He didn’t say a word.
But the silence did.
Something in me broke, and I spun on my heel and ran. My bare feet pounded against the threadbare carpet, my breath coming in panicked gasps. Behind me, I heard him move.
I didn’t dare look back. I threw myself into the foyer as my fingers grazed the walls for balance.
The door…. My fingers wrapped around the handle, and I twisted it. I was about to open it when a hand clamped over my knuckles.
I screamed, but my body was slammed against the door, cutting me off. His strength was overwhelming, and then a second later, both my wrists were pinned to my sides. I thrashed, kicked, anything to get free, but he was formidable.
Tears blurred his face, his breath was hot against my skin, and I yelled.
Steel grey eyes penetrated me.
My mouth was dry and I couldn’t gather saliva to talk. But the more I looked at him, the more I hated him. He just stood there, knee pressing between my legs, eyes watching, and hands pinning me down.
I opened my mouth to curse at him, but before I could speak, something sharp pricked my neck. My vision blurred. His hands loosened their hold, and I thumped to the ground on my knees in front of him.
The last thing I saw was his face—twisted in chaos, but utterly, terrifyingly silent.
Then, oblivion.
CHAPTER TWO
Dolcezza
I could hear myself breathing slowly and deeply. My body was tied to something I assumed to be a chair. I couldn’t move, and it crept more and more into my senses than it should. My eyelids twitched, and after several attempts, I managed to force them open. I was in a dim room, barely recognisable. Concrete with no windows, just a metal door.
The events of last night came rushing in. I remembered looking… Adrian. My chest tightened before a sob broke through.
The man. The gun. Blood. And the needle.
How did… everything crash in just one night? Why?
Where was I? Why was I here? How did I get here? I wanted to scream, but my throat was dry and sore, like my limbs. Andthis alien feeling frightened me more – a lack of control over my body such that I could only gasp for air.
I screamed, and this time, though guttural and strained, it was audible. I shifted, moving my limbs, only to realise the ropes were tight. Tears came unrequited to my eyes, streaming down my cheeks in cold rivers.
My movements were clumsy and unnatural. I managed to unbalance the chair, and fall to the ground, still bound. The armrest broke, and my limbs came free.
I crawled away from the broken chair while ripping the ropes off of me, half-tripping over the long pale blue fabric of a long dress I never remembered putting on. I began sprinting as fast as I could towards the metal door when something yanked me back, slamming me forward, scraping my chin and knees on the floor. My instincts had been too slow, not allowing me enough time to balance myself.
Tugging, I was met with hard metal chains bound at one end to my right ankle and the other to the metal ring, which was bolted to the floor.Oh god…
Kidnapped. The realisation harassed my thoughts.
Someone kidnapped me. But that didn’t halt my struggles. I wiped the tears off my cheeks praying that all this would turn out to be one of my nightmares. I wasn’t rich or valuable, so why did someone kidnap me? Why did they… kill Adrian? And even if someone wished to use me to their advantage, no one would care if I was abducted or not. My thoughts wandered to the darkest reality.
I was probably taken by some sick predator who meets women and rapes them, and then kills them in such a way that no one could recognise their mutilated bodies. Shivers ran uncontrollably up and down my spine.
The metal door creaked, jerking my head up.
A soft light infiltrated first. Even though it was not bright, I was blinded for a moment.
Then I saw him.
He stood in the doorway like a bringer of death. His hair fell over his forehead, dark and slightly messy.
