She still couldn’t believe he was the one who had put up those tripwires, knocked her unconscious and now stripped her naked. If not for the Omega watch. Or had she been mistaken? Maybe the salesperson had lied about how rare that particular Apollo edition was, to push up the price? Yes, that was clearly it. It had to be.

What difference did it make anyway? Whoever he was, she was lying here, curled up, naked, her eyes and mouth taped shut, with no idea what was coming. Or was it already over? Had he had his way with her and left her here?

She was still outside, that much she could tell. But she wasn’t by the jogging trail in Ramlösa Brunn Park; through the tape covering her ears, she could hear the sound of running water.

She wasn’t really lying down, but rather sitting slumped over on her knees with her feet behind her as if in some yoga pose, with both arms stretched out in front of her. It was an awkward position, especially given the hard, uneven ground.

She tried to understand what it all meant. Why he had left her naked in this particular position.

She felt almost no pain. In her face or her body. It was as though every part of her was numb. As though her body no longer belonged to her. He must have drugged her; there was no other explanation. Did that mean she had been unconscious for a long time? Maybe hours.

Regardless, she now had to get away and get home as quickly as she could and shower so she could have everything in order before Reidar got back. Hopefully, she wasn’t too far from home, and with luck her facial injuries might not look too bad.

He would obviously want to know what had happened. But it made no difference. Under no circumstances was she going to allow this to derail the plan. The first step was to try to take off the tape without making her injuries worse.

But when she tried to lift her arm, pain immediately jolted through her. A pain so overwhelming she screamed straight into the tape. It radiated out from the back of her hand, spreading like lightning through her fingers and wrist and up her arm. Also, her hand seemed to be stuck. What had he done? She tried to move her other hand, but it was the same there. It hurt so badly her stomach turned inside out. She tried to move her legs, but the pain emanating from her calves was possibly even worse.

She was stuck. How had he… She couldn’t even take it in. What kind of monster was this?

‘Well, well, well. She’s awake,’ a voice said suddenly. ‘About time.’

He was back. Or had he been there all along? And didn’t it sound just like him?

‘Come on. Get up. Up on all fours.’