I tested the bonds. There was a little more movement. Maybe with both jeans legs absent, I’d have enough room to make progress on the knot. The second leg was easier with that little extra breathing room, and before long, that side’s fabric was bunched above the ropes, too.

My chest heaved, and my head pounded in time with my heartbeat. Come on, come on, come on. I tested the knot again. Nothing. I cursed. “You can do this, Bell.”

I gave my leg a little tug. Movement. My heart rate picked up its pace. I wiggled my foot in my boot, trying to slide it out while the rope tore at the bare skin of my leg. I didn’t care. I would take all the pain if I could just get out of here.

I grunted and pulled, twisting my leg in any way I could think of. With one final yank, my foot escaped my boot and the ropes. I bit back my yell of victory. I quickly used my bound hands as best I could to free my other leg and get my boot back on. I would need shoes when I ran. My fingers felt sticky liquid on my calf as I pulled the boot on. I winced.

It didn’t matter. I was getting out of here. The sound of footsteps against gravel infiltrated my senses. Too late. I was too late.

“Good. You’re awake.”

“E-ethan?” I had to be wrong. He’d always been so kind to me. Protective, even. The pieces were trying to come together in my mind, but I couldn’t make sense of it.

He leaned into the smashed-out window, and I quickly shoved my feet under the seat in front of me. “Hey, Bell.”

He said it so matter-of-factly, the same way he’d greeted me a million times at the bar. This wasn’t real. Couldn’t be. “What’s going on?”

Ethan grinned, and it was one I’d never seen on him before. It was almost a touch evil, deranged. Or maybe I was just seeing it through the eyes of someone he’d clearly tied up in the back of a car. “I have to admit, your little innocent act had me fooled for a while.”

“What innocent act?” My heart hammered in my chest, rattling painfully against my ribs.

Ethan’s eyes went cold. “Don’t try that bullshit on me. You’re done. You’re not manipulating anyone else.”

“What are you talking about?” None of what he was saying made sense. And the more Ethan spoke, the more my stomach sank.

“I have to make you stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Manipulating! I told you!” He shoved off the SUV and began that same erratic pacing I’d seen earlier. “I have to send you over. You have to go.”