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It was official.
I was going to die.
I’d let myself be lulled into a false sense of security, foolishly believing that Mr. Lombardi couldn’t mean to hurt me, because who paid for a year of expenses just to kill someone?
Apparently, my benefactor did, that’s who.
The drive up the dirt road hadn’t boded well for me, and I should have taken the sign for what it was and turned around. Because when the building came into view, I knew I was fucked.
An old warehouse. The original function seemed indiscernible at a glance. All that remained was a generic, boxy brick structure, but even with the signs of its age, it was clearly cared for. Someone had given it a modern touch with new windows, and the shrubbery in front of the building wasn’t overgrown.
A brand new and beautifully detailed massive brick fence surrounded the property, and even though the gate was thrown open when I pu
lled up, I wanted to crawl in a hole when I saw the guard booth tucked behind the fence, even if it was empty.
It felt like a prison, like whoever lived there put that fence to keep someone inside just as much as to keep the rest of humanity out.
What kind of monster needed to be caged inside an old warehouse? Why would Chad have been friends with someone like that?
When I finally pulled my car in front of the building, I still couldn’t convince my body that it was time to get out—not when pure terror pulsed through me. The same way that my body randomly tingled with the awareness of being watched, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something horrific was about to walk into my life.
Stepping foot inside that building would mean horrible things for me. And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to put the car in reverse either. I couldn’t walk away from whatever waited for me inside.
When Mr. Lombardi parked his car next to mine, the older man didn’t hesitate to climb out of his car and make his way to me with an enormous smile. He tugged my door open, and I had the distinct impression he really was that much of a gentleman, but that the circumstances at present also just dictated he ushered me into the house.
It was disconcerting, but I somehow unbuckled my seatbelt and turned off the ignition in the car. When my legs swung out of the car, I glanced down at my yoga pant clad thighs and winced. Meeting my mysterious benefactor in workout gear had probably not been my smartest choice, but I supposed it wouldn’t matter if he killed me.
And it wasn’t like they’d given me much choice after picking me up from the studio and demanding I come immediately.
With a little groan of annoyance at myself, I stood from the seat and let Mr. Lombardi close the door. I took the arm he held out, letting him guide me to the front door even though I wanted to run in the other direction.
When his hand touched the door, I spun to look back at the gated driveway as the wrought iron clicked together dramatically and sealed me inside. The man at my left only patted my arm in some pathetic attempt to be reassuring, but we were so past that point it didn’t matter.
“What’s going on?” I asked him finally.
“I assure you, you’re perfectly safe. For security reasons, it’s necessary for Mr. Fiore to take certain precautions with his privacy and the safety of his home. That’s all.”
“Maybe I should go,” I protested when he turned the knob on the door. “I can meet him in a public place. I didn’t imagine this would be so private when I agreed to come here. I imagined another office, not his home.” I glanced toward my car, wondering if I should just get back in and go. Something felt wrong about the entire situation, and my skin tingled as it tried to warn me of the coming danger.
“This is where he wanted the meeting to take place. He will never hurt you, please know that. I wouldn’t allow myself to be involved in this if I thought otherwise,” he said reassuringly. The knob turned finally, and he shoved the door in until I was peering inside.
The sight of the bright entryway and luxurious kitchen that greeted me shocked me momentarily, but it couldn’t distract me from the dread I felt when I turned to face Mr. Lombardi again. “Involved in what, exactly?”
He clenched his jaw, guiding me inside the front door. It took more force than it had previously, more like my legs solidified and just couldn’t be convinced to cross that final threshold.
I knew when I did, nothing would be the same ever again. I had no clue how I could know something like that, but I could feel him inside. Whoever he was.
Waiting.
My skin pebbled in goosebumps, the hair rising on my arms when the door closed behind me and trapped me inside the space. When the massive figure rounded the corner from behind the brick wall, the first thing I saw was the piercing blue of his eyes as he stared at me.
The same blue eyes that had haunted my dreams and consumed my pleasure for the year since Chad died.
When my eyes darted over his face to his midnight hair, there was no denying the obvious. No denying the similarity between him and the man I’d met in the park years prior, even if the one in front of me was a few years older and a few sizes broader.
I knew him.
“Hello, Tesoro.”
