Chapter Nine
The dark was closing in around her. Suffocating her.
Something scratched at the walls of the dark hut. Rats. At least she told herself it was rats. God knows, it could be anything. She wouldn’t know.
A sob worked its way out of her. She should have been all cried out by now. She couldn’t afford to cry anymore, she was already dehydrated.
Sometimes she thought it would be easier to just give up and let herself fade away. What if the worst was yet to come? What if the beating she’d received was just the start of it? What if they planned on hurting her again? Or…God…raping her?
A tear made its way down her face. She closed her eyes and pulled in on herself as best she could, hugging herself. It had to be night because it was freezing cold. It was the only way she had of knowing. Every time they opened the door to drop in food and water, the sun shone through, but that was the only light she ever saw. The rest of the time she lived in darkness.
She bit down on her lip to hold in her screams of fear. She bit so hard the cracks in her lips split. She licked at the blood, not wanting to wipe it away with her dirty hand and risk infection.
She laughed. Jesus, why did she care? Maybe an infection would be a good thing. Kill her off quicker.
No. No, she had to live.
She had to get out of here.
Heart pounding, breath sawing in and out of her lungs, Jenna sat up, feeling disorientated. Sweat coated her body, making her feel sticky and gross. She looked around, getting her bearings. Not the hut in Sudan. Her bedroom in Haven. She gulped the water down. She always woke up so thirsty from these dreams. She didn’t know if it was a trick of her brain, her memory making her think she was dehydrated, or whether she did something in her sleep that made her mouth so dry.
She used to think it was the screaming. For those first couple of weeks, she’d woken up night after night screaming and crying. Her mother couldn’t take it. She’d end up in hysterics as well, and her poor dad would have two crazy women to calm down.
Her dad.
She set the glass back down on the bedside table and pulled her legs up against her chest, wrapping her arms around them, hugging herself. She guessed all this talk of her kidnapping today had brought on the nightmare. At least she hadn’t woken anyone else. How humiliating would that have been? No doubt her screams would have brought Travis and Curt rushing into her bedroom. Then she’d be left explaining what the hell was going on, that she was still so messed up she had nightmares, panic attacks, and she couldn’t sleep without the light on.
She was better. A lot better. For a while, she’d wondered if she’d ever be able to live on her own again, but here she was not only living alone but in a town where she’d known no one when she moved here. She’d made friends, she was taking self-defense lessons, and she was getting better.
But sometimes something would remind her of that time, would bring it crashing back, and she’d suffer flashbacks and nightmares.
She took a deep, shuddering breath. She felt chilled now, the sweat drying on her skin. She laid down and pulled the blankets tighter around her, even though she knew it would be nearly impossible for her to get back to sleep.
At least she hadn’t dreamed about the attack on the village. That’s what most of her nightmares were about. She’d hear Alana beg over and over for her life and she’d wake up in a panic, barely able to breathe. It would take her hours to recover from that.
She yawned. Maybe she would go back to sleep tonight. She was safe. She was in her little house. Curt was here.
Christ. She couldn’t believe he was here. She knew he thought she needed help and protection, but she could hire someone. But could she trust them as much as she did Curt?
It was painful to see him. She was still embarrassed. Her anger had long since faded. All she had now was sorrow that she’d driven away someone she cared about so much by her foolish behavior. Of course, he didn’t need to be such a jerk about it all. She understood the word no.
She sighed and rolled over. Worst of all was that as soon as she’d seen him, her body had sat up and taken notice in a way it hadn’t done in a long time. She never reacted to other men the way she did to Curt. With lust, desire, and love.
Yep, it really sucked to be in love with someone who didn’t feel the same. It sucked big time.
Chapter Ten
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Jenna gasped as she crept past the couch, where she thought Curt was sleeping. She’d waited until it reached five a.m., before finally getting up and dressed in her exercise gear. If she couldn’t sleep, then she might as well be doing something productive. Normally, her poison of choice when stressed was to cook, but since she didn’t want to wake her houseguests, she’d decided to go for a run. Well, it would be more of a walk given how stiff she felt this morning. But moving around should take care of her tight muscles.
She stared at Curt’s firm chest as he stood. Muscles rippled beneath his tight, tanned skin. Damn he was perfect. Wide-shouldered, abs that wouldn’t quit, and a fine trail of hair that led down to . . . Oh, fuck.
“I’m . . . uh . . .”
“Jenna, are you okay? Has something happened?”
“I’m fine.” She pulled herself together. “I’m going for a run.”