I’m at the mercy of monsters, and I don’t even understand the full extent of it.
I lift my head to lay it against the door and close my eyes. Exhausted from the day.
Exhausted by life.
8
GIDEON
Sasha is an interesting creature.
As graceful as she appears, she’s got quite the temper.
Granted, I’d be just as furious if the roles were reversed.
She’s fascinating to watch.
I keep waiting for her to break down, but as the minutes pass, she doesn’t. Her strength doesn’t diminish with time. If anything, I can see that she’s resilient even from the black-and-white image on my phone. She’s plotting.
It’s not that she’s doing anything out of the ordinary. But as I track her movements on the screen and watch her mannerisms, I just know. I’ve watched men do it a million times while locked behind doors thicker than that one.
The way her slender shoulders tense. The way she looks up at the camera. It’s in her eyes as they dart around the room. Not haphazardly but calculating.
Does she know?
I don’t have to wait long for that answer. A laugh escapes me when she talks to the camera. Directly at the camera.
The volume was turned off, so I didn’t have to hear her screeching. But now I fix that, wanting to hear what she has to say.
Before, she was getting the lay of the land, but she knows it can only go so far locked in this room. She’s playing the game and beginning the questioning phase. By engaging me, she thinks she’ll glean more information that can help her run.
Rope me in.
By the soft tone of her voice, she’s planning on trying to pull a fast one on me.
I can see her move already. She will play on my heart to let her go; if that plan doesn’t work, shewilltry to escape.
It won’t work. Not if she wants to survive because, outside these walls, she isn’t safe.
A thought pops into my head…
If she escapes, I’ll be forced to keep her close.
My lips split into a large grin. That is exactly what I want.
I want her to feel a sense of false security. Then, when she thinks there’s a chance, I’ll let her escape. I won’t let her get very far, of course. But I’ll let her believe she’s in the clear, and then when she finally lets out the breath she’s holding, I’ll swoop in, catch her in the act and drag her ass back here.
The punishment for that level of defiance will be fast and severe. She’ll no longer have the luxuries I have given her. No freedoms. No room.
She’ll have to relocate.
To my room.
There I can have eyes on her all the time. My eyes.
The Cheshire grin I’m sporting probably looks maniacal, but there’s nobody around to see just how much this woman affects me.
It’s a good plan.