I stilled. She had asked me to come to Anchor to get her. No. She couldn’t be involved in this. My stomach pitched. What if someone had hurt her? Stolen her computer. My brain flew through the possibilities, each one worse than the one before.

I dug my nails into the backs of my clasped hands. I had to stop. None of the what-ifs would help me now. The who and the how didn’t matter if I couldn’t get out of here. I was quiet for a moment, listening for any hint of sound. There was nothing, only the sound of the wind against loose shutters.

I slowly stood, trying my best to keep my balance with my feet bound together. Once I’d gotten there, I held out my arms in front of me, praying that everything I’d learned in that self-defense class would work just as the instructor had promised. I studied the pawl head on the zip ties. It looked tiny and insignificant, but I knew it was much stronger than it appeared.

I closed my eyes and steeled myself. The movement needed to be strong and quick enough that I succeeded on the first try. I took a deep breath and brought my arms down with as much force as I could muster.

It was enough to send me collapsing to my knees in a coughing fit. But my hands were free. I braced myself against the floor, willing my heaving under control. I swallowed back the second round of coughs that wanted to surface. Quiet and surprise were the only tools currently in my arsenal.

I carefully pushed to my feet and hopped over to the cabin’s small kitchenette. I pulled open drawer after drawer. All I needed was a knife or some scissors or—I stopped. I saw a single set of cutlery. The knife wasn’t sharp, but it did have a slightly serrated edge.

I grabbed it and the fork and hobbled back to the musty bed. Sitting down, I hoisted up my feet and got to work. I sawed and sawed until sweat dotted my brow and I was sure I’d throw up. I’d only made it halfway through the width of the plastic tie.

I lay back on the bed, trying to catch my breath. “Come on, Shay. You can do this. Don’t let this asshole win.” As I started to sit up, my gaze caught on the wooden frame of the bed. The post at the end looked surprisingly sturdy.

I hooked my legs around the post and tested its strength. It didn’t appear to be going anywhere. I tried a couple of different positions with gentle tugs, trying to see what my best angle would be. Down and back seemed like my best bet. I closed my eyes, steeling myself yet again, and pulled with all my strength.