Then he said the words she’d been longing to hear. “You're forgiven. Your punishment is over.”
Avery slumped in relief and couldn’t help but let out a whimper as her injured hand bumped into the floor.
The man knelt in front of her. He reached out and picked up her hand, examining her thumb. “I think you learned your lesson. Would you like me to fix this for you?”
“Yes,” she said immediately. Right about now the possibility of being out of pain was the most wonderful thing she could think of.
“Yes, what?” he prompted.
“Yes, please.” For a deranged killer, he certainly had a thing for manners.
“Yes, please, who?”
Master? Sir? Boss? What did he want her to call him? He had never specified that he expected her to address him as anything specific. Avery supposed he really didn't care so long as the name denoted the fact that he was in charge here. She settled on one she could stomach. “Yes, please, sir.”
He nodded approvingly, then took her elbow and helped her stand, guiding her to sit at the table. “Let’s get some painkillers in you and then I’ll set your hand. After that, you can have some breakfast; you’re going to need your strength for later today. I think it might have been a mistake to wait for so long in between sessions. I think the key to making this work is to keep moving. One break every forty-eight hours. Don’t worry, though—you keep doing as you’re told, and I’ll make sure we manage your pain.”
With that, he retrieved a medical kit that was kept in a locked cupboard then joined her at the table. Her whole body was trembling at the knowledge that soon her pain would float away into nothingness. She could barely process what he’d just told her. All she could focus on were the painkillers that would soon be working their way through her system and dulling her pain.
“Avery.”
His tone had gone very serious, so she tore her eyes away from the bottle of pills and looked at him.
“Don’t challenge me again. If you do, I promise you that you will not like the consequences.”
With that threat hanging in the air, he finally gave her the pills.
She prayed she had made the right choice and that this was what was going to keep her alive until help arrived or she found a way to escape.
*****
1:31 P.M.
“How are you doing?”
“Fine,” Chloe replied shortly.
“Are you sure?”
“Tom,” she exploded. “Stop asking me that. You're driving me crazy.”
“Just concerned about you,” her partner replied calmly, unfazed by her outburst.
Chloe sighed. She knew he was. She’d been edgy and tense all morning, definitely not giving off the impression that she was handling things at all well. Maybe she should have taken the day off like the doctor at the emergency room last night had recommended. Although she knew if she’d done that, all she would have done was spent the day moping around and attempting to let go of her irritation toward Fin.
At least this time she had gotten the message.
She hoped.
Surely, she wouldn’t be stupid enough to hold out hope of reconciliation after the way he had treated her this morning.
Maybe she had been a little slow to catch on at first, but now she got it. There was no hope for them. Fin might still love her, but that didn't mean he was interested in rekindling anything.
It was time to move on.
It was time to say goodbye to the past and finally look to the future.
Maybe after the hoopla of the holiday season quieted down, she’d even start looking for someone new to share her life with. She wanted to be happy. If Fin wanted to live in anger holding on to the mistakes she had made and what she had cost him, then that was his choice. But she wanted to be happy.