Hunting Human - Amanda E. Alvarez [46]
Fury rushed him.
No matter what, one thing was certain. Beth was not who she claimed to be. She’d deceived him, lied to him.
Whatever relationship we built is gone. If it even existed in the first place.
***
Beth jerked awake. The steady thrum of the car on the highway coupled with the oppressive heat of the truck had pushed her into an exhausted sleep.
Just as well.
Sleep was infinitely better than the path her thoughts had traveled after the trunk of Braden’s car had slammed her into darkness.
Beth squeezed her eyes shut against fresh tears.
How could I have been so stupid?
So trusting?
Despite initial reservations, she’d ignored her own common sense and fallen into bed with Braden. After spending so much time looking over her shoulder, she’d missed the threat standing right in front of her.
Fool. Duped by a sweet smile and a gentle hand.
Humiliation fueled her anger. She should never have gotten involved with Braden. She’d sensed it when she met him. But had she stopped herself? Had she listened to the whispered thoughts, the ones warning her nothing that good would come from an intimate relationship?
No. Of course not.
Beth cursed herself as tears of shame squeezed out from beneath her lashes. Common sense had told her she couldn’t have a relationship with anyone. How could she hide her disease long-term? Honesty was out of the question. What guy wouldn’t run screaming the other direction?
But here she was, back where the whole nightmare had started. Bound, lying in the dark of a car, being carted God knew where by some freak. But this time was worse. This time she’d trusted, hell, she’d loved the bastard.
Well, screw him.
Markko and his fucking brother hadn’t killed her—she’d be damned if she let Braden have the pleasure. He’d had enough pleasure at her expense already.
Beth rolled to her side and pulled her knees to her chest. She took a deep breath, willed her muscles to go loose and tried to slip her butt through the loop of her arms. She didn’t even get halfway before the zip ties cut into her wrists. Agony ate at her willpower, filling her head with thoughts of quitting.
No!
She pulled the memory of Braden shifting from man to beast to the front of her mind. Incomprehensible fury overrode the pain and fear, giving her the strength to pull her arms behind her knees.
Panting, Beth allowed herself to rest, hands linked behind her knees.
I can do this.
She pulled her locked hands over her sneakers. Fire scorched against the nerves in her arms. Worse, her struggle reignited the pain in her back and ribs. She wasn’t sure what they’d done to stop her change in the driveway, but it had left a lasting impression.
Unwilling to wallow, Beth pulled her arms to her chest and tried to assess how tightly the ties bound her wrists. She wiggled her fingers experimentally and then rubbed her wrists together. Blood smeared across her skin, dripping down her arms and into her palms. The ties were just too tight to slip out of. She needed something to cut through them.
Okay, forget the ties. Find a way out of the trunk.
During her freshman year of college, she’d dragged Rachel to a school sponsored self-defense class. The instructors had talked about what to do if they were ever pushed into the trunk of their car. A smile touched the side of her mouth. She only remembered the discussion because she and Rachel had spent most of the lecture coming up with ways someone could end up locked in the trunk of their own car. Werewolf kidnapping had never crossed their minds.
“I bet you’re laughing your ass off, Rachel.”
Beth tried to look through the darkness surrounding her. Weren’t trunk releases supposed to glow in the dark? She leaned forward and ran her hands along the top of the trunk, feeling for anything that felt like a release.
Nothing.
Nixing the idea, Beth moved on. The instructors had mentioned something about kicking out the taillights and trying to flag down other motorists.
Worth a shot.
“Yes!” Beth did a triumphant butt wiggle when her fingers found a plastic panel