I rolled my neck around in a circle to soothe the pain and it was then that I noticed I could do it easily without a pillow stopping me. Almost instantly I knew that I wasn’t lying down on my bed. In fact, I wasn’t lying down at all. I was in an upright sitting position on a hard chair if the ache in my legs and behind were anything to go by.
There was an unholy creak in my neck from when my head hung downwards in my sleep. I didn’t understand it. Never in my life had I fallen asleep sitting upright, and I didn’t have any reminiscence of sitting on a chair and dozing off in the first place.
What the hell did I do last night?
I was momentarily annoyed with myself for falling asleep the way I did, but when I tried to arch my back and lift my arms into a stretch, I found that I couldn’t. Panic set in. I tried to move my arms once more and was shocked to find that they weren’t at my sides, instead they were behind my back, and something was wrapped tightly around my wrists, binding them together.
I struggled against the bond that held my hands in place, and this caused me to move my legs too. I whimpered when I couldn’t move them either. I felt the pressure of something around each ankle as I tried to tug them free. Whatever it was, it was hard, and secured my limbs to the legs of the chair I was sitting upon.
What is happening? Where am I?
I didn’t have answers to the questions that surged through my mind, and the not knowing was terrifying me. It didn’t stop me from trying to get loose, though. I searched my mind for answers, just as I searched for a way to wriggle free from the bindings that took away my free will.
“You’re going to chafe your skin if you keep struggling like that.”
I yelped with fright and swung my head from side to side in a desperate attempt to remove the cover from my eyes, but it was no use. Whatever the material was, it was tied securely around my head and completely obscured my vision.
My already pounding heart kicked into overdrive, and the fear that flowed through me was so strong I felt like I was going to vomit. I struggled to breathe steadily, and to remain calm, but it was immensely difficult not to let my fear take over.
Any plan formed to keep myself tranquil went straight out the window when I closed my eyes and thought hard about how I came to be tied to a chair, with a stranger who obviously had me held captive. For a few seconds, my mind was blank, then like the snap of my fingers, images came rushing back one by one.
Ryder was cheating on me.
His brothers’ knew what he was up to and never told me.
A man attacked me in my kitchen and somehow knocked me out.
The strange man who was still in my presence while I was blindfolded, tied to a chair and completely at his mercy… remaining calm was no longer on my fucking agenda.
“Who’s there?” I asked, my breathing laboured.
This has to be a nightmare.
“A friend of the family,” the man replied on a guffaw.
His accent was semi-similar to Ryder’s and his brothers’, and that scared me greatly. The only Americans I knew were either bright light, or pure evil. There was no in-between.
I felt like I was going to wet myself as I asked, “What do you want?”
The man hummed. “I have a debt to fulfil.”
What kind of debt?
“This is a mistake,” I blurted. “This has to be some sort of mistake. My family has no debts, I swear. You’ve got the wrong person!”
My captor sighed. “I’ll explain all that in good time, but first, I need you to confirm something for me. You’re Branna Murphy, right?”
A fresh surge of panic set in. This wasn’t some kind of mistake, this man knew my name, which meant he purposely was in the right house and came after me for a reason.
“Ye-Yes.” I stuttered.
“Then there is no mistake, you are the right person,” the deep voice responded. “I’ve been waiting a few months to get you on your own”
“Why?” I swallowed down bile. “Who are you? What do you want from me?”
“Which question do you want me to answer first?” he asked, sounding bored.
A sheen of dread settled over me.
“The second,” I whispered.
“Well, Branna,” he began, “my name is Philip, but I believe you know me as Big Phil. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
My world stop spinning, and it hit me that every moment throughout my life where I had ever felt scared or alone didn’t come close to the emotions I felt during that moment. I was absolutely terrified, and almost instantly began whimpering and trying my hardest to get free because this man… he tried to kill my best friend and her son, and once upon a time he tried to kill Kane too… and now… now he was going to kill me.
“Oh, my God.” I cried. “Please, don’t kill me.”
I heard movement, and every muscle in my body tensed as I felt the monster approach.
“Why would I kill you?” Big Phil asked me and I could hear the smile in his tone.
The sick bastard liked that I was petrified.
“Why else would you abduct me?” I asked, now hiccupping from crying so hard.
“To draw out Kane,” he replied. “Why else?”
I swallowed down my fear, which was no small feat, and asked, “Wh-why would I draw out Kane? I’m n-not with him… I’m not even with his br-brother anymore. Ryder and I br-broke up.”
“How devastating for you,” Big Phil said, sounding like he couldn’t care less.