Chapter Thirty-Three
Ariella
With my back against the metal fence, I glanced up at the barbed wire.
There was no way to scale the fence without getting hurt. I had no shoes, was wearing a scantily clad nightie, and no underwear.
It was like asking to mutilate myself.
A shot pierced through the air.
Sergio.
Maybe climbing the fence wasn’t the worst idea ever.
A grumble roared in the distance.
Hell, was that a bear? No, bears didn’t come out at night, right?
I had no idea if they were nocturnal. Only that I’d never seen one, minus the zoo, and I never wanted to be up close with one either.
I skirted the fence, kept my fingers against the metal in hopes that I’d find a break, a tear, some way to run and escape.
I tried to make myself as quiet as possible. The shotgun that had pierced through the air hadn’t hit me.
Had Sergio intended it as a warning shot?
I had expected him to yell, to scream, to indicate that he wanted me to return home with him or else he’d kill me.
The silence was the only answer that followed.
I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat. Was I afraid?
Yes, I was terrified.
But I couldn’t stand still.
I refused to wait to be shot or beaten, raped, or tortured by a monster.
Keeping the metal fence at my back was risky. It indicated the property line. At least I assumed that’s why it existed, but it also trapped me if he drew nearer.
“Tsk. Tsk.” Sergio’s voice rang out in the distance.
My stomach clenched, and I froze.
Maybe he could hear my footsteps. If I didn’t move, would he be unable to find me? I remained perfectly still with the calm of night.
I held my breath and listened to the sound of the wind that whipped the leaves and lapped at the trees, causing them to sway.
I, too, felt my body sway. Not from the wind, but from the exhaustion. I wanted to curl up, lay down, and sleep for a week.
My adrenaline had other ideas.
Trembling hands didn’t cease to slow, but at least he couldn’t hear my hands. My entire body was racked with tremors. Soon he’d hear the rattle of the fence.
I pushed myself away from the metal.
I needed to seek shelter.