25----Into the tiger's den again

I stretched my shoulders and rubbed the sore skin around my wrists.

"We need to get you sorted out," he said.

"What's wrong with you?" I said. "I don't need to pack anything." "I don't think you want to wear my clothes," he said with a chuckle in his voice.

I frowned at Ben. His lips curved into a small smile.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"We're getting out of this," he said.

"Yeah, but I don't need to pack my bags to go to the police station."

"We're not going to the police."

My jaw dropped and Ben's face was filled with concern. He held my face in his hands. My stomach knotted when he touched me. I grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him away from me. I kicked him. Ben groaned in pain.

"Diana, calm down," he said. "We can't go to the police station. If we go there, they'll break us up."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Ben, you're a victim of this too."

Ben took a deep breath and rested his forehead against mine. Tears welled up in my eyes. I was so close to getting out of here, but the harsh reality of how trapped I was came back.

"I'm not being completely honest," he said. "When I met Bethany, I was not just a broke screenwriter living in Toronto."

He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened his eyes, piercing blue stared back at me.

"I'm on the run," he said. "The police are looking for me because I killed my sister and my mother."

I pulled Ben's hands away from my face. My chest cramped and I struggled to breathe. Ben reached for my face again and I slapped his hand away from me. I saw Ben killing Oliver, but I saw a man killing his captive to gain freedom.

Ben is a murderer.

He murdered his family in cold blood.

That's why he had no problem killing Colin. He had no idea who Colin was. He could have asked Colin to get out of here with us, but that's not what he wanted.

"Diana, don't cry," he said.

I didn't realize it, but tears had already burst into my eyes. I wiped them off my cheeks with a rag on the back of my hand.

"You're crazy," I said. "You're a killer."

"That's why I'm afraid to tell you," he said. "I knew you wouldn't understand. I would explain it all to you, but I don't have time right now. We need to get out of here."

"I don't."

Ben reached out to me again and I hit him. He grabbed my wrists and held them against his chest.

"Listen," he said. "I love you, Diana. I can't go anywhere without you. I always tell you: we will get out of this together."

"I don't!"

Ben let go of my wrist. He pulled his gun out of his pocket and put his other arm around my neck. He pressed the gun to the side of my temple. He leaned his head forward so that his head was next to mine. My body tensed. The barrel of the gun was still hot after firing at Oliver.

"You're all I have left," he said. His voice was hoarse and sent shivers down my spine. "I can't live without you. If you refuse to come with me, then I have no reason to live. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure we stay together."

Ben pressed the gun harder against my head. I imagined his finger wavering on the trigger. With just one small movement, he can put a bullet through our brains.

Ben has been teaching me what to do to keep these doctors happy so I can stay alive. I need to do the same thing to keep Ben happy so he doesn't kill us.

I put my arms around Ben's neck. I could feel the gun sliding to my head again. I buried my face in his neck. Ben's body relaxed, he and his pile of ammunition and he wrapped his arms around me. I was relieved when I felt the gun no longer press against my skull.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," I said.

Ben kissed my forehead before standing up. He stretched out his arm and helped me stand up. He snaked his arms around my waist. I wiped the remaining tears from my face. Ben held me close to his body as we passed Oliver's body. He grabbed his backpack off the counter and we walked down the hall to my room.

Ben put the bag on my bed, stuffed with stuff and clothes. He handed me a piece of clothing. I looked down at myself and saw that I was still wearing the scrubs Oliver had given me. I wanted to run to the bathroom and change, but I knew Ben wouldn't like that. He had already seen me naked so I changed as quickly as possible.

He zipped up the bag and slid it over his shoulder. He linked their fingers and we walked back down the corridor. He handed me his sunglasses before we started walking up the stairs.

I followed Ben as he pulled me through the house. He squeezed my hand as we walked out. There's a silver car parked in the driveway behind

I walked into the car and he slammed the door. I turned around in my seat and watched him put his bag in the trunk and walk to the driver's side. I pulled the seatbelt up to my chest as he inserted the key into the ignition.

Ben didn't say anything to me as he pulled out of the driveway, but he put his hand on my thigh. When I sat down, the hem of my skirt had risen so his hands were on my bare skin. My chest tightened as he ran his fingers up and down my thigh. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"I'm not sure yet," he said.

"Can we go to Ottawa?"

"Why? Because your family is there?" He looked at me and saw that I was chewing on my lower lip. "Honey, we can't see anyone."

"Are we being kidnapped again?" I said. "You could say we ran away together."

"What about your eyes? I'm sorry, but that can't be happening."

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the seat of my bed. Ben took his hands off my knees for a few seconds so he could turn on the radio. The car is filled with the sounds of classic rock. Ben's fingers drummed against my thighs to the beat of the music.

I saw a police car drive past us. The lights didn't come on and there were no alarms. I expected it to rush to Oliver's house, but it didn't.

Ben drove for hours and I remained silent. He left the busy city streets and now walked on a series of country roads. Only the strange car passed us.