Breaking the Lock

Eight

Maxie spent an uncomfortable night sitting in the dark and waiting for their captor to return. Neither she nor Britt had any idea who he could possibly be only that he was somehow connected to Nathan. Not that Britt was in any state to be of much help. Whatever drugs he had used on her had made Britt tired and slow. Maxie tried to talk to her but Britt drifted off for minutes at a time. She didn't want to sleep but it still came in small bursts. She would drift off for a bit dreaming of normal things in her life, Nathan and Georgie, her parents, even Lulu and Dante, only to jerk awake in fear.

After what seemed like an eternity, she could see a shift in the light of the room. The sun was rising and somewhere in this basement there was a window letting cracks of light into the dark space. Above her, she heard footsteps moving about and her thoughts returned to just who he could be. He didn't seem to be interested in either herself or Britt as anything other than a prisoner. He had to be someone Nathan had dealt with before. A criminal he had arrested looking for revenge? Had to be something like that, she decided. What other reason could he have for kidnapping both her and Britt?

The basement door opened and she saw his feet coming down the stairs slowly. Britt stirred at the sound and sat up on the bed, turning tired eyes to Maxie before rearranging her features to show him a careful blank look. He paused at the foot of the stairs to set something down and flipped a switch lighting the room with a dull yellow light. Maxie got to her feet and got as close to the cage door as the chain would allow.

"Who are you?" She demanded immediately. "What do you want with us?"

"Get back against the wall," he snapped back at her.

Maxie stood her ground and jerked her wrist harder trying to stretch closer to the door. "Not until you tell me who you are."

"No one you know, sweetheart," he replied, glaring at her. "Get back now."

"Why?"

"You want to eat?" He jerked his head at the tray by the stairs. "You get back if you do."

The last thing she wanted was to eat anything he brought her but a quick glance at Britt made her rethink her decision to remain defiant. She took a step back keeping her eyes glued to him, trying to memorize everything about him. He picked up a bowl of oatmeal and carried it to Britt first, opening her door and handing it to her. Britt took the bowl from him, scooting backwards as soon as it was in her hands. He nodded in approval and locked her door again.

He didn't bother to hand a bowl to Maxie. Instead, he set it on the floor and pushed it towards her, grinning stupidly at her as he did so. She wouldn't be able to reach it no matter how she stretched. She shifted back again, closer to the wall. He, in turn pushed it just a little closer. What an ass, she thought glaring at him and taking yet another step back. Stupid game. She raised an eyebrow as he turned the key, locking her cage again.

"Thanks," she said with as much contempt as she could muster.

"You're welcome," he said with no hint of irony at all. "Behave yourself, Miss Jones. I need you sharp later. Wouldn't want your boyfriend to think you were being mistreated do we?" He flicked a sideways glance at Britt. "I already got his attention that way once. But then, she didn't behave herself. I wouldn't have had to resort to certain measures if she had just done as I asked. So, behave. Got it?" He turned away from her and started for the stairs.

"Nathan is going to find us and when he does, you're going to regret this!" Maxie called after him.

That made him pause. "Will I?" He said turning around to stare at her. Maxie shrank back from his cold gaze. When he spoke, his voice was filled with anger. "I think it might be the other way around. Your boyfriend took everything good I had in my life and destroyed it. I lost everything because of him. You think he's this moral upstanding cop? I got news for you, he's as crooked and evil as that piece of work he calls a mother."