Max ordered Erin to sit on a chair in the middle of the small bedroom. The contents of her bag lay spread on the bed. The case she used to keep her sunglasses had been dismantled. She only stopped looking at it when she felt the rope around her neck, scratching, digging, pulling her back. She tried to reach, but her arms were pinned to her body. For some moments she was sure she was going to die, until he unexpectedly released her neck. He had been using one end of the rope to hold her while he tied her to the chair. He gave a last tug and secured the rope somewhere at her back. The knot was stuck between her shoulder blades. When she tried to move, a galaxy of stars exploded in her brain.

‘Now,’ he said, ‘I guess you, as the clever girl you are, understand you aren’t getti...

Please subscribe to keep reading.