sends her message and hands it back to me. The basement is almost as stark as the upstairs. Definitely no weapons, but maybe something got left in the corners.

I can’t just sit here and let this happen to me. We can prepare.

“I need to look for something to knock those hinge pins out. Like a nail and a rock would work. Do you want to help or do you need to rest?” I run my eyes over Hope. Besides a few bruises and the bandage, she seems fine, but two days without much food or water has to be making her weak.

“I’m all in on finding a way out of here. I’m not staring at the ceiling for another two days.”

When I offer her my hand, she stands with my help. We go around the perimeter of the basement together, because we only have the one flashlight. The few times it caught on something reflective, I got excited, but it turned out to be Christmas tinsel.

Time seems to pass differently down here. We don’t know if Jason received our text. If the cops know we’re missing. If Robert was able to get to Blake and give him this number. No texts come through as we finish searching the bathroom.