He gripped her tighter and she let her shoulders slump like she was defeated. He marched her into the old bar, which had obviously been abandoned for years. The lights were on, so the electricity clearly still worked, but no tables or chairs remained, just the long bar on the far wall. There were clean square spots on the floor that dust had settled around, like something large had just been moved.

He pushed her shoulders into a beam, and she almost laughed. That was just great. She wished Lennon were here so he could see how the tables had turned.

He pulled out a zip tie and secured her wrists together behind the beam. He patted her pockets, but they were empty since he’d taken the gun.

Just like she’d hoped, he did not check her boot for the knife.

“No one comes out here,” he said. “If you need to pee…” He turned in a circle. “Shit. I don’t see any buckets. Whatever, I guess you couldn’t have used it anyway with your hands tied. I’ll just grab you some new pants for when I come back.”

“Thanks,” she said dryly. “I’ll just wait here in my own piss, then.”

“Happens to the best of us,” he said, clapping her on the shoulder.

She didn’t try to hide her incredulous expression. “Declan, what—and I mean this with all of my heart—the fuck?”

He laughed, looking at her with genuine affection. It was maddening how completely he didn’t see her as a threat.

And maybe he was right. She’d posed a problem for him, very briefly, and he’d quickly scooped her up and dealt with it. She was a temporary annoyance, at best.

She slid to the floor, careful to keep her arms away from the beam so she didn’t get splinters. She sat down and leaned against it.

“I’ll be back…before dawn, probably? Maybe a little later.” He headed to the door, pausing to look over his shoulder at her. “I really will be back for you.”

“I know.” It wasn’t even a lie. She was sure he would be.

She just hoped that she’d be gone by the time it happened.

He smiled like she’d said something kind. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

He turned and walked out, leaving her tied to the beam, alone.

—

She waited ten minutes after the sounds of the van faded to reach for the knife. The only way to get to it was to take the boot off and hope it fell out close enough to her.

She carefully toed off her right boot. The knife clattered to the floor. She used the heel of her foot to slide it closer to the beam, giving it a tiny kick as she aimed it at her hands.

It slid past them.

She cursed, looking over her shoulder to see how far it had gone.

She heard the sound of a car coming to a stop outside. Then, doors slamming. Yelling.