“No!” My voice is strong now, commanding as I march over to him. “Please,” I begin, cringing at how my boldness immediately turns into a request. “Get out of my way.”
He’s guarding the door, and I reach around him for the gold knob. With one fluid motion, he grabs my wrist, spins me around, and covers my mouth with his hand.
“You don’t want to go out there,” he says, his deep voice vibrating along my back.
Heavy footsteps thud in the hallway outside, fading as they pass by.
Sweat beads on my forehead, and my heart climbs up my throat as he presses me to the steel of his body, my breath coming out in quaking bursts against his palm. I keep hold of my phone but drop my purse as I struggle to free myself, my mind spinning, sifting through hundreds of half-read self-defense articles.
Alarm bells sound inside my head, and the phrasestomp his footforces its way into my limbs.
I lift my leg, and my foot isn’t halfway to the ground when he dodges, sliding his scruffy cheek down my ear to whisper a piercing “shhh!”
I won’t be quiet. Instead, I yell against his hand and unleash another attack, sending my elbow back into his side. My blow glances off his hard core. He’s unflinching, unfazed, a solid block of muscle.
His punishing grip is back on my wrists as he turns me around, pressing my face against his chest. “I can get you out of here if you just stay quiet—”
I lift my knee in a quick and brutal strike that connects with its mark.
He lurches forward, cupping himself, and I break out of his grasp and rip open the door.
“Wait!” he grunts, but I don’t listen.
I charge into the shadowy corridor, death grip on my phone, searching for a way out.
* * *
Shit.
At least ten minutes have passed, and I’m still turning down dimly lit empty hallways. My boots, damp with snow slush, squeak against the marble floor shiny with veins of red as deep as dried blood. Each hallway is billionaire luxurious, and this one is no different. Affixed on the ruby-red silk-lined walls is a swirling swarm of glass dragonflies. Light from crystal chandeliers hanging on the coffered gold ceiling dances along the turquoise glass. I can’t help but reach out and touch one, bracing myself for it to come to life and fly away.
Focus!I internally shout at my unruly thoughts before I glance back down at my phone, the screen incredibly bright in the candlelight. Still no service. I can’t even make an emergency call.
“Hello?” The word echoes down the two-story hallway. I wait for a reply, but no one answers.
If I’m looking for a silver lining, and at this point I have to in order to keep moving one foot in front of the other, this isn’t the worst location I could have beenkidnapped and taken to. The vibe is giving me haunted palace, and the insurance must be outrageous with every room lit by fire, but it’s probably the nicest place I’ve ever been. And, now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t know for sure that I was abducted. I mean, that gorgeous man said he would help me, and all he did was bring me to a really nice room after I passed out in the middle of the sidewalk. And then he wouldn’t let me leave…
You were totally kidnapped.
“Damn this rain.” A gravelly voice sounds from around the corner along with the whiny creak of old hinges. I run down the rest of the dragonfly-decorated hallway and straight toward the noises. I turn the corner, and a cool gust of rain-scented wind greets me. A man dressed like an old-fashioned guard stands at the end of the hall. His imposing figure is silhouetted against the dim light as he props a big wooden door open with his foot. He shakes out his cape, droplets of water splattering onto the floor.
He turns as I approach, the gold buttons on his deep-maroon uniform shining like stars. His hand moves to the long sword at his side, a clear warning. Fear slows my stride, but I push it down, forcing myself to keep moving forward.
“I need help,” I shout, my hands whipping the air like he’s the bus driver and I’m actually going to make it this time.
He tenses, his bushy brows slanting over his eyes as I rush closer. There’s a moment of hesitation, a flicker of uncertainty that’s quickly replaced by determination. Without a word, he grabs the front of my jacket. I stumble, my feet slipping on the wet floor, flailing myarms to keep my balance.
With a rough shove, he pushes me out into the night. I barely manage to hang on to my phone as I topple on the wet pavement. Icy rainwater soaks through my dress, and I gasp as I scramble to my feet.
He pulls the door closed. The heavy wooden slab slams shut with a finality that echoes in the empty street. Anger flares, and I yell at the solid slab of wood: “Screw you!”
What is it with these fucking doormen?
Lightning streaks the sky, illuminating the world for a brief, blazing second before a clap of thunder booms. The clouds unleash a torrent of rain. I yank my hood over my wet hair and try my best to smooth out my wrinkled wet dress as I look around, trying to get my bearings.
The rain must have melted the snow because there’s none in sight. The dark alley stretches between the massive stone building I was just shoved out of and its twin, lurking ten feet away. Fog swirls thick and eerie, tendrils of mist curling around my ankles as I shiver in the cold, rain pattering against my hood until it’s all I hear.
The earthy scent of woodsmoke drifts on the frigid gusts blowing in from Lake Michigan. I catch the scent of food cooking, and my stomach growls. I press my hand to my middle, trying to soothe the pangs of hunger, and pull out my phone. I shiver again and try to hunker down in my coat as I dial 911 with stiff, cold fingers.
