Inked Persuasion (Montgomery Ink Fort Collins #1) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,76

to say, and yet nothing came out. My mouth was too dry. I looked to the left of me and realized I must have thrown up before. Now, my hair was in it, and everything was gross. I didn’t know what was happening.

“Well, shit, you got sick again. Don’t know why Susan had to try and hit you with that car. She was only supposed to scare you. But then you had to go and jump and hit your head. You always were clumsy, Annabelle. It was why I was always there to help you around the house. Because you needed me. You always need me. And now we can be together. I’m sure you might need help, but that’s what I’m here for. I’m always here for you, Annabelle. I just wish you would’ve realized it sooner. I had to move up plans, and I know you hate when things don’t work out the way they should. But it’s okay. I’ll help you. Just like always. I will always be here for you.” He emphasized the word always, and it scared me. Everything about this frightened me. I didn’t understand what was happening.

“Hotch,” I rasped, my throat feeling as if a hot poker had been shoved down it.

He clucked his tongue and shook his head. “Okay, let me get you some water. Don’t know why you had to get so sick. You’re just hurting yourself. But like I said, I will always be here for you. This is what I’ll do for you. Always. Okay, let’s do this.” He left again, and I looked around, trying to figure out where I was, but I hadn’t seen this place before.

Rugged walls. An old, wooden floor. It looked to be a small cabin in the woods or something. Not up to the mountains or the foothills, but near the city, maybe? I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know who was supposed to find me. I’d dropped my bag when I fell, and I didn’t have my cell phone. I didn’t have anything.

That meant I had to get out of this on my own. I needed to be my own knight in shining armor or whatever the hell those people were called.

I didn’t know how I was supposed to do it, though.

I tried to wiggle out of my restraints, but they were tight. I thought it might be duct tape, but it was hard to move my head to check. I’d remembered seeing something on the internet. If I went down quickly with my hands spread as much as possible, I could maybe break through. But my hands were tied behind my back, so that meant I’d have to wiggle out, and I didn’t think I was that flexible right now, not when every movement made me want to throw up.

That meant I had to get him to undo my restraints. Somehow.

“Here you go, come on, let me help you sit up.”

I let him put his hands on me, let him help me to a seated position because doing it by myself had made me nearly vomit again. But every touch was revolting, and I knew I would never be able to shower enough to get rid of this feeling.

I didn’t want to imagine what might come next, what he wanted to do, so I pushed those thoughts from my head. The only things that mattered right now were getting out of here and protecting myself because nobody else would.

Hotch touched my face, gripped my chin a little too hard, and then put the glass of water to my mouth. I didn’t know if it was poisoned, and at that thought, my eyes widened, and I pressed my lips together. He let out a long-suffering sigh, took the glass to his lips, and gulped some.

“It’s not poisoned, Annabelle. I would never hurt you. Susan’s the one who hurt you. Damn it. You’re mine. We were always meant to be together. I don’t know why you don’t trust me.” He shoved the glass to my lips again, and it clacked against my tooth. I gagged, and he poured water down my throat. I tried my best to swallow, but I choked, spluttering, spraying water in his face.

He cursed, tossed the glass to the side, and it shattered all around us.

A large shard fell behind me, and I did my best not to look at it so he wouldn’t see where it had gone or that I’d noticed it was so close to me. Maybe