Chapter 8
Irolled over in bed and did a languorous stretch, fully expecting to be engulfed in the mound of pillows I normally kept there, but encountering just two instead.
Keeping my eyes closed for a few more moments, I tried to get my bearings but something felt off.
This bed was not my own, and even the lingering scent of cedarwood and citrus that invaded my nostrils the moment I took a deep breath in was unrecognizable.
I’d come to know the few scents that Drake wore, and his cologne and body wash usually reeked of rosemary and musk, both of which I did not smell now. As I thought about my boyfriend, I knew the bed I was on now wasn’t even the one he had in his own condo.
Still, I stretched once more, then slowly opened my eyes, expecting to find him there next to me, if not in the same room. When my lashes fluttered upward, however, I immediately knew something was wrong. I wasn’t at his place or mine, or even in any hotel I could recall.
I bolted upright in bed, then glanced toward the open closet door where I saw my suitcases, then to the window, which showcased an amazing view of the city, but not from a place I was familiar with whatsoever.
I scrambled out of bed, then noticed that I was still fully dressed, so there was no need to cover myself with a blanket as I moved to the large window. As I peered through the glass, I could see Boston’s financial district, so I knew I was in the South End area, or somewhere close by.
How did I get...
Before I could even fully ask myself that, memories of a text message from Drake came rushing back.
As did the feeling that he was whisking me away on a romantic trip.
Only, he never showed up, but two men had instead.
I remember my cell phone, then a prick of something, before waking up here and encountering someone even scarier than those men had been.
I closed my eyes as his face entered my thoughts. I couldn’t remember ever seeing him before, and he certainly didn’t look like any of the type of men that Drake hung out with. I’d been kidnapped, and the man’s words began echoing in my head.
“Your life as you knew it is over.”
He’d said that to me, along with other things. Zarren. He’d finally given me his name, but not before he had assaulted me violently. I ventured into the bathroom, and sure enough, I could still see some redness from where his hand had viciously tightened around my throat.
I placed two fingers against that spot, then shuddered.
My touch was soft, but his had been firm, sadistic, and with a little more pressure, it could’ve even been deadly.
I quickly drew my hand away, then leaned in closer.
As scary as my abductor had been, he’d said something else which made me start to shake.
“I’ll shatter you into fucking pieces so there will be next to nothing left for the next guy.”
“The next guy? What the hell have I gotten myself into?”
That answer was not clear, but it would be soon… I hoped. I turned the faucet to cold, then splashed some water onto my face. There’d be no shattering or anything else on my part. If he thought so, he had another thing coming.
There had been some defiance on my part, but not as much as there should’ve been. Chalk it up to the drugs or shock of the situation, but I’d now had time to rest. He might’ve had the element of surprise, but not anymore. Today was a new day.
And it’s one where I’ll take back my life.
I kept that vow with me as I showered. After, I changed into a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt I’d packed, then I put on some thick socks and my sneakers before venturing to the bedroom door.
Before opening it, I placed my ear to it to see what I could hear. When I heard a voice or two, I took a deep breath and thrust the door open. I stepped out into the hallway, then followed the sounds of voices, intending to tell whoever might be there that I’d been kidnapped.
That hope was dashed the moment I descended the staircase and rounded the corner to find the same two men from that car standing in the open kitchen instead. They were nursing cups of coffee, and I caught their attention right away.
“Mornin’, Lass,” one of them said to me, and I could clearly detect his European accent. Irish, if I had to guess.
I said nothing as I took in the place. The first thing I looked for was some sort of telephone, but in this day and age, not many used landlines anymore.
I refused to let my newfound hope be dashed, so I moved over to the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, then nearly sighed aloud at the familiar view.
I loved Boston and had lived in and around the city my entire life.
I’d grown up with my adoptive parents in Weston and had frequently vacationed in their coastal cottage near Nantucket.
I’d also attended school in Boston and stayed near the city after graduation.
As familiar as this place looked, though, I felt like I was now worlds apart from it.
A shadow fell over me, and as I glanced at the thick glass, I saw Zarren’s reflection as he came up behind me. “It looks like Sleeping Beauty decided to wake up and grace us with her presence.”
“Sure looks like it, Boss,” said the other man who had previously been silent.
I had a biting retort, but I swallowed it down.
Turning just as he closed the distance between us, I resisted the urge to knee him in the balls when he caged me between his biceps, which appeared much larger in the morning light.
While showing restraint at that moment, I couldn’t promise to do so in the near future.
Especially when he smirked down at me. The man was lethally handsome, and even more so now that he had that “just woken up” look to him.
His hair that was brushed in place last night now fell messily upon his forehead, and while those dark eyes still had a smoky intensity to them, they were more clouded than last night.
I stared at him even as he no doubt raked my face with his roving eyes, and I took in his jawline and prominent cheekbones.
