17. Ava
AVA
Y ou know that feeling of being watched?
It’s been a week since Levi chased me through the woods, and three days since that little impromptu closet tryst, and I’m starting to think I won’t ever return to normal.
My body isn’t sore anymore, and some of the bruises have healed, but there’s this strange new .
. . ache between my thighs whenever I think of him.
I’ve caught myself staring into space more than once, daydreaming about that night. Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing. It was just sex. Not a damned marriage proposal.
I can’t help but wonder if this is how all the girls he sleeps with feel? Or am I just that pathetic that I’m secretly pining after his attention, even if I actively shun him whenever I see him, like he’s the walking plague.
More times than I can count over the last three days, I’ve felt that strange tingling sensation on the back of my neck.
Like he’s watching me, waiting for his moment to strike.
I know he hasn’t forgotten about me searching through his room, and the longer I have to wait for the proverbial hammer to come down, the more anxious I am.
I’ve come up empty-handed, but Mr. Marks hasn’t returned to the nursing home. I’m starting to get the feeling he’s toying with me. Maybe he’ll send one of his big gargoyles to strangle me in the forest one day, leaving my body to rot like the leaves that cover the ground.
My only peace is my daily walk, and even that is turning out to be anything but.
Like today. I’m alone and out later than normal because Mila and Christian went to the city, and Alex is out doing whatever it is Alex does.
It’s a nice day, slightly warmer than it has been, but the sun is quickly setting over the horizon, and soon, everything will be cast in shadows.
The last thing I want to do is be caught out in these same woods again, so I’m rushing to get back to the house before nightfall.
I feel like someone’s watching me, and my heart is beating more and more unsteadily with each step.
They wouldn’t send someone here, would they? I mean, I’m on a pretty popular path. I’m sure someone would notice something. Furthermore, he made no mention of what he would do to me . Only Levi.
And then I’m right back to where I started. Anxious. Overwhelmed. Sick to my stomach.
And all this over a man who doesn’t even care about me.
I walk faster, a sudden chill skating down my spine.
I hate feeling vulnerable.
Like I’m just a toy in someone else’s game.
Since the last time I was in these woods, I’ve been going about my days like nothing happened. Like I didn’t have the most mind-blowing sex in my life. The words he’d said after still sting, echoing back to me with each step I take.
What happened between us was nothing more than sex.
I actually find myself laughing bitterly. As if it could be anything else.
Falling for Levi Cross would be suicide. I would have a better chance of surviving a ten-story drop.
As I push through the trees, the shuffling of leaves sounds behind me, and I whirl around, coming to a full stop on the path so fast my hair whips me in the face.
Something tells me that was not an animal.
It all happens so fast.
One minute, I’m staring at the brush that’s too dark to really see through, and the next, someone is wrapping something around my head.
My scream gets lodged in my throat, and a gag is shoved into my mouth. A second later, a black sack is dragged over my head, and I’m fighting tooth and nail with the arms that wrap around me.
Panic is the first thing to slip into my veins.
Then, full-blown terror when my hands are ripped behind my back and cuffed.
I scream behind the gag, but I’m hauled off my feet without a word and tossed over someone’s shoulder.
I try to kick and fight, but I’m powerless to stop him when he carries me away.
Seconds later, I’m thrown backward, and my ass hits a leather seat, before a car door shuts and I’m carted off into the night.
Tears wet my cheeks, and my sobs are muffled by the gag. Not that it would matter. I’m out in the woods alone, and I know it will be hours, maybe even days, until someone notices I’m missing.
Which means I’m trapped.
I don’t know how long we drive but it feels like a lifetime.
The seconds tick by, and I can’t do anything but stare at the inside of the black sack over my head and listen to the crunch of the tires of gravel.
The ride is bumpy, and at one point, my shoulder digs into something hard behind me, making me whimper around the gag in my mouth.
Okay, this is bad.
When the car finally comes to a stop, I wait, listening to the sounds of whoever it is exiting before the door shuts, and I’m thrust into complete silence. I force myself to breathe, even if it is stuffy inside the sack, and try to wiggle around in the seat.
My hands ache behind my back. My shoulders are sore and stiff. I’m sure I’ll have a permanent divot in my hip from the damned seatbelt buckle under my ass.
Adjusting my feet, I try to kick at the door, but I can barely move. He must have my ankles tied too, because why wouldn’t he?
