Chapter 9
I didn’t seeanyone for the rest of the day. Around six — I had to trust the clock on the wall since there were no windows — though, there was a knock on the door.
I froze, steeling myself for another encounter, my muscles starting to coil as if preparing to fight again, even if I knew it was hopeless.
The knock came again, and I slipped from the bed. I pulled the robe tight, and then grabbed a blanket from the foot of the bed and wrapped that over my shoulders as well.
“Hello?”
The door unlocked with a click, and an older man stepped in, smiling and carrying a tray. His grey hair was thinned, and the lines in his face were deep, but he smiled in a kindly way as he stepped into the room.
“Evening, Ms. Thorne,” he spoke in a crisp, cultured voice. He nodded once at me, his eyes shining. I noticed that he shut the door firmly before he moved to the table in the far corner of the room and set the tray down. The lid came off with a flourish, and he nodded at the exquisite looking meal beneath it.
My stomach roared, and he smiled.
“Some sustenance for you, Miss.”
I bit my lip as my eyes searched his kind face. “Please,” I whispered. “Please, where—”
“Everything will be explained to you, Ms. Thorne.” He turned to leave, but I rushed to grab his arm.
“You don’t understand! I’m being kept here, against my—”
“Masters Holland, Blackwood, and Wilder have their reasons, miss,” he said quietly.
Masters Holland, Blackwood, and Wilder.
So, the other two had names now.
“Trust me when I say there are reasons for you being here — reasons that they will explain in due time.” He smiled again. “Believe me, you are quite safe here.”
He left as quickly as he’d come, leaving me alone with the food and my gurgling stomach.
Safe?
I wondered what was so bad out there that being here with them was a safe alternative.
* * *
After I ate, I found that the elegant bathroom off my windowless bedroom was fully stocked with a toothbrush and toothpaste, face scrub, towels, and soap. It felt good to scrub my face, brush my teeth, and even use the brush I found on the vanity to get the tangles out of my hair.
When I was done, I eyed the large, gorgeous, clawfoot bathtub along one white-tiled wall.
Screw it.
I shrugged off the robe and my underwear, and ran the water hot, before stepping in.
I groaned, letting the water soak out the tensions before I soaped up. I washed my hair, luxuriating in the heat of the water as I rinsed the soap out. There was a safety razor on the edge of the tub as well, and I even shaved my legs, for no other reason than to feel human again, despite my current position as prisoner.
After my shower, I opted for just the silk robe before I crawled under the covers.
My mind wandered again to Andrea, and my family, and I wondered if they were still looking for me. Looking for me without thinking in a million years that I’d be in some house outside the city, kept captive by three gorgeous, dark, and dangerous men in an elegant but windowless bedroom.
Eventually, somehow, I slept.