An hour or two had passed since Tammy had found the dog. He refused to leave her side, jogging along beside Tammy as she picked her way through the thick underbrush.

“What are you doing here anyway?” Tammy asked, throwing a stick for the mutt.

The branch hit the water with a splash and Ben came running back to her, too frightened to get his paws wet.

“Silly,” she taunted before patting him on the head, his soft fur tickling her hand.

That’s when she heard it. A vicious growl rising from behind her. She turned around immediately, Ben hiding behind her legs.

Aidan stood ahead of her with a deadly look on his face. His hair was drenched, flattened by the rain and he didn’t appear impressed. “Yes, you are silly.”

She took a hasty step back, but stopped herself at the sight of the dog which stood by him, snarling and ready to bite.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” Aidan suggested, throwing a glance toward the mutt. “Bobby isn’t as friendly as Benji over there.”

At the sound of his name, Ben whimpered, cowering with his tail between his legs.

Aidan smiled before pulling his gun out; the same gun which he had used to kill Louise with… and Joyce.

He lifted his head, raising the weapon slightly. “You know, I didn’t have to shoot Joyce,” he stated, taking small steps. “Alex isn’t dead.”

He laughed, his face darkening. “I found a note on the floor of her bungalow,” he went on, not caring how loud he spoke. “What were you doing with my cousin’s number?”

Tammy froze, unable to move as the thought of Alex came back to her.

“I don’t know,” she replied, unable to make her brain work properly to come up with a valid excuse. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Aidan’s smirk grew wider as he took a few steps closer to her. “Oh, I think you do.”

He paused, his grin disappearing. “In fact, the first thing Alex said when he regained consciousness was your name.”

Tammy shook her head as he took another step.

His dog barked, making Ben cry and Aidan roll his eyes. “I should have just shot him when I had the chance.”

Tammy scowled at him, her eyes suddenly full of anger. “He’s a dog,” she shouted before staring down at Ben.

Aidan’s smile returned as he clearly found something amusing. “Not the dog, you idiot. Alex.”

As silent as a mouse, but as fast as a fox. Alex appeared behind Aidan, almost as if he had been summoned.

Tammy’s and his eyes locked and he placed his finger on his lips, telling her to stay quiet.

She complied, her eyes shifting back to Aidan who was now only inches away. “So,” she started, her voice shaking with nerves. “Are you going to kill me now?”

Aidan shook his head, edging closer to Tammy. “Of course not,” he smiled. “I just want to know what your business is with the guy behind me.”

He turned around with speed, giving Tammy no chance to distract him further. Her eyes grew wide when he raised the gun.

Alex held his arms up, “Aidan, you don’t want to do this,” he offered, begging for his life. “Just let her go. Everything will work out. You’ll see. We’ll be good.”

Aidan stared at his cousin with an emptiness in his eyes. He wasn’t paying attention to anything besides Alex, not so much as noticing when the dog beside him darted into the brush.

“Please,” Alex pleaded again. “I’m your only family. You need me, not her. Let the girl go.”

Aidan’s face softened, and for a second, Tammy wondered if he was actually considering it.

He frowned, a sudden frustration washing over his face. “I have a brother.”

Alex shut his eyes, almost like he knew what was to come.

This time, Tammy didn’t flinch when the shot fired.

~

Tammy awoke in Aidan’s bedroom, but not his bed.

She was sitting on the floor, her right wrist bound to the bed frame with rope.

It wasn’t until the cool air nipped at her skin when she realized she had been stripped of her clothes, now only wearing a large gray T-shirt and thankfully, her underwear.

Tammy pulled on her restraint, twisting her hand awkwardly until it burned, the friction igniting a fiery pain in her wrist.

The door opened and Aidan appeared, wearing his usual, arrogant smile.

Tammy kicked her leg out, aiming for him deliberately.

He dodged the hit, jumping over her foot with ease.

She let out a scream, frustrated that she couldn’t get to him. “You’re sick, absolutely sick.”

He bent down beside her and she spat, her saliva meeting his cheek and just missing his eye.

He shut his eyes, wiping the spit from his face before laughing. “Kinky.”

The smile disappeared, however, when she raised her free hand, landing a punch under his jaw and into his throat. “Now, that wasn’t very nice.”

His words unfazed Tammy and she balled her fist up again, ready for round two.

This time he grabbed her hand, gripping it tightly with a strength Tammy didn’t realize he had.

She winced and he smiled, somehow pleased with the pain he was inflicting.

“You should be careful,” he suggested, glancing down at her wrist. “Tattoo’s take time to heal. They can get infected easily.”

Aidan switched his attention back to his own body, gazing at his hand as if it were something magical.

“I ran out of ink for mine,” he exclaimed, each word bursting with excitement. “So I just used a pen.”

Confused, Tammy looked at where his stare landed. There on his wrist just beneath his palm, was a word penned in biro.

Tamsin.

“Seriously?” she shouted, going in for another kick.

Aidan frowned, grabbing her foot before she could land the jab. “Well, I’m sorry,” he said sarcastically. “I’ve ordered more ink. I’ll do it properly when I get the chance.”

Tammy froze, remembering his words. “What do you mean, you ran out of ink for yours?” she questioned, repeating his words from earlier. “And where are my clothes?!”

“Your clothes are in the wash. They were filthy.”

She narrowed her eyes and he smiled. “See for yourself,” he suggested before taking a hold of her wrist.

Aidan was by no means a tattoo artist. The writing was messy, each letter larger than the next.

He tilted his head to the side, gauging Tammy’s reaction to the engraved lettering on her arm.

She hid her disgust well, making sure to not give Aidan any boost to his already full ego.

“So,” he asked, breaking the silence between them, “what do you think?”

She shrugged her shoulders, desperate to not give him any kind of response.

His eyes darkened, “that took me an hour,” he shouted, his warm breath smothering her face.

Despite the sudden closeness Aidan had gathered, Tammy laughed. “Really?” she dared herself, “I wouldn’t give up your day job.”

She had been trapped with Aidan for weeks now, and she’d only just got the bottle to talk back to him - - test him, if you will.

Aidan snarled before raising his hand. “That’s uncalled for,” he growled.

The slap was sudden and hard, knocking Tammy’s face to one side with ease.

“Your clothes will be ready this afternoon,” he said, standing up. “I’ll be renting the bungalow out next week so I’ll need your help cleaning it.”

And just like that, he was gone.