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"Fine I’l do it, but you’re paying double"
He could alood boy, Dennis A very good boy"
CHAPTER TWELVE
I t was dark, but Lana could see just enough through the tiny slit in her hood tolifeless on the floor of the cave The stench of death filled the dank hole in the ground until there was no air left to breathe Terror choked her lungs as she realized that she was the only one left--the only victi of one of the dead and set up a video cas, the torture, the killing
Lana tried to scream for help, but the air was too thick, and it wouldn’t pass through her throat She tried to curl into a ball to protect herself from as to come, but her broken body wouldn’t respond She was frozen, trapped without anyhad been taken fro left to fight with
The man picked up the heavy pipe he’d beat her with yesterday and caray surface Her blood? Allen’s?
Bethany’s? They had been the last ones to die
Lana heard the muffled thud of her killer’s combat boots on the dirt floor The e as the man ca up so he wouldn’t strain a muscle Lana almost wished she hadn’t been able to see Maybe blindness would have been easier
Not knoas co the theory, but the terrifying blackness orse
She opened thes
Pain roared through her systenals she couldn’t understand Her limbs twitched in autoh!" caainst the wall in an impassive stance, but his bearded face was hidden in shadow She couldn’t see hiled to breathe It was all she could do, and even that was an effort Her body was on fire, flooding her with searing waves of agony One on top of another, so close together there wasn’t time to breathe in between
"You kill her and you’ll have to go hunting for e Not smart," said Miles
The e Boss says we’re in the group now We’re done with her"
Miles pushed away froth "What if I want her?"
The ood for that now"
Miles shrugged "Depends on whether you like screa Miles the pipe "Just finish her when you’re finished with her"
He left the cave Miles switched off the camera and came near her She could see his face clearly now--a hardlike he ached to say so that wherever he touched her, it was going to hurt His hand halted in midair and curled into a fist She prayed he’d be quick and release her froging him to kill her, "Please" It was hardly even a sound Her lips were stuck together with dried blood, h the tiny split in her hood, she saw his expression harden further, and then he stood with a jerk Miles shoved the pipe under the pile of dead bodies, effectively hiding it, and left her alone
He was gone for only a blink of tiured out where it was He lifted it over his head and smiled, and Lana watched as the blood-flecked metal sped toward her
Caleb woke as soon as Lana started whi He threw the sheet back, crossed the smal space between the double beds, and sat down next to her He’d left the bathrooht on so she wouldn’t be disoriented if she woke up in the low lit one side of her face She eating and shaking, curled up in a tight bal
So hi He should have saved her He should have found a way to prevent the beatings she suffered He wasn’t sure how, and he’d spent a lot of sleepless nights trying to figure out how he could have done things differently, but he knew a better ave her shoulder a shake, hoping to wake her up before the nightot any worse At his touch, her whionized moans Her whole body vibrated with tension
"Wake up, Lana Coentlest voice he could find beneath al his anger
Her breathing sped, and she flailed her arht him off Caleb feared that if he restrained thehten herthe blows He deserved so much worse
"Come on, Lana It’s only a dream Wake up"
Her eyelids fluttered and finaly opened Terror was plain on her face, and he saw her trying to sort out the reality of hihtmare
Caleb smoothed her hair back from her sweaty forehead with one hand while he stroked the inside of her wrist with the other She went stiff for a rasp Her breathing was stil labored, and he could feel her pulse speeding beneath his fingers
She closed her eyes for a moment and puled in a deep breath