Did she think he was dead?
Did she know that he would move heaven and earth to find her?
Hold on, sweetheart,he begged, throwing the words out into the Universe and praying that somehow they found their way to Grace.
The thought of her being trapped, bound, imprisoned all over again made bile burn his throat as it threatened to come exploding out.
How was he going to cope if they didn't find Grace?
Or if they found her too late?
“We got him,” Elijah announced gleefully, a flicker of hope in his blue eyes.
Matthew felt that same hope spring to life inside him. “Jason was a volunteer there?”
“For the last decade,” Elijah confirmed.
“We need to get to his mother’s house,” he said already shoving back from the table, wincing as the stitches in his side pulled.
“You need to stay here, you're in no condition to go anywhere unless it’s right back to the hospital,” Jeremiah said, stopping him with a hand to the shoulder.
He brushed the hand aside and met the other man’s stare, then met the gaze of every other person in the room. “No one is stopping me from going after Grace. I was the one with her when he got her, I'm the one who failed her, I'm the one who promised her that I’d keep her safe, and I'm the one who’s falling in love with her. Nothing, not a single one of you, is going to stop me from going after my girl and killing the man who hurt her.”
* * * * *
5:11 P.M.
Emmanuel, or Jason as he had just confessed his real name to her, was pacing around the room in a near frenetic manner.
The pacing was making her head spin. It still pounded with a headache, no doubt a mixture of hitting it when the car crashed earlier and the drugs that Jason had given her. Grace’s whole body ached like she was one giant bruise, and the wounds on her back stung with a ferocity she had allowed herself to forget. What she wanted was to soak in a nice hot bath, allowing the water to soothe her aching muscles. Then she wanted to curl up in Matthew’s arms and go to sleep feeling safe and protected.
But there was no Matthew here to soothe her.
For all she knew, she would never feel the warmth of his touch, the gentle caress of his fingers, or the softness of his lips against hers.
Anger threatened to take over again, but she shoved it away. Jason was unbalanced, he truly believed he was helping her by making her strong with all his tests and games. Getting angry with him wouldn’t work, but she prayed she could talk him into letting her go.
“Jason, thank you for everything that you’ve done for me, because of you, Ihavegrown strong, and Ihavesurvived my assault, but now it’s time for me to help you,” she said patiently.
“Help me?” he asked, pausing on her other side so she had to turn her head to see him. Grace hated being this vulnerable to him, lying on her stomach, her arms and legs bound, naked and exposed, injured and hurting, but she had to make the best of what she had.
“I think you deserve it, don’t you?”
“I deserve it?” His brow crinkled and she saw a glimpse of the terrified boy he must have been, losing his sister, and then having his mother take out her grief in alcohol fueled violence while his father gave into depression. It didn't make it okay what he had done to her or all those other women, but it did help her to understand.
“Of course you do. Why don’t you untie me, and I promise you that I’ll get you the help you need. It’s time, Jason.”
That seemed to snap him into some sort of trance, and he nodded slowly. “It’s time,” he intoned the blankness in his voice scaring her.
“Yes, time to go.”
“You're right.” He snapped into action as though propelled by a force she didn't understand.
Her heart raced when she saw him move away and then return with a knife. Was this it? Was he going to kill her? “Jason?”
“Don’t worry, my sweet angel, you were right. It’s time.”
An almost maniacal smile lit his lips, and she knew whatever he had planned next wasn’t good. He cut the rope at her wrists first, where the rope was tied around the bedpost, turning her awkwardly over as much as he could with her ankles still bound, then tied the two ends of the rope together, binding her wrists once more.