I bolted back to the elevator and pressed the button. My heart hammered as I waited for the doors to open, but it wasn’t happening quick enough.
Grey looked over at me, pinning me with his stare. For a brief moment, something flashed in the cold depths of blue in his eyes, but it was over too soon to tell what it was. “The security guard downstairs has been paid well to make sure no one gets in. The elevator requires a code to operate, and the door to the fire escape won’t unlock without a key. So, unless you plan on jumping twenty-one floors onto a slab of concrete, I suggest you stay put and make yourself at home.”
Every word that left his lips sent an ice-cold chill shooting up my spine.
Grey checked his watch, seeming irritated with my presence. “I have somewhere I need to be.” As if obeying his command, the elevator doors opened. “No one is going to hurt you. You just need to behave.” He stepped inside the elevators, daring me with his eyes to follow him.
I didn’t.
My gaze frantically roamed around the space, from the kitchen to the living room, to the dining room and up the stairs. My breath left my lungs in short, quick bursts as I looked for another way out.
He quirked his lips. How could something so beautiful be so cruel? “You’re staying with Chandler Carmichael, love. Careful what you go looking for. You never know what you might find.” He punched in a code, and the doors began to slide shut. “You’re going to be fine. Trust me.” And then he disappeared behind the elevator doors, leaving me all alone.
The reality of it all settled like a heavy weight in the pit of my stomach.It was a lie.All of it was a lie.
I felt as though I’d been dropped in the middle of the ocean with nothing to hold on to. Everything in me told me to swim, but there was nowhere to go. All I could do was stay here and tread water. And pray I didn’t drown.