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I looked around the room, the pain nothing but a slight tremor in the back of my head now.
I felt unsteady from whatever medication Matteo had given me. My body felt stiff, as if I’d been sleeping for quite a while. And because I didn’t feel drugged, I had to assume that was the case.
I made slow work getting off the bed and padding barefoot over to the bathroom. I was thankful to see I was still in my clothes from when I'd gone to bed at home.
Although, the thought of Matteo undressing me didn’t terrify me as much as it should have. I blamed that on the drugs still in my system.
I used the restroom and bent down to guzzle water straight from the tap. I stood there a moment staring at myself in the mirror, seeing the bruise down the side of my face, presumably from when I fell.
I gently touched it, but the painkillers I’d taken must still be doing their job because, despite how nasty it looked, I felt little more than a tenderness.
When I left the bathroom, I was still alone, my focus going straight to the bedroom door. My heart was beating faster the closer I made my way to it. I was about to open it when I looked down at myself. Being barefoot and weaponless wasn’t going to help me in getting free, but a quick look around the room showed little that would help with the former or latter.
I started going through the dresser, then the closet, but it was clear this room wasn’t being used because I found jack shit in either. No clothes, nothing I could use as a weapon aside from a heavy lamp on the bedside table that was too clunky for me to wield properly.
But I couldn’t leave—or attempt to—empty-handed. That would be the stupidest fucking thing for me to do, and I wasn’t in some movie where I was a ditzy chick who didn’t know two-shits about surviving.
I went back into the bathroom and searched the cupboards and drawers. Aside from a couple of brand new bottles of shampoo and body wash, I came up empty-handed.
Then I rechecked the closet. There were a couple extra blankets on the top shelf, but again, nothing that I could use to beat the shit out of somebody.
I stared at that lamp once again, walked over to it, and picked it up. It was hefty, bulky, but I unplugged it, removed the shade, and gripped the neck in one hand, shaking it a few times to see how it felt.
I didn’t know how long I could keep hold of it as the bottom was solid metal and an abstract shape, but it was better than nothing.
After wrapping the cord around the base, I made my way to the door. I expected it to be locked, but it opened right away… and there wasn’t a guard stationed on the other side ready to stop me from trying to leave.
This had my hackles rising and warning bells going off in me.
If Matteo didn’t have someone watching my door, that meant he wasn’t worried about me trying to escape.There isn’t any hope for that.
For a moment, I just stood there and listened. I looked down each side of the hallway and saw nothing but emptiness, closed doors, and a few pieces of decor.
At any second, I expected Matteo and a handful of his goons to come down the hall. I was sure there were cameras posted all over, ones strategically placed so that, although hidden, he would know what was happening in every square inch of this prison.
The instinct in me said to run, to go as fast as I could, and get away from the danger. But I knew the reality of my situation. I was in Matteo’s house, and he knew this place like the back of his hand.
I couldfeelhim watching me despite being alone. I had to be clever, even if the chance at getting out right now was slim to none.
I looked down at my bare feet knowing that even if by some grace of God I got outside, I probably wouldn’t get very far.
With one more stabilizing inhale and exhale, I glanced down the hallway once more.
I took a left, gripping the lamp, my arm already aching from the weight, my palms sweaty from my nerves.
The only thing I heard was the steadytick-tick-tickof a clock in the distance and the soft thump of my feet hitting the plush floor runner beneath me.
When I turned the corner, I spied a set of stairs. I was so close. I could sprint toward it and touch the polished, smooth wood.
But I froze mid-step when I came face-to-face with a man dressed in all black, two guns strapped to his waist, and the ugliest, coldest expression on his face I’d ever seen.
My heart was beating so fast and hard. I couldn’t hear anything other than the sound of it in my ears.
I curled my fingers tightly around the lamp and saw him look down at my “weapon”. He chuckled humorlessly and then curled his lip in a snarl of disgust.
I was running on pure adrenaline right now.
We stared at each other for a few seconds, as if time stood still and neither one of us could move.