Way to go, Ava Lynn. You’ve gone and gotten yourself kidnapped.
Sagging into the leather, I let out a quiet sob because I can. Because I’ve been kidnapped by an actual psychopath who’s probably going to string me up and murder me in the Washington version of The Hills Have Eyes .
This fucking sucks.
When the door finally opens, I let out a squeak behind the gag, jumping in the seat.
Someone grabs me and, like a ragdoll, I’m hauled out into the cool night air and thrown over someone’s shoulder again.
I wriggle in their grasp, and the man slaps my ass hard enough to draw a cry from my lips at the sting.
I listen to the sounds of his footsteps, squirming in his arms, but he only tightens his hold. He doesn’t say a word, even when I scream at him to put me down. I don’t care if it’s unintelligible. I do it anyway.
Warmth hits me, and I shiver, my head spinning from all the blood rushing to my brain at this angle.
The sound of the footsteps changes, and I realize we’re inside somewhere.
It’s silent, save for the crackle of a fireplace when I’m ripped over the man’s shoulder and dropped to my feet without a warning.
My knees threaten to give out, but he holds me up, ripping me around and taking my cuffed hands. There’s a click, and the cuffs fall off, and instantly, I flex my sore wrists. It’s only a split second, though, before my arms are ripped over my head.
I stumble forward, groaning against the gag when a rope is wrapped around one, then the other above my head, forcing me up onto my tiptoes to keep my footing.
It doesn’t feel good, and tears well in my eyes, slipping down my cheeks. I bite the gag, whimpering at the material in my mouth and wishing that I could be literally anywhere but right here with whoever the crazed lunatic is that just kidnapped me from the woods.
A dark chuckle sounds, and the bag is ripped off my head, making me clench my eyes shut at the light around me. It’s dim, but after being in the dark for God only knows how long, it stings.
And finally, when I can open my eyes without feeling like they’re going to burn out of my skull, my heart falls in my chest.
None other than the devil himself stands in front of me, grinning ear to ear and holding the black sack that had just been on my head.
“Hello, baby girl.”
I growl through the gag, lurching in the rope holding my wrists. It burns against my skin when I fight its hold, but he clearly went to Boy Scout camp because it doesn’t budge.
Levi smirks, his eyes flashing wickedly in the warm glow of the fireplace cackling behind him.
Okay. This is worse than I thought.
We appear to be in a cabin, though I’m too disoriented and utterly fucking shocked to notice much other than the man in front of me.
Levi circles me like a caged tiger, the muscles of his bare chest shining in the light. My gaze runs over the tattoos inked into his skin. From a rose to something in Latin I can’t understand, right down to the bear growling on his chest.
Unfortunately, I make the mistake of glancing lower, noticing the way his abs shine in the light.
The man was built to break things. Probably women like me, if you want the truth.
With the gag in my mouth and the rope forcing me to stay suspended in the air, I have no choice but to simply glare at him as he stalks back and forth in front of me.
“Surprised to see me?”
“ Asshole ,” I say, but it comes out sounding more like “ashdkghd.”
His wolfish smile makes my heart drop to my aching toes, and I shift uncomfortably, whimpering as the rope drags against my skin.
“Ava, Ava, Ava . . . what am I going to do with you?”
If this is some kinky sex thing, I’m going to kill him.
“My beautiful little thief.”
I knew he didn’t forget. I could never be that lucky.
He stops in front of me, reaching up to brush a lock of hair back from my wet cheek. I hadn’t even realized I’d been crying. “You see, I thought you were this sweet, na?ve girl. Never hurt a fly. Imagine my surprise when I found out you were lying.”
My brows knit together in confusion. I try to say something, but it’s useless. Not that I think he’d believe me anyway. If he’s gone to these lengths to get me out here, he’s already convinced himself he’s right.
“I asked you in the woods who sent you to steal from me. You told me you didn’t know.” He continues pacing again, and my eyes follow him. I slip on the wood floor, groaning when the rope digs into my skin. “You lied to me.”
I swallow thickly, but my saliva tastes coppery. I must have bitten the gag so hard, I made myself bleed.
Levi circles me like a predator until he’s at my back. In a flash, his hand digs into my hair, and he tugs my head back, his lips at the side of my throat.
“I’m going to give you one chance to tell me the truth.”