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I reach out and jam my finger against the button to close the doors. I don’t want to hear that again. And I don’t want to know why I heard it. Who it came from or why. I stab the button over and over, frantic.Come on, come on, close!
I shudder in relief when the doors start to slide shut, then press the button for the lobby once again. Forget looking around. I need to move, now. Maybe I can bolt out of this place before anybody catches me.
But instead of moving, the low hum from the motor cuts out, and I only have a split second to absorb the sudden silence before I’m plunged into darkness.
TEAGAN
Even after thedim elevator emergency light comes on, I can barely see my hand in front of me. It’s so quiet in here. I can hear my heart rapidly beating in my chest. My breathing becomes erratic as I drag my hands along the side of the wall, like I’m trying to search for an exit I know is not there.
I’m so fucked.
So fucking fucked!
Cursing myself for coming here in the first place, I try my best to calm down and get my breathing under control before I hyperventilate.
Inhale, exhale. Slow and steady.
A few moments later, the panic becomes slightly less crippling, and I take a seat on the floor, pressing my back against the elevator wall.
How the hell am I going to get out of here?
I barely have time to think about it when the light suddenly flickers back on. I squint my eyes against the harsh fluorescent light.
The elevator starts moving again, descending toward the lobby, only to stop short three levels. The door slides open, and I scramble to my feet, getting ready to fight whoever is on the other side.
“Ms. Bennett.” Mason’s deep voice catches me off guard. I’m not sure why I didn’t expect him here, but I didn’t. “I thought I had asked you to stay in your room.”
“Fuck you!” I spit out. “I’m not a prisoner. I didn’t do anything wrong. You need to tell me why I’m here and what the hell this place is. Why did I hear somebody scream?”
“I don’t know what you heard, but I’m sure it was a misunderstanding.”
“Cut the crap, Mason. I want answers. This is not a normal hotel, and I want to know what’s going on. And then I want to leave; you can’t just keep me here.”
“Let’s go to my place and talk.” Mason steps into the elevator, positioning himself in front of the pad, so I can’t see him type in the code.
The elevator door closes, and we are whisked up to the same place I first met him. He walks me to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair for me to sit. “Would you like a drink? Maybe a glass of wine.”
“Do you have something stronger?”
The ghost of a smile appears on his lips as he nods. Opening the freezer, he pulls out a bottle of tequila and pours a shot into a glass he grabbed from the cabinet.
“Salt and lime?” he asks when placing the glass in front of me.
Instead of answering, I simply take the glass and bring it to my lips. Tipping it, I let the cold liquid flow down my throat until it settles into my stomach with a heat only tequila can provide.
“Now talk,” I order.
“Booze makes you bossy. I’ll have to remember that.”
“No, you don’t because after you tell me what is going on, I’m going to leave and never come back.”
“I advise against it.”
“Are you saying you’re holding me against my will?”
“No, I’m saying I’m trying to protect you.”
“By keeping me prisoner?”
