Chapter 22 Serena
Valentine’s Day is off to a great start as I spend a chunk of the morning filling Kerrigan in on every detail of the last twenty-four hours. She hangs on to every word, as I knew she would, beaming with joy. Repeatedly telling me how happy she is for me, for both Bates and me.
I leave no detail out, giving her the info she’s been dying for, and unexpectedly, her favorite part is hearing about this morning.
I woke up in Bates’s arms, his body wrapped around me like he was scared I’d flee in the middle of the night. Freddie was curled up in a blanket in my arms, and we slept soundly through the night, like one happy family.
That thought dawned on me this morning, and I haven’t been able to shake it sense. And the thing is … I sort of love picturing us as a little family. I love everything about it, everything about him. And it’s terrifying.
I feel like the fog around my mind has cleared for good … almost. There’s still one more hurdle Bates and I have to leap together, and that’s telling my dad.
The front door of my office chimes, and Miles greets the person. “Hi. How can I help you?”
“I have a delivery for Serena Rafferty.”
My head whips in the direction of the voice, and I suck in a breath, finding an overflowing vase of red roses in the deliveryman’s hands.
I bound across the short distance, eagerly but politely taking them. “Thank you so much. Do I need to sign or anything?”
“Nope. You’re all set.”
Good, because I already zoned the rest of the room out, plucking the handmade, sealed Valentine’s Day card from the center of the arrangement.
Thankfully, with our added staff, we’re less overwhelmed. On top of that, our next party isn’t for two weeks, letting us treat today like any other day.
With Kerrigan’s app in the trial stages, our clients will soon have a whole new tool at their disposal to help them find their special person.
Once we get into March, we’ll have a Saint Patrick’s Day themed party, but we’ll be focusing far more on isolated pairings and less on the soirees. They perform well during the big holidays, but our company is built around matchmaking, not partying.
Kerrigan takes the roses from me, breathing them in deeply as I break the wax seal on the envelope, instantly recognizing Bates’s handwriting on the outside.
For My Little Cupid on her favorite day.
Lifting the card from its envelope, I flip it open, telling myself I’ll appreciate his handiwork later. Right now, I’m dying to read the message he left.
It’s been a little bit since I got my last card, and I missed this, opening and reading the letters he wrote just for me.
The mask is off. Secrets revealed.
Darkest desires no longer concealed.
We’re free to run. Hunt. Chase.
When I catch you, you’re mine to take.
And at the arena, I’ll wait.
I’m the monster. You’re the bait.
Xoxo,
Your Masked Valentine
“He wants me to meet him at the arena.” I reiterate the words to Kerrigan, like she’s not breathing down my neck, reading it for herself.
“Girl, go!” she encourages me.
Guilt weighs down my chest for the countless times I seem to be running off and abandoning her to steer the ship alone.
“Seriously. I know damn well you’d say the same thing if the roles were reversed.” She takes the card and shoves me toward the front door.
Holding the vase and card in one hand, she plucks my coat from the rack and throws it at me before strolling off, snatching my purse from my desk, and walking back.
“Hurry up and get out of here.” She beams, her smile genuine and big. Everyone needs a best friend and business partner like her. “I can’t wait to hear about it.”
She practically kicks me out of the door, and I quickly get in my car, escaping the freezing weather outside. My seat is heated beneath my ass and back, and the car is warmed up and ready.
My phone vibrates, and I see Bates on the screen of my car. I grab my phone and read his message, ignoring the prompt from my car, offering to do it for me.
Bates: Time is ticking, baby. We’re on a schedule. Drive safe. See you soon.
What the hell is he up to?
I rack my brain, not getting any closer to a solid idea the entire duration of the drive.
Finding a spot in the empty garage is easy enough, and I gain entrance to the building with even less effort, discovering the door propped open with a rock.
The hallway is dark, and I feel incredibly uneasy as I step through. The door swings shut behind me, knocking the rock out of the way and sealing me in the unknown darkness.
I know where I’m at, even without being able to see. I’m in the looping hallway, the middle level that houses the main seating area around the arena.
My phone vibrates, and I nearly jump out of my skin, already on edge.
Bates: I see you, Little Cupid.
“What?” I murmur thoughtlessly, reading his message ten more times.
My chest tightens, excitement thrumming through me. Is he doing what I think he’s doing? No …
Bates: Can you feel me watching you? Stalking your every move?
No fucking way.
