He was here.
The man Riley called Death walked into the room.
His cold gray eyes met mine, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he could hear the rapid hammering shaking my ribcage. Could he smell the desire behind my fear, making me slip my hand down to finger my stashed contraband?
Preston Whitley wasn’t the only one who dreamt about ending a life. I’d killed him three hundred and seventy-five different ways in my dreams.
“Good morning, Little Bird.”
Was it morning? I couldn’t tell. There were no windows in here or clock to look at. Time displacement was a good tactic. I may have used it once or twice myself.
Every sensation suddenly lit up as he stepped past the threshold. Sweat coated my palms while my hand twitched to snatch my weapon. A heaviness crept in as a booted foot lifted off the floor, then the echoing vibrations when that same foot landed.
I felt every emotion that rolled through me.
Dread, fear, panic, and finally, when I saw the twinkle in his cold stare…hate.
“I trust you slept well.”
“You mean after you killed Brian?” I shot back. “Sure. There’s nothing like waking up covered in blood.”
He gave me a slight shrug and waltzed further into the room. “I cleaned you up.”
“What else did you do?” Not sure I wanted to know the answer to that.
“Sorry, Little Bird, I’m not into necrophilia. I prefer my prey a little more….” A lock of sandy hair flopped to the side as he tipped his head. “Feisty.”
I’d give him feisty.
“Your first mistake was considering my prey.” I shifted over to peek out the door as it swung shut.
The hiss of it clicking closed rang through the room, but I did manage to spot what looked like stairs before my view was cut off. At least I knew I wasn’t on the main floor. That was more information than I had seconds ago.
“And what’s my other mistake?”
My eyes rolled back over to Preston. “What?”
“You said my first mistake.” He explained while running his hand over the dresser. “I assume you meant I made more than one.”
I didn’t say anything, just fingered the velvety fabric hiding my secret. The second he walked into this cage, I’d grab the rope and show him what his other mistake was.
Preston’s response to my silence was a smirk. A small, simple expression that should not be at all ominous. But on him, that slight tug at the corner of his mouth sent a chill up my spine.
I pressed my back against the bars behind me and focused on more important things, like the lit-up panel next to the door and the fact that it closed independently. Meaning it wasn’t a lock and key device. I needed to find a remote or something more drastic, like cutting Preston’s hand off. Considering I didn’t see anything sharp around, that would pose a problem. Of course, there was always the possibility that Preston himself had a knife.
My eyes returned to the man slowly stalking across the room. I didn’t see anything sticking out of his pockets, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have something.
Hmm, how easy would it be to take it from him?
Preston took his time closing the distance. It was a game that predators in the wild played. A lion crept through the grass. Wolves circled their prey. Even the insect kingdom had its own version. It was a dance meant to instill fear and hopelessness. That was what the gentle tapping of his fingers against the wall was meant to do. Just like the subtle way he glanced back at the bed. It was all part of the dance.
The glimmer that sparkled through his eyes was unnerving, to say the least, but that didn’t mean I’d give in to my fear. I was not the gazelle standing alone in a field or the deer that was circled in the forest. I was the praying mantis hiding in the leaves. My judgment would not be impeded.
“You think you’re pretty smart, don’t you, Little Bird?”
I knew I was smart. That didn’t stop intimidation from seeping into my bones.
Each long graceful stride Preston took was more daunting than the next. He moved across the floor without making a sound as if silence itself followed him. Even the corded muscles under his black shirt tensed smoothly in his shoulders. I’d seen well-oiled machines that didn’t perform half as well as he walked. It was sickening and disturbing though something did seem…off.
