A cry of horror—a sound I’d never heard from my father before—burst from his mouth, and he bent over the freezer and scooped my brother out. His little body hung limp and pale in his arms. He placed Arri on the floor and yelled to his men for help, then started what I now know to be CPR, but at the time had seemed horribly violent and had frightened me even more.
Arri must have climbed inside to hide, and the lid had swung shut behind him, trapping him. I imagined what his death would have been like, alone and terrified in the dark, confined space. His little fists had been bloodied from beating at the inside of the freezer, trying to get out.
For years afterwards, I suffered terrible nightmares of being trapped somewhere, confined and dark, and fighting to get out, unable to breathe and certain I would die. I’d wake moments before I was sure I’d run out of air for good and would burst from sleep screaming and covered in sweat. It was my brother’s death I was reliving through my dreams, over and over.
Now I was trapped in another dark box, and it all came back to me as though I was seven years old again.
Chapter Nine
Leo
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I’D BETTER NOT BE MAKINGa mistake by leaving the girl alone.
Anguished cries chased me out of the cabin, but I ignored them. They muted substantially when I shut and locked the front door. I was grateful not to have any neighbours, though, and hoped no one—hikers or hunters—would happen to walk by and hear her. The property listing had said it was secluded and private, so I hoped something like that happening would be unlikely. Besides, she wouldn’t be able to keep up that level of noise for long. She’d fall quiet eventually.
The possibility of Rasmus somehow tracking us down did concern me, but I was sure there would be no way he would think to look for us here. Rasmus didn’t even know who’d taken his daughter, so how could he possibly track me down? Even if he happened to catch my vehicle on CCTV, the four-by-four was rented under a fake name.
He’d find out who had his daughter soon enough. I wanted him to know the exact reason why she’d been taken. I wanted him to torture himself over what was happening to her, how she was being degraded and hurt, and there was nothing he could do about it.
It occurred to me that I didn’t even know her name.
I reached the vehicle and climbed behind the wheel. Before starting the engine, I took my phone out of my pocket and used it to call my brother.
“Tam, I need a favour.”
“What the fuck are you playing at, Leo? Where are you?”
He didn’t sound happy to hear from me.
“Just shut up and listen to me. I told you I’d make Rasmus pay for killing Jodie, but until earlier, I hadn’t realised how. The universe must have been listening to me because it delivered the perfect opportunity.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Did you know Rasmus has a daughter? About eighteen or nineteen years old, I’d say. Long dark hair. A killer body.”