Think Like A Criminal

Chapter 9

Cara sat leaning against the wall, her hands and legs tied with cable ties, dazed with a bloody nose and swollen face as Vincent picked up his camera and tripod and walked towards the stairs. He stopped and glanced back at her sitting on the floor.

"Just because I like that smart mouth of yours doesn't mean I will tolerate it all the time," he sharply said. With that, he walked up the stairs and out of the basement, slamming the door behind. Cara groaned and her blurry vision began to clear. Her fogged mind finally began to understand the situation she was in. She slowly shook her head to remove the strands of her hair that escaped her bun from her face.

'What in the world happened?' she thought. She remembered being in the living room eating pancakes then provoking Vincent before he held her in a vice-like grip. She tried to remember what happened but her head throbbed from the intense pain. She tried to move her hands but they were tied behind her back, so were her legs – a déjà vu feeling, to which she let out few strings of curses. Loosening her muscles, she tried to relax herself when everything that happened to her came crashing back.

After taunting Vincent about his kidnapping strategies and him manhandling her, she told him how he should not judge a book by its cover. The room stayed silent for a few moments – no-one spoke, no-one moved. All of a sudden Cara felt herself being twirled around before a forceful pain shot up in her stomach. It was too fast for Cara – or perhaps she thought chances of something like this were very low – to see and be prepared when Vincent rammed his knee in her stomach. The impact had her gasping for air. Not recovered from the blow, he pulled her up by her hair and slammed his fist to her temple. She stumbled back from him and fell on the floor, heavily breathing. Her vision blurred and she clutched her stomach in hopes to ease the pain. She could stand up and have a proper hand-to-hand combat with him but right now the blow to her head had her temporarily weakened. And this is all what Vincent wanted right now; her on the floor, helpless and weak.

"I know everything about you, Cara," he said as he walked towards her. A crazed look on his face – the face a predator gives to his prey before devouring it. Cara's pain eased a little and she tried to get up back on her feet but her head throbbed. Victor frantically stood up from his place and approached his friend. He had seen Vincent being crazy before but this level of craziness was new to him. Perhaps this might be because this time his prey was not the usual whiny girl but someone who was ready to go toe-to-toe with him; a challenge. Vincent may love a challenge but what he did not stand is someone else's dominance when he was the alpha around.

"Vince, I think that's enough," he tried to snap him out but was ignored. Vincent reached Cara who was almost up on her feet, still breathing heavily but was vigilant. She fisted her right hand and brought it towards Vincent who easily dodged it. Cara grunted at her attack being slow from the pain. Vincent folded his left arm and elbowed her outstretched forearm hard. Stumbling again, Cara kneeled on the floor and held her arm, crying out in pain. Vincent circled around her like a predator about to kill his prey.

"Weak and pathetic," he sneered at her, "You see, kitten, I knew about your college schedule. I was going to kidnap you the next day after your class in evening but I had some... inconvenience and I couldn't put you off for the next day. Your friends spoke about your make-up class a bit too loud making it easier for me to hear and you denying their offer to drop you home was a bonus."

He continued circling her few times and finally stopped behind her. Grabbing her by her hair bun, he harshly jerked her head back. Cara let out a groan at the sudden stretch of her neck. They stared into each other's eyes; blue to brown, ice to fire. Vincent liked the fight her eyes held but he desperately wanted to see them filled with fear.

He saw her throat working. He assumed she was gulping down her fear for him but her eyes showed fight. Before he could do anything, Cara opened her mouth and spit thick blob of saliva on his face. It hit him in the middle of his eyebrows and slowly trailed down his face. Vincent froze, his hand tightening on her bun. He closed his eyes and exhaled harshly through his nose. He was beyond furious now. If this were a cartoon, smoke would have been coming out of his ears. Very comical.