AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This is your one and only warning. You better fucking find her before I put a bullet in your head.”
“Did you hear me?” I snarled and swirled the gun aimlessly at the heads of all the men gathered. “You all have twenty-four hours to bring her back here alive. Or you all fucking disappear.”
I swung the gun. “Pavel, come with me.” Blood roared in my ears, and anger waged a war inside me. I stomped inside, past the foyer, and to the security room, with him trailing closely behind.
The screen displayed a grid of multiple camera feeds, each portraying a different angle. The monochromatic streams showed the surroundings with timestamps in the corner and the camera status.
Leaning forward, I gripped the edge of the table and ordered, “I want to see all of it.” Pavel set to work. “Start from the morning, noon...allof it.”
He pulled up footage from the camera in her room. I watched her pace the room, bite her lips, and throw herself on the bed... she was indecisive. Until, after a few hours, she wasn’t. She got out of bed—craning her neck, peeking through the windows, ringing for a housekeeper—and... that’s when it happened.
It started from a seemingly harmless conversation, right before she knocked out the young housekeeper, pulled her into the bathroom, and came out with swapped clothes. She made it out of her room, past the security guards, and outside the gate.
She was clever and the rest of them were fucking stupid. I could not believe her audacity. How could they not recognize the difference? What irked me even more was not her disguise, but the time stamp on the video.
She crossed the gates at exactly four-fifteen.
I slammed my hands on the table and wiped off a mug and half-eaten sandwich with one sweep of my arm. “Fuck!”
If Pavel hadn’t come in with those men, I would have caught up to her. She’d have never left. I clenched my teeth so hard and dug my nails into the wood, that I thought they’d break.
Rage ripped through me, the tremor in my voice audible. “Find her,” I growled through gritted teeth. “I want her found. Atallcosts. I don’t care what you have to do; I don’t care how many bullets you must waste... how many bodies you have to burn! I. Want. Her. Back!”
My voice traveled with the echo of the uncomfortable emptiness that burrowed deep and squeezed my chest. Pavel nodded quietly and exited the room. Once the door clicked shut, I rained bullets into the cabinet and yelled, “Fuck!”
She was meant to bemine.
I just had her. I just fucking had her. And now...
I refused to believe I’d lost her.
Chapter 10 - Vanessa
(Five Years Later)
My bare feet hit the pavement and I tripped over the curb, scraping my palms and ankle against the concrete. I scrambled to my feet. The sting burned and hot tears dropped on my cheeks, blurring my vision. I ran. I panted... and ran.
As fast as my legs could take me down the empty street. The wind whipped my hair across my face, spraying salty tears and sweat on my lips as I glanced over my shoulder. Gradually, they faded in the distance. The men in black. I choked on a sob. My lips curled upwards.
I could feel it now... almost taste it. Freedom at last.
I turned around, doubling my sprint when a dark shadow fell over me and wrapped a fist in my hair. It yanked my head backward and pulled me forcefully, away from the light.
“No!” I screamed and thrashed around, with tears streaming down my face. But it wouldn’t budge.
“You thought you could run away?” his deep voice caressed my ears and sharp teeth grazed my earlobe.
“Let me go!”
The shadow grew so large until it morphed into a darkness so thick that I could barely breathe. My eyes watered, my lungs constricted, and my heart thumped in my ears. More hands latched onto my shoulder, pulling, claw-like nails digging painfully into my skin. “No...” I mumbled weakly. “Please... please.”
The streets blurred and suddenly I was back in the room. The windows and doors had huge padlocks and wooden boards blocking the light. The hands threw me in, and I was left alone with the dark shadow. He pranced forward and held my neck in a vise-like grip.
His green eyes bore into mine when he said, “You only do what I fucking tell you to do, kitten.”
My eyes snapped open, and I shot up from the bed soaked in cold sweat. My chest heaved and I placed a hand on it to calm my racing heart. I shut my eyes and leaned back on the headboard. It was just another nightmare.
Like the nightmare I had last night, and the night before, and... the previous nights for the past five years.
