Forgetful

Chapter 4

The steady drip of water was maddening.
Drip, drip, drip, drip.
Rowan's head ached mercilessly. Her eyes searched for anything she could use as a weapon that was in reach of her.
Her hands were tied above her head and her feet were shackled to the ground. It smelled like sewage.
She was almost positive she was underground.
Rowan let out a low whistle: the sound bounced back and forth for a few seconds. She was underground, it smelled like sewage, and wherever she was, it was big.
"He has me in the sewage system." She realized. It made sense all of a sudden. That's why he wore so much cologne. To cover the smell of the sewage.
She heard the sound of footsteps and relaxed her body so she looked like she was limp. Her shoulders screamed at her: she had no weight on her legs.
"I know you're awake." Prince said softly, waltzing towards her. "But it's smart. Pretending like you're unconscious so I won't do anything to you. It doesn't work." Prince was close enough that she could see the flecks of green in his brown eyes.
Rowan said nothing, her entire body shaking. She couldn't die. She couldn't let herself be killed. What would happen to Elizabeth? What would happen to Spence?
His hand reached up and trailed down her jawline, stopping at her collarbone. His fist closed around her throat and forced her backwards, against the cold cement of the wall. Her feet weren't touching the ground.
She twisted her body desperately, trying to wriggle away from him.
Okay, Roanoke. You've got four minutes. You can live four minutes without breath.
She slowly stilled, spots dancing in front of her eyes. Her head span.
He let go.
She gasped for breath, her lungs burning and her heart pounding.
"I've never choked someone for fun before."
Erotic asphyxiation. Rowan remembered learning about it in the tenth grade- she was twelve.
"Are you up for round two?" He asked her, his hand forcing her chin up so she had to look at him.
Rowan didn't answer again, hoping her defiance would keep her alive longer.
Prince almost smiled. But this wasn't about choking her.
"You know, police can be pretty stupid. They don't like to think of bad cops. My first victim, they found my DNA. I forgot my gloves. They fell for it, too."
As he talked, his hands slid up her shirt. He paused on her stomach, which was heaving.
"You work out, don't you? Your husband looks like a bore in bed, why bother? Or does it have nothing to do with that? Is it so you can fight off the bad guys like me?" His hands continued up, squeezing her wherever he liked.
Rowan didn't say a word. She wanted to scream but refused to let herself.
His touch made her skin crawl.
He leaned closer, his lips forcing hers apart. She bit down as hard as she could on his bottom lip. She was rewarded by the immediate taste of blood and him backing away.
He wiped his bleeding mouth on the back of his hand. "You're going to regret that."
His hand whipped across her face, causing her head to reel. She couldn't focus her eyesight and the right side of her face was completely numb.
He kissed her again, violently, his hands sliding down her pants.
His phone rang.
He paused, his tongue still in her mouth. "Do you mind? Work is killer."
He answered the phone. "This is Prince."
Rowan spat his blood and saliva out of her mouth, gagging. Too many memories were resurfacing.

She leaned her head back, struggling to breathe. Her heart rate was too fast- she was going to faint. She was going to die down here-

"They did what?" Prince shouted into the cellphone. "No- you tell them they have no jurisdiction. The request for help the sheriff sent is being revoked. And kill the sheriff."

Prince closed the phone and tucked it in his pocket before slamming his fist against the wall with enough force for his hand to break.

He was too angry to feel the pain immediately.

His more than likely broken hand closed over her throat again and she kicked desperately trying to stop him.

"They searched my house. They found your bag." He informed Rowan. He let her go. "And they'll never find you here."
He went for the knife that was in the inside of his coat pocket. It was curved at one end, like a scythe. He pressed it to her throat, his eyes wild with rage.

"I'm not scared of you." Rowan said the first thing she had said in a long time, knowing she was going to kill her with or without her saying something.

"You're a fool." Prince growled.

"I'm not the fool. You've lost yourself, Prince. I don't know how and I don't know where but you there was a time when you weren't this... evil." Rowan didn't know what she was trying to accomplish by talking to him. Maybe it was just the fact that she didn't want to die and stalling was her best bet.

"You don't know anything about me." Prince growled.

"I do. Your mom died when you were young and your dad was an alcoholic. He probably had a string of prostitutes he kept in the house. You saw it all, I know. Prince, we aren't that different-"

He pressed the knife in further, drawing blood. She cut off her sentence and tried not to move. Every heartbeat in her throat moved her closer to her death.

"We are nothing alike."

"Listen!" Rowan said urgently. "My mom died giving birth to my baby sister. I was little and my dad was addicted to sex. But prostitutes weren't good enough anymore- he wanted me. He would tie me up and-"

"Shut up!" Prince shouted. Rowan kept talking.

"I understand what you've gone through, Prince. I put a bullet through my dad's head. Just like you did." Rowan told him.

Prince gave a shout. His hands were shaking. Slitting her throat wasn't good enough. He sunk the knife deep into her stomach.

She gave a scream, pain and fear coursing through her.

"Rowan!" She heard her husband's voice. Her eyes caught her husband's before she was stabbed again.
Spencer fired the gun. She heard Morgan shout something before she blacked out.