Behind the Facade Read Online Free PDF

lunged for him, shrieking "You
bastard!"
    She was
inevitably hampered from getting to him by the opposing pull of her restraint.
“See, there’s no one left to save, so there’s no point in trying to run. You’ll
only cause yourself more grief.”
    She sank
dejectedly back against the seat, sobbing. “You should have just let that car
hit me.”
    He could
have hardly expected any other reaction and had to harden himself to her
misery. Really it was a bonus that she now believed her fiancé dead. Now she
should be less inclined to make any more foolhardy attempts to escape.
    Turning
away from her he said heartlessly, “You’re right. It would have solved a lot of
problems for both of us.”
    He stood
and stepped out of the car and as he did so caught sight of the cigarette
lighter and frayed cord on the passenger seat floor. He picked them up and
flung them aside in disgust. He couldn’t really blame her for making a bid for
freedom, though he had not expected her to attempt one so soon or one that had
required such guts and initiative. Who’d have thought she‘d use the damn
cigarette lighter, of all things, to free herself?
    He filled
the car with the petrol he’d obtained, slammed the door and returned to his
seat. He finished the water in one long, fortifying gulp, regretting it wasn’t
something stronger. Wiping a hand across his mouth, he smothered an involuntary
chuckle, on the verge of hysterical laughter after all that had happened. How
in God’s name had things got so outrageously complicated?
    He
glanced across at the girl. All the fight seemed to have left her now; her head
was down and she appeared completely defeated. He felt an almost paralyzing
pang of guilt. What the fuck are you doing! His brain screamed at him. He’d
managed to talk himself out of getting arrested by the police, but at what
cost? Breaking and entering was nothing in comparison with abduction.
    He
started the car up again, hoping driving would give
his thoughts some time to settle. The decision to keep the girl with him
against her will was already beginning to feel like the worst decision he had
ever made.
    Katherine
felt sick at heart. The mental and physical energy she had invested in her
escape, the shock of the near accident and the ruthlessness of her recapture
had all combined to leave her feeling drained and exhausted. Her body was
aching and sore but she felt detached from the pain. She had not allowed
herself to contemplate failure. A slow tear slid down her cheek and a numbing
despair crept over her mind, like a cloying winter fog.
    The sky
had cleared and the moon was now a bright, baleful eye in the sky, providing
more shadows than illumination. They had left the city behind and were
travelling through wooded countryside. Sean studied where he was and pondered
whether to take the motorway, which would risk his passenger getting a fix on
the route they were taking. He could do something to rule out this problem.
    Before
heading for the motorway he pulled over, delved about in the glove box and
brought out a pair of sunglasses and some masking tape that would do the job.
He blinded the glasses using the tape and then placed them on the girl’s face.
Kate flinched slightly as he did so but was unable to remove them because of
her restraints.
    Kate’s
sight was now completely restricted. The darkness, on top of everything else,
was unnerving but her mind insisted that she should not give up hope. Left in
the dark with her own tumbling thoughts, it suddenly
struck her that it may not be a vain hope; the only reason he would want her
blind was if he was worried about what she would see. Surely this offered some
promise that he might not kill her? She tried not to undermine this fragile
hope by dwelling on what fate might await her instead.
    As it was
very late at night the motorway proved relatively traffic free. However, he
curtailed his usual tendency to exceed the speed limit, keeping within the
70mph restriction. He