“I don’t want this,” she murmured.

“Too bad.”

Maybe this was all designed to break her so she could be built up again. Maybe there was a master plan. Or maybe Nick was just a sick bastard who liked torturing people. Either way, she didn’t much care.

She turned slowly, until she felt the sun in her face. It had to be late afternoon, so the sun was in the west. She thought about sitting in the back of the SUV during the drive and feeling the sun moving across her lap, warming her hands and her thighs. Then she closed her eyes and pictured a map.

They’d driven north for a while, then turned into the sun. So she had to go east to retrace the route. If she started walking, maybe she would find her way back. Or maybe just die. Right now that seemed okay, too.

She spun on her heel and took the first step. She half expected Nick to say something, but he didn’t. She kept moving forward, straining to see anything that could trip her, like a fence or a bush.

“Where are you going?” he called after a couple of minutes.

“Home.”

“Good luck with that.”

She raised her hand and gave him the finger. The sun was hot on her back, but the heat was reassuring. It reminded her she was going the right way. That if she didn’t give up, eventually she would make it.

CHAPTER TWO

WOMEN WERE an inherent pain in the ass, Nick thought as he grabbed four bottles of water from the refrigerator in the mudroom. Aaron followed him back outside.

“What are you doing? Where’s Izzy? You haven’t lost her already, have you?”

Nick jerked his head to the right and kept on walking. “She took off.”

“What?” Aaron took a half hop to keep up. “She’s blind. She can’t just take off.”

“She did.”

“What did you say? I know this is your fault. You said something mean, didn’t you?”

“No.”