Chapter 23 Fox on the Brink
My head spun with this information; my brain wouldn’t let me fully register what I just learned. I wasn’t even sure what freaked me out more…. The fact that he somehow figured I was the fox… Or the fact that my parents have been trying to shut him and his family down, longer than I have been alive, and I am laying in a bed of some sort in the house we have tried to find with no luck.
I still couldn’t decide if I could trust Ezra or not, but I needed to stay here until I gathered my strength. Maybe the fact that I saved his life will keep me alive long enough to heal and get the hell out of here, but I did betray his trust right after... I let out a defeated sigh.
“Not having fun?” A bored male voice asked me.
“Huh...? Who are you?” I asked in a gravelly voice.
“Griffen.” The male voice answered, sounding even more bored.
“No...” I groaned out. I knew Mr. Griffin. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew it wasn’t him.
“You hit your head hard….” The imposter said. He sounded like him, but he didn’t have any sense of familiarity that I got with the real Griffen. I was weak prey. I needed to trust my instincts until Ezra came back. If he came back… I mentally tossed that thought out of my head. I needed to focus on the here and now, not the what ifs.
Someone was trying to trick me into trusting they were Griffen. Something in my gut told me it wasn’t him. I wanted to see if I could peek a glance at the person in the room with me. Ezra’s warning set off bells in my head “If people knew who you really were, they would kill you because of your parents.” I wasn’t sure how clearly you could see my eyes, but if they could see the color, it would give me away. So I pushed away all temptation to open my eyes and see who was really there.
“Wha… what… do you… want?” I struggled to ask.
“The truth! Spit it out!! Who are you really!” The imposter angrily yelled at me, and I was right to trust that it wasn’t really him. This wasn’t how Griffen got mad. I hadn’t known him long, but this wasn’t his style. This person wanted me to slip up and let it show I was the fox or they thought I had some sort of intel.
“What….? I’m… Elizabeth..?” I tried to sound convincingly confused.
“You are no ordinary person to be brought here by Master Ezra.” That’s where the imposter went wrong. Griffen would never call Ezra master unless he had to, and he didn’t have to with me.
“But I am??? What are you talking about?” I tried again. I even put a little fear in my voice for added effect.
“YOU ARE NOT, and I will get the answer from you!! One way or another.” The imposter threatened. Now I was a little fearful. What was this madman going to do to me? I wasn’t sure how I was going to defend myself, but I was going to figure something out. I was trained to deal with this. I would just need a minute to figure it out while my head and body ached in pain.
I felt the imposter pull something from me. My eyes almost fluttered open. I fought the urge to open my eyes to see what he was doing, but I clamped my eyes shut as hard as I could. My life depended on not slipping up.
“What…? What did you do?” I asked with real panic in my voice now. I was so helpless.
“I removed the IV that was filling you with pain meds. If you want the pain meds back, you just have to tell me the truth. I give it 10 minutes before you start to feel pain. It might be sooner with how badly you are banged up.” The imposter laughed. It was cold and heartless.
This guy was crazy. I have been tortured before. So, I can handle it longer than most. I wish I knew how badly I was hurt at the moment. So, I could mentally prepare for what was about to happen. Maybe it was a good thing? He might believe I am just a normal girl if the pain catches me off guard. I had to come up with a plan to hold off the worst that was about to happen. Maybe I’ll get lucky, and the pain will knock me out.
I did my best to prepare, but I knew it was going to bad. Whatever pain meds they gave me was already wearing off. By my estimation, it’s been less than 5 minutes. I began to get a burning sensation all over my body. It started at my toes and worked its way up. My body started to fidget and sweat. Trying my best to hold back my whimpers of pain. My best effort went into hiding my obvious discomfort. I knew I wasn’t doing a good job at it, and the deep chuckle rumbling nearby. I knew he was closer, but the overload of pain was canceling out everything else. I could barely hear or understand what he was saying. It took all my effort to stay awake. What was my plan again? I couldn’t remember. The man was talking, but what he was saying didn’t register. I fought to keep my eyes closed and awake. Maybe this was my plan? Was there more? I couldn’t remember.
The man must have done something to me because all of a sudden, there was something wet on my leg. That’s all I could register because the pain I felt was so overwhelming, it took me a minute to register that I was screaming. I felt like I was sinking into a dark hole. I knew I wasn’t; I was going to pass out.