Redesigning Fate (Revive #1) - A. M. Wilson Page 0,100

in the dark confines of the trunk. They will find me. They are looking for me. I repeat over and over again.

“I know Marlena. We will find you, honey. I’m going to ask you to hang up so we can conserve your phone battery. If you know where you are and can, try to call us back, okay? Even if you can’t talk, just call, and we will find you.”

I click end and stash the phone back into my purse, resisting the temptation to call or text Elias. If Travis finds the phone near me, he’d search it and know I was using it. This way it’s out of sight.

My body is hot and uncomfortable. My shoulders are numb from the position I’m bound and lying in.

Where he’s taking me?

Does he want to kill me?

Why does he want to kill me?

What did I do to him?

The questions keep tumbling around inside my head, and I’m powerless to stop them.

He hurt me. He cheated on me.

I should have broken things off with him when things started to get a little rocky instead of waiting until things got as out of control as they did.

Rolling myself onto my back, I try to get more comfortable, which is impossible. I wrack my brain for every detail I know and remember about Travis. He doesn’t own property that I know of. He doesn’t have a lot of money. Maybe he’s only trying to scare me. It’s working if that’s his goal.

The car slows significantly before coming to a complete stop. It starts to roll forward, and the tires make a new sound. He’s turning off onto some dirt road. The gravel crunches and rocks pop beneath the wheels of the car.

It feels like he’s still going fast, probably too fast. My heart is pounding in my chest. My hands, still bound, make a futile attempt to rub the sweat out of my eyes.

I imagine him flipping the car around some loose graveled bend and rolling down a monstrous cliff; me ejecting from the trunk as the car tumbles ass over front down the rocky hills. My body rolling swiftly down the mountain, hitting every rock, tree, and crevasse on the way down. If he’s planning to kill me, that sounds like a much better way to go.

Fuck! I can’t think like that. The moment I let myself think the worst is the moment I’m dead. I will not let him kill me. I need to get back to Elias no matter what it takes.

The car lurches around another turn. This gravel road is riddled with potholes. I try lying still on my back to keep my head from bouncing off the floor with each bump, but it doesn’t help. I cradle my sore and bruised skull between my forearms. He hits another pothole and my jaw snaps, forcing my teeth through the flesh of my tongue and blood fills my mouth.

Not more than five minutes later, the car comes to an abrupt stop. The engine idles as I listen intently, hoping for any indication that he is coming to get me. I can’t hear anything above the loud hum of the engine, when suddenly, the humming stops.

Feet crunch along the gravel as he makes his way to the rear where I lie helplessly. As he wrenches the trunk open, sunlight blinds me. He gazes down at me for a moment, studying me, watching me. Toying with me as a cat toys with a mouse. Batting his paws, hoping for me to squirm. I won’t give him the satisfaction.

“Hello, Lena, honey,” he says, his green eyes looking delighted. He has me right where he wants me I’m sure.

I want to vomit at the revolting name he uses. What once made me feel special, now only fills me with disgust. Breathe, I remind myself. He can’t win. But I’m scared to death, knowing I am entirely powerless in this moment. I have to find a way to get out of these binds.

He reaches down into the trunk where I lay helpless, running one grimy finger along my cheek, from brow to chin, across my lips. I try, and fail, to suppress a shudder. He smirks at my reaction. Grasping my torso, he lifts me bodily out of the trunk, hoists me over his shoulder, and grabs my purse before slamming the compartment behind me.

Having removed his blindfold in the trunk, I see we are in a heavily wooded forest, the trees bright and alive with lush,