I can’t see him beaten any more than he already is.
Lion tips a little of the water onto the rag and wipes some of the blood from Rook’s face, then turns his attention to me.
“Let’s get you that bathroom break.”
“Where are you taking her?” Rook snaps.
“Bathroom, dickhead. Didn’t I just say that?”
Rook looks over at me, the expression in his eyes desperate.
“It’ll be fine, Rook. I’m just going to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” I hope I’m correct.
Lion undoes the plastic zip ties holding my hands to the pipe and pulls me to my feet. When I’m standing, he binds my wrist with a new tie, yanking it tight so it bites into my skin.
“Wait,” he says, “Before I take you, let’s get you cleaned up a little.”
He uses more of the water on a second rag and then wipes my face. He moves to my neck, and lower still, to my shoulders.
I sense where this is heading. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
Rook sees what’s going on and yanks at his bonds. “Get your hands off her.”
He chuckles. “Chill. I’m doing you a favor.”
To my relief, he discards the rag and takes a can out of the bag. I see it’s a cheap body spray, which he proceeds to douse us both with, as if he’s trying to fumigate us.
I cough and splutter as the stuff gets in my lungs.
Ugh, that’s awful.
Why is he doing this? God, I hope they aren’t planning something crazy, like selling us to human traffickers. But then I remind myself that Ledger wants me for his wife, so that’s not going to happen.
Lion tosses the can. “Come on, then.”
Ginger pauses in his mopping and calls, “Don’t forget the blindfold.”
A new piece of cloth is wrapped around my eyes and knotted at the back of my head. It’s not perfect, so I can just see the floor in the gaps near my nose. Lion grabs me again and half shoves, half drags me toward the door. My stomach churns with nerves. Will he bring me back? What if this is the last time I see Rook?
I want to reach out to him, to offer him some comfort. But all I hear is him calling my name as I’m pushed out of the door. For the first time in what feels like forever, I inhale fresh air. I lift my chin and try to see my surroundings through the gap, but it’s too small, and all I can make out is the gravel and a couple of shadowy shapes. Is there a vehicle? I guess there must be. They brought both me and Rook here somehow, and it wasn’t slung across the back of motorcycles. Besides, I don’t even know if Ledger rides one. He’d most likely be in his truck—the same truck he almost raped and murdered me in.
We only go about fifty paces when Lion stops me. “Here.”
We’re in front of a wooden door; I can see that much. The smell coming from inside tells me this is some kind of outhouse.
“Can you take off the blindfold now so I can use the bathroom?”
“You’ll manage,” he says and reaches past me to openthe door. “Leave the blindfold on.” He gives me another shove, and I find myself inside the small, smelly room. From the tiny amount of vision I have, it seems the room is dark, and I stumble a little as I move carefully forward.
I hate not being able to see what I’m doing, but at least my hands are tied at my front so I’m able to use them to pull down my shorts. I consider moving the blindfold, but I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble for myself, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it back in place properly. In the small gap under the blindfold, I’m able to find the bowl, as the white porcelain stands out in the dim light. Sadly, I can’t make out how clean it is—and my guess from the smell is it’s not—so, I manage to position myself to hover above it. I let go of my extremely full bladder with a sigh of relief. I’m not sure what these assholes have planned for us, but at least now I’m a little more comfortable.
A banging comes against the door, and I jump.
“Get a move on. We haven’t got all day.”
I finish up, washing my hands with difficulty in the small sink, fumbling around and trying to see well enough to turn the taps on and off. To my relief, I find a sliver of soap and use that before I step out of the bathroom. I’m hauled back inside the building. As soon as we’re in the room, he pulls off my blindfold. What did he not want me to see?
I’m relieved to find Rook is still in the same place. A few more men have arrived now. Two of them are the ones who accompanied Ledger when he brought Rook in, and two others are new. With Lion and Ginger, that makes six in total, meaning we are vastly outnumbered. They’ve brought a couple of bottles of cheap whiskey with them, and they’re getting loud and raucous. Ledgerisn’t with them, and I wonder if he knows what his men are up to while he’s gone.