Chapter 347: Chapter 347 Saved but Not Safe
‘Don’t get clever,’ he snapped, the chill back in his tone.
‘Are you a friend of hers? An admirer?’
‘You ask too many questions. People who know too much get silenced.’
I stared harder. ‘So I was right. She didn’t hire you, did she? This is your own doing. What are you to her? And why take the risk—aren’t you afraid of what Ashton will do to you?’
‘Afraid?’ He let out a harsh laugh. ‘Why the fuck would I be afraid of him? If he knew who I was, he’d be the one shaking.’
‘I’d think twice about making an enemy of Ashton. It won’t end well for you.’
‘Tch. You should be more worried about your own situation. Are you really not scared at all?’ He sounded almost offended by how calm I seemed.
I didn’t answer. My stomach was aching with hunger, but I wouldn’t ask him for food. I refused to beg this bastard for anything.
At that point, all I could do was hope that Ashton would get here soon.
He must have known I’d been taken by now. But could he figure out who was behind it? Would he be able to find this place?
The man stayed in the room for a long while before leaving. When the door clicked shut, I finally let myself breathe.
Truth was, I was terrified. How could I not be? I was just doing everything I could not to let it show in front of him.
Once I was alone, I checked every inch of the room, including the bathroom. The windows were nailed shut, the door was locked from the outside, and the vent in the bathroom was too small for even a cat to squeeze through, let alone me.
Escape clearly wasn’t an option, at least for now. I sat listlessly on the bed, clutching a toothbrush I’d found in the bathroom like some kind of weapon. It wasn’t exactly sharp, but it was better than nothing.
My mind was swarming with thoughts, but nothing useful rose to the surface.
Outside, the sky grew steadily darker. I didn’t turn on the light, staying instead in the growing gloom.
As time crawled by, I could feel my nerves winding tighter and tighter.
The night was utterly still, the kind of quiet that feels heavy and threatening.
A deep, cold dread settled into my bones. I felt so cold, freezing actually. I sat on the bed, arms wrapped around my knees, my chin resting on them.
Without my phone and with no clock in the room, I had no idea what time it was. The darkness magnified every fear, until it felt like the very air was thick with panic. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat. Something told me this night wasn’t going to stay quiet for long.
Suddenly, I heard movement outside. My whole body went tense.
Who was there?
What was I going to do?
My heart thudded wildly against my ribs.
The door opened. The room was still pitch black, but I could sense someone moving closer, step by step. I tightened my grip on the toothbrush.
But before I could even try to use it, a cloth was clamped over my mouth. Everything went black after that. I was out cold.
***
When I came to, I was no longer in that house.
I’d been moved to another room, one that was just as dark and windowless.
It seemed smaller. And there was someone lying next to me.
Click.
A light flicked on. I squeezed my eyes shut against the sudden glare.
‘You all right?’ a familiar voice asked.
I blinked, my eyes adjusting as I focused on the man in front of me. ‘Rhys?’ I gasped. ‘What are you doing here?’
I looked down. My clothes were still on. So were his.
‘What is this?’ I asked, completely confused. ‘What happened?’
‘You’re safe. At least for now.’
‘Where are we? And you, why are you here?’
‘I found out you were in trouble and came to get you,’ Rhys explained. ‘But the people who took you weren’t easy to deal with. After I got you out, I brought you straight here to lay low. It’s a small guest house. I didn’t dare take you to a proper hotel. Now we have to wait for my people to find us.’
That only made me more suspicious. ‘How did you even know I’d been taken? Who told you?’
‘Don’t worry about that. You just need to know I would never hurt you.’
‘What about the kidnappers? They were probably working for Genevieve.’
‘No,’ Rhys said firmly. ‘They weren’t hers.’
‘How do you know? If it wasn’t her, then who was it?’
‘That doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that we get out of here quickly.’ His expression grew serious.
All of a sudden, my stomach twisted violently again. I felt a wave of nausea so strong I could barely speak. ‘I’m going to be sick...’
‘What’s wrong?’ Rhys asked, leaning closer.
‘It’s my stomach,’ I managed to say.
‘Here, lie back down. Just try to breathe.’ He helped me settle against the pillows. ‘What’s causing it?’
‘Probably just hunger.’
‘I’ll get you some water, and then I’ll try to find you something to eat.’
‘But it’s not safe out there. How will you go out? Forget it, I can manage without. Just lend me your phone. I’ll call Ashton. He’ll come for us.’
‘No. If we make a call, we’ll give away our location. We’d be in danger before Ashton could even get here,’ Rhys refused, his tone firm. ‘That’s why my phone is switched off, too.’ He pulled it from his pocket to show me. The screen was dark.
‘Then where are the rest of your people? Why aren’t they here?’