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“Lucca, this is Fallon. Fallon, this is Lucca,” Markus introduces us with a grunt, interrupting the stretch of awkward silence.
I can feel his gaze like a thousand pinpricks against my skin. He’s waiting for me to do something stupid, watching like a shark watches for blood in the water.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I reply meekly.
Lucca’s eyes twinkle with excitement, and I don’t like it. Don’t like the way his gaze turns hungry as it drifts over me, almost as if he’s interested.
Markus wouldn’t dare to share me, would he?
“Fallon was just going to start the sides for dinner,” Markus hisses through his teeth, his eyes shooting daggers at me. For whatever reason, he wants me to disappear for a while, and I’ll gladly do that.
“Oh, yeah.” I pretend as if I knew that. “I’ll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me,” I say with way too much cheer. Even though the kitchen is only a few feet away, I exit the room like it’s a three-mile hike up a mountain, and I should’ve left a day ago.
I expel all the air out of my lungs. All I have to do is make it through this evening dinner, and then Lucca will leave, and with him will go the anxiety I’m feeling.Dinner passes in a blur, and I spend most of it pushing my food around on my plate. I can hardly stomach the steak, even though it smells delicious. All my attention is on Markus. Something is off about him.
I can’t put my finger on it, but he is acting strange, and strange enough, I doubt it’s because his friend is here. Throughout dinner, Lucca seemed to slip a mask over his face, similar to how Markus does. Concealing his emotions and feelings beneath it.
He watches me with this unreadable expression plastered on his face. He hasn’t really talked to me at all, not since Markus introduced us, but I don’t need him to talk to me to know he’s here. I can feel his eyes on me all the time.
It’s almost like he’s waiting for something to happen. What that is, I’m not sure.
As I finish cleaning up the dishes, I wonder if Lucca expects me to ask for help, or maybe he wants me to be scared of him?
It’s almost like this whole day is a test, and tonight I’m going to be locked back up in that cell. I think Markus is distancing himself from me on purpose as if he is scared to get too close, too attached, because only he knows what’s coming next.
Maybe I’m imagining things, or maybe he’s preparing himself. Preparing to hurt me. I still haven’t told him who I was going to call, and I’m sure he realizes that. I don’t think Markus is the kind of person who gives up that easily or forgets.
No matter what, I’ll do whatever it takes not to be put in that cell again.
While Markus seems cold and detached, my emotions are all over the place. I’m on edge because someone I don’t know is here, Markus is acting off, and on top of that, I still haven’t called them. I’ve been here three weeks now and haven’t contacted them once.
What if they think I’m dead? What’s going to happen to…
“Fallon,” Markus’s deep voice drags me from my dark thoughts. “Come here.” The timbre of his voice sends shivers down my spine. This isn’t going to lead anywhere good. I drop the dish back into the warm soapy water and dry my hands quickly.
When I turn around and head into the living room, both men are standing there and looking my way. Goosebumps pebble my flesh under the scrutiny of their cold-hearted stares. They are about to do something to me. I just know it.
My steps falter immediately. I’m tempted to run, to turn away from the wolves, and do whatever I can to escape. Markus’s gaze turns angry. He knows exactly what I’m thinking.
“Come. Here,” he orders, sterner this time. All I can see is the cell downstairs—the same four walls. No light, no sunshine. Coldness all around me. My insides knot a thousand times over. Swallowing down the golf ball-sized lump in my throat, I make my feet move. I force my feet forward because the alternative is worse.
“Stand in front of me.”
With shaking legs, I follow his command and stop right in front of him. I’m a dog willing to do any trick for her owner. Lucca moves behind me, and suddenly, I’m sandwiched between them. My heart seizes in my chest. What’s happening?
I turn my head to see what Lucca is doing, but Markus grabs me by the chin with two fingers and pulls me back, forcing me to see only him.
“Eyes on me, Fallon.” His voice is smoke wisping through the air.