The main male characters from all the books I’d read would describe the man as having a face that looked to be sculpted from stone.
I’d never known what that meant until now.
While Drake’s face was a bit more rounded and relaxed, Zarren’s was the complete opposite.
Hard... Unyielding... Dangerous...
His eyes dropped from mine, and I immediately felt the heat from his gaze as it moved down my chest. To my own mortification, my nipples pebbled to hard peaks again, which he noticed if the slight tipping upward of his full lips was any indication.
I continued to stare at him, although I should’ve just pushed him away and demanded that he release me right away. I’d tried a similar method last night, and it had resulted in my almost being strangled to death. No, I would need to tread more carefully when it came to him today.
The slight smirk disappeared, and again I was greeted by his hard stare as his gaze moved back to snag mine. The tightening of his jaw made his skin seem even smaller as it stretched taut, revealing that angular bone structure of his once more.
As soon as I realized I was eating up the sight of him, maybe even more than he had me, a slight blush crept into my cheeks, and I reverted back to my usual self.
Pressing my hands to what was now his bare chest, I ignored the feel of his warm, but still hard, flesh beneath my palms, and I pushed as hard as I could.
To my relief, he did take a step or two back, which allowed me to slip out of his grasp. From there, I had no idea where to go or what to do next, so I found myself standing in the center of the room.
And I was burning more beneath the heat from his gaze as it now moved much lower than it had just a few seconds ago. Of course, my shirt and pants would have to be form-fitting, and the hungry look in his eyes let me know how much he enjoyed what he was seeing.
“If you snap a picture, it’ll last longer,” I smarted off.
“A picture is worth a thousand words.”
“That’s nice to know, but I’m ready to leave now.”
He chuckled. “Should I remind you of the conversation we had a few hours ago?”
My eyes narrowed. “I don’t want to be here.”
“That makes two of us,” he said, before adding, “But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re now here with only one way of escape.”
My eyes darted to what had to be the front door, and I began to think of ways to distract him. If I could just get to it, I could flee. Of course, I would have to also evade his henchmen. No task was too difficult if one put their mind to it, though.
All I needed was an out. From there, surely someone in this building would come to my rescue. Not wanting to tip him off to my plan, I looked away from it and turned my attention back to him.
“I need to message a few people so they don’t worry about me,” I said, hoping I could get to Braelynn’s message.
We’d come up with code words back at BU to use if one of us were ever in trouble. If I could just get mine to her, she’d have my parents and Drake scouring the city for my whereabouts.
“People such as?”
“My parents, best friend—”
“You’ve already told them you’d be away for a few days.”
How in the hell did he know that?
It dawned on me that he had to have looked into my cell phone. The invasion of privacy only irritated me more. I couldn’t wait to watch this bastard being led away in handcuffs and thrown into a cell where he belonged. I was getting ahead of myself, so I forced my thoughts to stay focused.
“My b-boyfriend, too. Drake was supposed to meet me last night, so he’s probably already—”
“Smythe isn’t worried about you at all.”
“Of course he is. The two of us will one day be married,” I told him, even if Drake had yet to propose to me. It was certainly only a matter of time, but Zarren didn’t need to know otherwise.
“Is that right?” he asked, and the amusement on his face was something I wanted to desperately knock off him.
“Yes. We were supposed to leave last night for a romantic trip. If you think he’ll just forget that, then you don’t know him at all.”
Zarren advanced toward me and I took a step back. He then advanced and the cat-and-mouse routine lasted only a few more seconds. The moment the back of my legs hit the couch, I had to brace myself so I didn’t fall back onto it.
I remembered the feel of his body hovering over mine last night, and I did not want, or need, a repeat of that.
Standing tall, I kept my small shoulders squared.
He reached out, and I forced my body not to react the moment he stroked the side of my face.
It was only when he dropped that large, calloused hand lower that my body tensed of its own volition.
“Or maybe you are the one who doesn’t know him at all, Bellezza.”
There was that word again. An endearment, I assumed. I focused less on it, however, and more on what he said right before it. “Of course I know, Drake.”
“So you’d know that he has been cheating on you for years.”
Before I even realized what I was doing, I slapped him. It made my palm sting, and while I wanted to shake my hand to alleviate the pain, my blow had done little to him. At least until I saw him wipe a droplet of blood off his lips.
He then brought that thumb to my cheek and swiped the bloody drop across it. “And you probably also know that he’d gone to enjoy the rest of last night with some dancers after he’d turned you over to me.”
“Y-you’re lying,” I said to him.
You have to be. Drake is a lot of things, and has done a lot of things, but this was too unfathomable. This man was lying. He had to be.
I refused to entertain anything else, so I tried to keep my cool, all while a small voice inside of me reminded me of the few times over the last two years that I’d had similar doubts about him. Nothing had ever been proven then, as I was sure it would not be now, either.