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Cautiously, I rose from the couch, hating the fact my legs were shaking, making it almost impossible to take a step forward. When I did, the second I heard another sound, I let out a sharp cry before realizing the limb of a tree or maybe flying debris had hit the exterior of the house. The pounding rain seemed to increase with every passing second, which added to the sense of danger.
“Maddox!” My voice was more insistent but was still met with silence. If you could call an approaching hurricane silence. As I headed toward the flashlight, accepting the fact he was likely trying to get the generator going, I couldn’t get over the sensations of my skin crawling.
The darkness ate at me even when I’d reached the flashlight, the ominous shadows in the room whispering from the depths of mysoul. As if there were demons waiting in the darkest corners of the room, prepared to devour not only my soul but my body as well.
Of course that was ridiculous given the level of security, but I was still nervous, trying my best to find patience, which usually eluded me. I swung the light around the room, thankful that Maddox hadn’t carried me downstairs to another level of darkness.
My mouth was dry, whether from nerves or how long I’d been convulsing in a sea of vivid and dirty, sinful images. I allowed myself a smile as I tried to make my way toward the kitchen.
The slight sound from behind me drew my attention and I stopped short before reaching the hallway. “Maddox?” After a few seconds, I slowly tipped my head over my shoulder, shining the flashlight into the living room. Seeing nothing, I reminded myself the storm was creating unrealistic scares, my nerves remaining on edge. I hadn’t experienced a panic attack since I was a child. They’d been fairly often then, a doctor telling my father they were because I felt the loss of my mother so intensely.
Why now?
Because not only did Maddox feel out of control, so did I, just like I’d felt as a child, my world turned upside down. I had to remind myself the man I adored would return soon. Then there’d be light, at least enough to chase away the demons. For now, I was thirsty. I did what I could to ignore the trickling fear, grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator before returning to the living room.
With the windows being shuttered, I couldn’t see how bad the storm had gotten but I could feel it, the cold chill of the whipping wind sliding through the cracks, underneath the doors.
Clunk.
The sound was more startling than before, as if the roof was caving in. After gently easing the bottle onto a bookshelf, I folded one arm across my chest as I lifted the flashlight beam to the ceiling, inspecting for any leaks.
Another strange sound assaulted my senses seconds later and I swung the light around the room. “Maddox?” Maybe I could at least find out where he was. That would give me a level of reassurance that he wasn’t lying dead somewhere, struck by a tree. Great. Now my mind was drifting into another level of uncontrollable thoughts.
As soon as I headed for the front door, hair on the back of my neck stood up on end. “Maddox?” I asked again, although my voice now sounded haunted.
“I’m afraid Maddox isn’t coming to rescue you.”
The dark voice was evil, unrecognizable. But I was certain without a shadow of a doubt that the person standing in the living room was the same one who’d threatened me on the phone months before, and also the same person responsible for terrorizing me outside the ice cream shop.
I held my breath, doing my best to capture my angry resolve. “Who the fuck are you?”
“We’ll just say someone you’re going to become acquainted with very soon.” His laugh was just like before, horrible in the inflection. “Before I take you to your new master.”
Master?
Without moving, I scanned the area around me, fearful that he’d moved closer. When I was certain he had, I grabbed the only thing I could see using as a weapon.
A lamp.
I had a feeling this was the fight for my life, my bloodcurdling scream sounding more like a warrior princess than a frightened woman. The moment I managed to connect the thick piece of metal with the asshole trying to ruin our lives, I dropped the flashlight. As it bounced across the floor, I was provided with a single clear shot of the man’s face no longer hidden behind a hoodie or mask.
Maybe the terror skittering through me added to the moment, but the man’s eyes were pure evil. He lunged toward me as I jerked backward, able to grab a portion of my hair. There was a ripping sound as strands of hair were yanked from my head.
As I was pitched backward, the force enough to pummel me into the couch, I almost dropped the lamp.
But I didn’t.
When he came after me again, I smashed it not once but twice against the perpetrator’s head, shocked when I felt warm liquid splash against my cheek. The man’s blood. Good. He bellowed then jumped forward, tackling me to the floor, easily ripping the lamp from my hand. The harsh smash as it hit the wall stifled the strangled sounds erupting from my throat as I struggled to scream.
“Your boyfriend is dead, sweetheart,” the bastard said as he wrapped his hands around my throat.
“Who. Are. You?”
“Your boyfriend’s worst nightmare. Redemption.”
Redemption. What the hell did he mean? I wiggled and tried to kick out but he was too strong.
The feeling of suffocation was immediate, the weight of the man’s heavy body crushing me against the floor, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered any longer if Maddox was dead.
