to me? If he was going to kill me, why not just get it over with?
The late night moon shined overhead. I didn’t know what time it was, but based on the lack of cars on the road, I figured it was late. Lex pulled onto a section of the beach that was abandoned. There was nothing here except for the Surf Shack. Despite its name, it was anything but a shack. It was practically brand new and had almost put our surf shop out of business when it opened a year ago. It was the reason our shop had struggled ever since. What were we doing here?
“Get out,” Lex ordered.
I managed to work the handle, despite my shaking, tied up hands and got out of the truck. He motioned with the gun that I should walk in front of him to the shop. My knees locked, not wanting to let my legs carry me inside. I managed to make them move stiffly, one foot in front of the other. When we made it to the front door, Lex slipped in a key and turned the knob. Why did he have a key? Did he steal it?
He closed the door and locked it behind him. He didn’t bother flipping on the lights, and guided me through the darkness. With one hand grasping my arm, Lex led me to the back office. He sat me on a chair and got to work binding me to it.
“There, nice and comfy,” he mocked me.
Lex crouched down in front of me so that he was eye level. He looked at my nose, admiring his handiwork. He reached out with one finger and pressed it into the bridge, sending a shockwave of fresh pain all the way down my spine. My scream was muffled by the layer of duct tape that was bound so tightly it cut into my skin.
Satisfied with my pain, Lex stood back up and left the office. I couldn’t do anything but cry, and even that hurt. My tears carved winding trails into the blood that had dried on my cheeks. Even though it was a warm night, my body was cold. I shivered against the restraints, feeling the jerky movements in the shards of broken bones in my nose.
I could hear Lex’s muffled voice in the other room; he must have been talking to someone on the phone. I had no doubt that Lex would keep his promise to break every bone in my body unless I could give him what he wanted and make this end. But I had no idea what he wanted. He hadn’t said much aside from threatening me. The thought crossed my mind that he was just a psychopath who enjoyed inflicting pain. But if that were the case, I had no hope, so I chose to believe that I had some power to get myself out of this.
Lex came back into the room. He was smiling, and I knew that was not going to be good for me. I fought the hysteria bubbling up in my throat and focused on keeping my breathing calm and steady. If I couldn’t control my breathing, I would suffocate and save Lex the trouble.
Lex ripped the tape from my lips, and I cried out in agony. It stung. It burned. I should have screamed, but I was afraid what Lex would do if I did.
“Did you hear about Daddy Dearest?” he asked, still smiling maniacally.
“No. I don’t pay attention to people that are dead to me.”
“I was surprised your dad had the balls to go through with it,” Lex said as he cocked his head to the side. “Did you know that he’s looking to do a plea bargain? He wants to spill my secrets to the DA.” Good, was my first thought. I knew Lex was involved in this somehow. “I don’t think he has enough evidence to do much. It’s one thing to suggest the murder, another thing entirely to actually watch the life drain from someone’s eyes. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think the pussy had it in him, but boy was I surprised when he called me. Brian Shirley was crying like a little bitch when he told me it was done.”
My breath hitched. “But there’s one unknown variable. One problem I need to eliminate. The cops think I’m in Mexico. And in a couple of hours, I’ll be on a boat headed there.”