Panic swelled and thrashed inside me as his other hand slid down the side of my body and began lifting up my shirt.
The sound of heavy wood banging against the wall echoed as the front door burst open. The weight was lifted off my back, almost bringing me to my knees. I spun around just in time to witness Grey bring one hand to the other man’s throat. It was only a flash of a movement, but the man immediately began coughing and hunched over, gasping for air. Grey clenched the top of his throat, just below his chin, with two fingers until he stopped gasping for air and blood poured out of both sides of his mouth. Then he dropped him, watching the man fall to his knees with a thud.
Grey lifted me up and over one shoulder and then carried me outside to the same black car I’d been thrown into before. Only this time I was in the front seat and Grey was driving. The ride back to his house was short and silent. I stole a glance at him when he pulled up to the gate. His jaw was tight and his expression black as night. The gates opened and the mansion loomed ahead, a thread of moonlight illuminating its shadows. My heart slammed into my throat and a knot formed in my stomach.
How stupid could I be to have willingly crossed this man?
He opened the car door, watching me with zero expression on his face as I limped around to the side door. The moment we stepped inside, I was lifted off the ground. Grey carried me up the stairs, all the way to my bedroom, the way a man would carry his bride on their wedding night. I hooked my arms around his neck and let him because even though what I’d just seen him do shook me to my core, it made me feel safe at the same time.
He saved me.
I ran away and he saved me anyway.
Grey grabbed a t-shirt and clean panties and shoved them to my chest. “Clean yourself up then we’ll take care of those wounds.” His gaze fell to my hands. I hadn’t even noticed until now that they were covered in cuts and blood from when I’d fallen on the gravel.
I did as he said, closing the bathroom door behind me and starting the shower. I peeled the clothes from my body. My ankle was swollen and already turning purple with bruises. There were still tiny pieces of gravel and rock in my hands. My hair was a tangled mess. I’d even ripped a hole in one knee of my jeans.
I stepped into the shower and let the warm water wash over me. My eyes closed as it ran from the top of my head, over my face, and down my body. I got lost in my thoughts.
Who was this man?
He didn’t bring me back and toss me into a dungeon.
He all but ripped the throat out of a man’s body with his bare hands.
And even after I’d tried to escape, he carried me to my room and was worried about my wounds.
Who was the man at the house and how did he know who I was? Who were thetheyhe kept talking about?
What was going to happen next? When I walked out of the bathroom, would Grey be waiting for me?
What would have happened if he hadn’t shown up?
I scrubbed my hands over my face, clearing the water from my eyes and the thoughts from my mind. Then I turned the shower off and grabbed a towel to wrap around my body.
I swiped my hand over the mirror, clearing the steam and taking a long look at the girl staring back at me. Somewhere in that face was the smile of a girl I’d never see again.
There is no escape.
There was no way back.
I looked into my future and only saw emptiness. The pain of the nothingness was indescribable. It opened up and stretched on forever. Endless.
Harsh reality finally began to settle in. My only freedom came with surrender.
My only way out… was in.
The door opened. A gust of cool air kissed my still-wet skin as Grey stepped into the bathroom.
I pulled the towel tight around my body, holding it closed with my hand. “That man… Did you… Is he…” I couldn’t say the words.
“He’s choking on his own blood right now.”
I turned to look at him. There was nothing in his eyes, no remorse, no guilt. “So you killed him?”
“You gave me no choice.” His eyes flared as he gritted his teeth, the only physical signal he was affected by all this. “If they find out you tried to run, they’ll use it against me—againstyou. It makes me look weak. How safe do you think you’ll be then?”
I never thought about that. I never imagined how my actions would affect Grey.