Garin’s presence made no sense at all. Maybe he was here to comfort me before they killed me. Maybe our captors believed I’d told Garin the secret.
But one thing I knew for sure; he was prisoned because of me.
His life was put at harm…because of me.
My mouth began to water, and I could feel the food rising in my throat. “Oh God,” I whispered, saliva dripping from my lip.
I pushed off his chest and rushed toward the toilet. Like my lips were the rim of a hose, chunks of food and liquid poured out of them. With each purge, I squeezed my stomach tighter, the cramps hurting as badly as the burning in the back of my throat. When I heaved nothing but air, I stuck my face under the faucet and let the freezing water cool my scorching skin. I kept it there until my body shivered.
“What can I do to help you feel better?”
I held up a finger, and using my other hand, I sucked in palmfuls of water. Once my mouth felt rinsed out, I swished around some toothpaste and swallowed a few gulps of air, trying to calm my stomach. It settled just enough to know I wouldn’t be sick again.
“Your body couldn’t handle that much food at once,” he said. When I sat next to him, he pushed his arm against me, so I could lean into it. “You have to eat slow and give it time to adjust.”
Eating fast wasn’t the only reason I had thrown up. But if I allowed my mind to go back there, I’d be sleeping in front of the toilet tonight.
“We have to get out of here,” I said, “before something happens to one of us.”
“I’m going to come up with a plan. I just need to feel out that guy a little more and find his weakness. I’ll also memorize the times he drops off our food. Don’t worry; I’ll get us out of here.”
But I did worry. “I trust you.” I needed to get my mind off of it before it made me even crazier. “What would you be doing right now if you weren’t in here?”
He looked up at the window. There wasn’t any sunlight coming through. The only light was the overhead bulb that buzzed and sometimes flickered. “I’d probably still be working.”
“Me, too.”
“In the shop or behind the scenes?”
I’d told him about my job when we had first gotten to the bar. It wasn’t like he had researched me the same way I had Googled him…unless he had been acting and really did know.
“Behind the scenes,” I said. “My employees work in the shop and handle the walk-ins and the retail side of the business. I manage the large orders and anything custom. I don’t use stock images. I draw everything.”
“You enjoy it.” He said it like he already knew the answer, which was ironic because it was one I really needed to think about.
Art was all I’d ever wanted to do, and college had taught me how to make my craft more mainstream than having just a struggling paint-and-canvas career. Business was the part I didn’t enjoy as much, especially having my brother as my business partner. He took away all the fun, and he sucked out all the passion.
“Yes,” I finally answered. “I love the creative part.”
“Have you had any business deals go wrong?”
“A few.” I searched his eyes. “Why?”
“I was thinking that could be the reason we’re in here.”
As much as I wanted to believe that, I couldn’t. It didn’t make any sense. Arguments over pricing and wrong colors wouldn’t land me in a prison cell.
“Then, why are we in here together?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed. “Maybe it’s something we did as kids.”
Garin was dominant; he always had been. He was someone who wouldn’t give up control in any situation unless he was locked in a cell with a captor who had two guns on his hips. His edges were hard, and his stare didn’t waver even slightly. Someone like that had enemies. Big enough ones who would have put us in here.
I still didn’t believe it.
I looked straight ahead, unable to hide the guilt from my face. “I’m sure there are endless reasons for why we could be in here.”
He would hate me once he found out it was because of me.
I would hate me.
I already did.
“I’m going to get you out of here,” he said. “I told you not to worry, so don’t.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve been in