He’s got to be out of his goddamn mind, even more so than usual. What is he thinking?
Absolutely not. This is too risky.
My phone buzzes, and I check it again.
Bates: Happy Valentine’s Day, baby. Are you ready?
I’m not doing this. It’s such a bad idea! So many what-ifs …
Bates: Serena?
Yes?
Bates: Take a deep breath
Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply, realizing how much I needed to stop for a second and just breathe. Slowly, I exhale, feeling the anxiety fade ever so slightly.
Bates: Good girl
We shouldn’t …
Bates: You don’t have a choice. This is exactly what you wanted and I intend on giving you the full experience
Bates: I have everything handled and under control.
Where are you right now?
Bates: In every room, in every inch of this place. Tucked away behind every camera
That’s not much of a fair chase
Bates: Never said I was playing fair
…
I trust him—I do—but, God, this is so dangerous. If we get caught, if the footage gets out, we’re done for. My dad would kill us, and aside from that, the media would eat us alive.
This is a horrible, terrible idea.
But my heart picks up, my breath quickens, and my core pulses anyway. I want this. The fear, the adrenaline, the thrill.
He knows this is my fantasy—to be chased, stalked, hunted, and taken however he sees fit. He’s giving me my biggest fantasy for Valentine’s Day, and now I just have to be brave enough to accept it and to trust him completely.
Bates: The doors behind you are locked now. You can’t escape, even if you wanted to
There are other ways out of here
Bates: I dare you to find one. You’ll fail, but I’ll have fun watching you try
You’re fucked up
Bates: And you love it
This is the ultimate trust test because if he’s wrong about having everything under control, then both of our lives are about to be upended.
But he has yet to let me down. If he says he’s got it, then I’m choosing to believe that.
“Serenaaaa,” a deep voice calls out from the depths of the hallway behind me, and I jump out of my skin as it slices through the deafening silence.
What the fuck? Who is that?
My feet carry me in the opposite direction, my body acting on instinct alone as I shoot another message to Bates.
Someone else is here
Bates: I know.
You know?!?!
Bates: Yes. They’re helping me.
They? Who are they?!
Bates: Good friends
Why are they here though? Fear cuts through me as I hear heavy footsteps stomping down the hallway behind me.
Shit.
My pace picks up, carrying me farther and faster, my steps light and quiet. It’s nearly pitch-black in here, but my eyes are adjusting, and I can make out shapes, but nothing more than sporadic, tiny blinking lights from equipment and concession booths.
My stomach tightens as the footfall grows louder. He’s closing in, and I’m running out of time.
Bates: It’s too late for you to turn back.
Bates: You’re in my arena now
Bates: You just have to do one thing and one thing only …
Bates: Run
For once in my damn life, I don’t overthink it. I don’t run the calculations through my mind. I let go of all my inhibitions, and I do exactly what I need to.
I turn on the flashlight on my phone, barely lighting the path in front of me, and I take off, digging my feet into the floor as I stride down the hallway, letting my fear and adrenaline guide me.
The voice calls out again, feet shuffling, “Oh, Serenaaaa.”
Who the fuck is that?
The voice isn’t familiar enough for me to recognize. It sounds young, and if I had to bet money, I’d say it’s one of his best friends, a teammate.
They wouldn’t hurt me or touch me.
Right?
Spinning on my heel, I wave my phone around, using the only light in the entire damn building to search for the source of the voice.
I don’t see anyone, and it’s suddenly grown so quiet that I could hear a pin drop. The kind of silence that consumes you whole, making your stomach churn and spine shiver.
Goose bumps break out atop my shoulders, and suddenly, this feels far more real than I thought it would.
“Who is it?” The words rip from my throat with panic, shaky and desperate.
You dumb bitch.
Why the hell would you ask that? As if whoever it is will respond.
I can practically hear Kerrigan yelling at me for speaking so rudely to myself, even though she does the same exact thing. But if at any point in my life I’m acting like a dumb bitch, that would’ve been the moment.
Obviously, no one responds, but the steps restart, and I do the same, keeping our distance and quietly trying to get as far away as possible from whoever the hell that is.
The slow and steady footsteps behind me quicken suddenly, growing faster and louder, stomping and echoing around me.
I take off running again, not bothering to silence my steps. I break out into a full sprint as thumps behind me beat in time with my racing heart.
I’m going to need a new path though. Eventually, this will just loop right back around to where I started.