nightstand. It was a little before 10 am. "Great," I gritted through my teeth. It was anything but great. It wasn't enough time.
The line went dead.
"He'll be here in two hours," I said. "I thought it would be best to tell him in person."
Noah lowered the phone from my ear. "It'll all be over soon, babe."
It would be, whether I was ready or not. I had two hours to get untied. Two hours to get my money back. Two hours to get the hell out of here before I got caught with Noah's blood on my hands.
Chapter 24
Monday
"Noah." I tried to keep my voice steady, even though I was freaking out inside. I needed more than two hours to prep everything. Every second I stayed tied up was precious time I was losing. "Can you please untie me now?"
"I will, babe. I promise. As soon as I'm sure you're not planning on hurting me."
Tough luck, ass hat. "I don't think I'm going to hurt you." That was the best I could do.
His hands holding my ankles firmly to the mattress didn't budge. As soon as they did, I was going to kick him right in the throat.
He shook his head as he looked down at me. "I don’t believe you. Ensley, you just confessed that you've been wanting to see blood. My blood. I don't believe the sudden change of heart."
I tried to take a deep breath, but it didn't calm me at all. "What if you keep my hands tied together but let me loose from the bedpost? I have to get ready. I'm running out of time."
"Running out of time for what?" He lifted my phone in the air. "Oh, right…the passport thing? You're not going anywhere today, babe." He brushed his thumb over my ankle and I tried to ignore the soothing feeling. "We need to talk this out. And we can't do that until you tell me what's really going on with Sophia Tremblay and Dr. Collins. I need you to tell me everything you know."
I was so upset when I woke up tied to the bed that I hadn't really thought about the questions he was asking. He knew my name. Which meant he remembered. But...if he remembered, why was he asking me questions that I should be asking him. I narrowed my eyes. "I need you to tell me everything you know about Sophia and Dr. Collins."
"What a stalemate. No...wait. You're tied up and I'm not. Which means you have to give me the answers, not the other way around."
"I'm not the one with the answers! You are!"
"Help me help you,” he said. “Just tell me what you know."
"About Sophia freaking Tremblay?" I closed my eyes, I couldn't even look at him I was so mad. "You cheated on me with her. I know you did. But Detective Torres said you didn't. That you were stalking her." I shook my head. "But that can't be true. You called her all the time. And talked for hours. And you definitely did something to her. I saw the pictures of her face."
"What did I do to her face?"
"You hurt her. Her eye was purple and blue. Her cheeks were swollen too. There was a gash on her lip. You're a monster."
He didn't reply.
I opened my eyes to see him scowling. "Why does she look like me, Noah? Why did you hurt someone who looked just like me?"
His hands left my ankles so fast I didn't have time to kick him in the throat.
He was staring at me like he was angry with me. But I wasn’t the one who beat up women. He was. He should be angry with himself.
"Why did you do it?" I asked again.
He shook his head. "I need to step out for about an hour. I'll be back before Detective Torres stops by, okay?"
"Okay? No, not okay! Noah!" I screamed as he disappeared out the bedroom door. My head throbbed as I thought about him roaming the streets. "You can't leave this house!" I pulled against the ropes. "You can't let anyone see you!"
Silence.
"Noah, I'm serious!" Tears started spilling down my cheeks. He didn't get to ruin my life for a second time. "I swear to God if you leave this house you'll get us both killed! Get back here!"
No response.
"You can't leave!" I was choking on my sobs. "You can't leave me like this!"
The sound of the garage door opening had me pulling on my ropes so hard I thought I'd