I’m alone in this dark cell with a dirty, musty smelling cot. I’m grateful I didn’t wake to find the two men who kidnapped me hovering above me, but I’m still terrified and wondering what the hell is going on?
I’ve never seen them before in my life, but I’m guessing this has something to do with Lucca. There must have been a reason he wanted me gone and hidden away. That reason must have found me anyway.
After a few minutes, my breathing returns to normal, and I build up the courage to get up and walk across the cell and over to the bars. I’d be a fool not to test the door, even though I’m certain it’s locked.
I wrap a hand around the cold bar and tug, but the door doesn’t move. Shadows along the wall alert me of someone approaching. I rush back toward the wall, putting as much distance between myself and the door as I can. The cold brick penetrates through my clothing and skin, intensifying my shivering.
The footsteps grow closer, and my breathing becomes more erratic. They’re going to kill me and cut me up and put me in a box.
Okay, thinking like that is not helping.
A man appears from the shadows and stops right in front of my cell. I start at his feet and work my way up. He’s an average-looking man, but the scar on the right side of his face that cuts through his eye gives him a dark edge.
Fear bubbles beneath my skin again. I look down at his hand. There is a long chain in it, and at the end, I spot a shiny key.
The lanky man says something as he inserts the key into the lock, but because his head is down, I can’t read his lips. I have no idea what he is saying, so I remain pressed against the wall.
“Are you deaf?” he yells as the cell door creaks open.
I remain huddled against the wall, unmoving. The last thing I want to do is walk toward the danger, but what option do I have?
“Yes, I mean partly. I can read lips, but I didn’t see yours. So I don’t know what you were saying,” I ramble on, hoping my explanation is enough to lessen his anger.
“Oh, fuck.” He laughs at me. “That’s funny. Well, I said, let’s go.”
I swear part of my heart shrivels in my chest. There’s nothing I can do, no one that’s going to ride in on a white horse and save me.
Forcing my feet forward, I walk toward the man. Each cold press of my feet into the concrete makes me tremble, and the closer I get, the more afraid I become.
“Don’t make me come in there and get you because I promise you won’t like it.” The man curls his lip, and his menacing eyes cut me to the bone.
I try to move faster, but fear has my muscles stiff. The shaking in my limbs doesn’t help. I’m only a few feet away when the man takes a step forward and grabs me, wrapping an arm around my upper arm and dragging me from the cell.
“You fuckin’ stupid? When I tell you to do something, you do it now!” the man screams into my face. Droplets of saliva cling to my cheeks, but I don’t dare raise a hand to wipe them away. Shaking like a leaf, he drags me down the long corridor. We pass a few other cells, and I wonder where I am? Who it is that kidnapped me, and what they plan to do? That thought alone is enough to make me dig my heels into the ground and fight off this man.
But what would I do after that? Where would I go? How would I escape this place? I wouldn’t. As frightened as I am, I have to think smart. I have to go along with whatever is going to happen, at least for the time being.
Ahead is a huge archway, and as we pass through it, I notice we’re in a wine cellar. A few feet ahead, I spot a set of stairs, and the man’s grip on me becomes tighter. His fingers bite into the sensitive flesh, and I grit my teeth to stop myself from reacting.
When we reach the next floor, we enter a hallway. The flooring beneath my feet is marble, and I whip my head around, taking in every sight and sound.
At the end of the hallway, we enter a dining room that’s set for dinner, but that’s not what makes my skin crawl, or a tiny cry escape my lips. It’s the three men sitting at that table with resentful scowls on their faces.
The youngest one’s eyes roam over my body, and when they meet mine, there is a sinister smile on his face that has me taking a step back.
“Sit,” one of the older men orders.
“Have dinner with us, or maybe we could have you for dinner?” The young man licks his lips. I shiver, afraid to speak.
The man holding me releases me and shoves me toward the table. Hands out, I barely catch myself on it. I bite the inside of my cheek when my hip slams into the hardwood, and pain radiates up my side.
“Sit the fuck down!” the other man commands.
I trudge to the only open chair, which is across from the younger man. I wish I were wearing something else, wish I weren’t here at all.
I feel so naked beneath their scornful gazes.
“Give her to me. I’m sure fucking her will prove a point.” His gaze narrows. “I bet she’s a virgin. Pure and untouched.” The lust in his eyes builds. “We can send the bloody sheets to him just to prove our point.”
What? Send the bloody sheets to who? Oh god, they’re going to rape me and kill me.
“Please… I don’t know what this is about but—”
“Shut the fuck up!” the man to my right yells. His fist comes down on the table, causing the glasses and silverware to jump. “You will not touch the girl, Igor. Not until after we’ve heard from Lucca.”
Lucca? I knew it. I knew it had to do with something bad, but I never would have expected this. To be kidnapped and held hostage because of him. I’m reminded of how he told me he would always protect me.
But he’s not here right now. He’s not protecting me. He’s hurting me. I knew I should’ve tried harder to push him away. Nothing good ever happens when he is around or a part of my life, and this is proof of it.
“Please, just let me go. Whatever he did to you… I have nothing to do with it.”
The man closest to me grabs a crystal glass filled with an amber liquid that’s to his left. Every muscle in my body tightens as he brings it to his lips and gulps it down.
I’m stuck looking between the three men, and my heart feels like it’s going to burst inside my chest at any second.
The nameless man places his glass on the table and smiles. The look alone makes me want to sink through the floor. I don’t know what Lucca did to these men, but they want to shred me like hungry dogs.
“We need Lucca to cooperate with us, and he won’t do that if we hurt his little butterfly. So, you be a good girl, Claire, and don’t give us any more of a reason to kill you.”
My throat tightens. I didn’t give them a reason to do anything. I shouldn’t even be here. Whatever beef they have with Lucca, that’s on him. Somehow, I’ve gotten roped into this, though, and now I’m worried I won’t escape unscathed.
I look down at my shaking hands.
He’s always trying to protect me without realizing his protection comes with a cost, and that cost always falls on me. Tears form in my eyes, but I blink them away. I don’t want to cry in front of these men.
“Don’t cry, princess. Lucca is coming to rescue you…” Igor’s voice is low, and his gaze terrifies me but not as much as what he says next. “The question is will it be soon enough.”