She must think I’m crazy. Everyone does. I’m the quiet one, the one who’s always daydreaming of a better life, a bigger future. The one who’s always too afraid to make the leap.
And this man … this man unchained something inside me that I didn’t know existed.
Because no matter how dangerous he seemed or how much my brain was telling me to run in the opposite direction, all I wanted to do was say yes.
Chapter 5
Amelia
That night
The music is blaring, and I’m losing myself on the dance floor of Club M. I don’t care who sees or how crazy I dance. I just need to let it all out. Let them see, let them talk; I’m done caring about what anyone thinks.
Why? Because it’s my birthday, and no one cared. My grandparents have been dead for years, so they’re not gonna celebrate this with me. Jamie won’t either because I never told her when my birthday was. But I expected Chris to care. And now he’s shown that he clearly doesn’t.
So I’ve decided I’m not going to care anymore either.
Instead, I’m enjoying myself thoroughly while going nuts to the music, dancing the night away until my feet are tired and I’m drunk on alcohol. I don’t care for a second that I’m drinking way more than usual or that this is the same club where my stalker came. I welcome the danger with open arms, or maybe it just doesn’t matter at all.
The only thing that matters is me, the music, and forgetting all about my own damn birthday until it no longer exists.
And I’m loving every second of it.
Hours later, I wake up somewhere else entirely. I feel groggy and completely out of it. I can’t even remember what I did or why I did it. I just knew I needed an escape, if only just for a moment. So I chose the alcohol to numb the pain and have a little fun all by myself.
Now, my throat hurts, and I can barely utter a sound. My whole body aches as I open my eyes and stare into the darkness surrounding me, the reality of my situation hitting me hard.
I’m not at the club … or in my apartment.
I sit up straight even though every muscle in my body hurts. I’m surrounded by trees and sitting on the grass in the middle of nowhere.
What the hell?
Where the heck am I, and how did I get here?
A searing headache slams into me, and I rub my forehead with the palm of my hand. “Ugh …” I groan.
It feels like hours have passed, but I don’t remember anything.
What the hell happened to me?
The longer I think about it, the less comes into my mind. It’s as if I’ve lost all track of time and space and forgotten everything that happened up until this point. That, or I’ve really hit my head hard.
All I remember is Chris … and the look on his face when I came home completely wasted …
I grab my throat and rub it, feeling exposed. But nothing I do brings back the rest of my memories. Nothing about my clothes or how I got here, or even what time it is.
I should definitely go home.
Without waiting another second, I storm off, and it doesn’t take me long to realize I’m in the city park. I head straight for the nearest road. I’m shivering, and my body is freezing, but I don’t give up until I’ve gotten back to the apartment building. By the time I’m back inside, I can barely feel my trembling body. I close the door and take a breath, trying not to panic.
But something deep inside makes me feel like something isn’t right.
Even though the apartment is completely unscathed. In fact, the place looks better than how it was when I left. A little too clean, if you ask me. Did Chris do this?
I swallow as I call out, “Chris?”
But there’s no response. I know he was here, but the bed is empty and hasn’t been slept in.
From the open window, I spot someone leaving the building, but it isn’t Chris. The figure turns around right as I peer outside, and he stares up at me while clutching his long black coat closer to his chest.
I gulp and quickly shut the curtains, breathing heavily as I hide behind them.
In that split second, our eyes connected …
And I recognized him.
With a book in my hand, I stare at the shelf in front of me. I’m supposed to put these back in place, just as I always do, but somehow, my body refuses to obey my commands. I feel so groggy, as though I’ve been hit by a brick. My limbs are frozen as dread floods my body, making me icy cold.
Every letter on the books in front of me scrambles into a melting pot of indescribable words, and the pages themselves are drenched in blood.
I shake my head, and the image disappears, the books back to normal as they should be.
I must be losing my mind. There’s no other explanation.
I don’t understand what happened to me. And after I found myself half-naked in the woods with half my memories of that night missing, I feel off. Like I’m completely off my rocker.
Something just isn’t right, but I can’t pinpoint what.
It doesn’t help that Chris has completely disappeared off the face of the earth. I’ve tried texting him to no avail. He didn’t even read my messages this time. I don’t know what happened to him.
All I remember is being at the club, and then … nothing.
I lost track of time and have no memory of it.
Did the alcohol hit me that hard?
Suddenly, a harsh thump makes me jolt, and I clench the book closely while I look for the noise. It was just a customer who dropped a book on the floor. No biggie. But my heart rate shot through the roof.
Why am I so panicky? I can’t shake these jitters, and it’s eating me up while I’m trying to work. It doesn’t help that I haven’t slept either, but who could when you can’t even remember what you did just hours before?
“Hello, Amelia.”
I hear his voice before I see his face. The mere sound makes me drop the book I was holding.
He appears from behind the bookcase, taking a step toward me.
I look around me, but there is no other way out. This bookcase is situated right against a wall.
“Don’t be afraid,” he says with that same sultry voice that tickles every sense of my body. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Who are you?” I ask. “And what do you want from me?”
Every step he takes makes a clicking sound, every click pushing me closer into the wall. Click. He adjusts his cuffs. Click. My heart beats in my throat. Click. He towers over me, exuding pure power. Rage. Lust.
All of those things bundled into one, forcing me to cower before him.
“I’m here for you.”
Panic washes over me.
“Me? Why?” My voice is barely audible.
“You don’t know?” He frowns.
I shake my head thoroughly.
His eyes twitch as they narrow, and he comes even closer. “Interesting.”
“I don’t understand—”
Suddenly, his hand reaches for my face, the back of his index finger sliding ever so softly down my cheek, spreading goose bumps all over my body. “I can give you the one thing you’ve wanted but never dared to ask for.” A dangerous smile spreads leisurely on his face. “True release.”
Release? What does he mean?