Promise Me Never

Prologue

She woke to darkness, the taste of metal on her tongue.

She blinked, trying to get her bearings, but her thoughts were jumbled, confused, and her mind couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing.

A basement. Dark. Gray cement floor. Where was she?

She tried to stand but couldn’t move her arms. Coarse rope bit into her wrists.

“Hello?” her voice rasped. “Is anyone there?” Her words echoed in the empty space.

Why was she tied up? Her heart hammered in her chest and sweat broke out on her forehead and upper lip.

She struggled against the ropes, but that only made them tighten.

Tears of frustration spilled onto her cheeks as she called out again. “Someone. Please, help me!”

She had to think! Taking a deep breath, she told herself not to panic.

That was the first thing they’d taught her in her self-defense class.

Panic is the enemy. Be calm. Strategic. Breathe, she reminded herself.

Think. The last thing she could remember was sitting on the sofa with Bennett sipping wine, his hand caressing her face, telling her how much he loved her. So how had she ended up here?

The creak of a door stopped her thinking. Heavy footsteps drew her attention to the stairs.

“Hello?” she called again.

“Stop yelling.”

Confusion filled her. “Is this some sort of gag? Undo me! It’s not funny.”

“I’m not laughing.”

A flash of steel. Before she could answer, the knife came down, seemingly out of nowhere, and pierced her chest. White-hot pain. Agony. Then nothing.