live, and … it doesn’t look like that. Like I could be somewhere tropical.
I move my head from side to side looking around the room that looks like some type of hotel suite. The realization sends a shiver of panic through me as I realize I’m not home. The panic worsens when it dawns on me I can’t remember anything.
Grogginess makes my body limp, and my mind is so fuzzy I can’t quite connect my thoughts, but I manage to sit up. And that’s when I see what I’m wearing.
It’s looks like a hospital gown. I lift the edge and gasp when I realize I’m naked underneath. No panties, no bra, just the gown. The horrific realization constricts my lungs, and I can’t swallow past the lump that’s formed in my throat.
Jesus what happened to me?
Where am I?
How did I get here?
What happened?
Bringing my hand to my head I wince as I try hard to remember and can’t. Nothing is coming to my mind though. I can’t push past the barrier of fog that’s engulfed my mind, stopping me from piecing together what I need to remember.
I slide off the bed and my bare feet connect with the stone floor, too cold for my feet. The coolness makes me shiver even though the room temperature is quite warm.
Ahead of me the wall is glass and all I can see is the sea. I turn and see a sliding door to my left at the end of the glass and it looks like it leads on to a balcony. There’s a stony pavement outside.
Gathering my strength, I rush up to it, thankful my legs can carry me. I’m even more thankful when the door slides open. I was right, there’s a pavement and it actually leads out to a terraced area filled with palm trees and bougainvillea. I recognize the flowers from my travels to the Mediterranean and tropical countries.
My damn heart sinks below my feet, however, when I assess my surroundings and realize there’s not actually a way out of where I am. I’m high up and there’s nothing but the sea around me. From where I am the sea looks deep. Very deep. And angry. The waves roll in and out around the rocks, clashing against them with a force that shows the sea reigns here and anyone who dares to venture into it had better beware.
God… where am I?
Where the hell am I? I need to think and try hard to remember what happened. I need to remember how I got here.
I run my hand through my hair which is a matted mess. It’s still in a ponytail but the band has been loosened and the ends are tangled. I touch the back of my neck and wince when it feels sore. The area feels slightly bruised like I’ve been bitten by something.
When I run my thumb over the skin an image pops into my head. I see bright blue eyes on a handsome man I didn’t know was the devil.
Tristan…
Everything comes tumbling to the forefront of my mind and I remember it all.
Tristan stuck me with something and now I’m here!
Oh God… I remember. He kidnapped me.
The bolt of mortification makes my legs move again. There’s nothing out here on the terrace so I rush back into the room and stop short when I see him leaning against the side of the room with the stone wall.
Dressed in full black, the sight of him, makes the air rush from my lungs and the icy tendrils of fear race over my body.
My lips part and my feet plant to the spot in fear. I’m too scared to move, too scared to breathe, too scared to exist right now.
I am scared of my father and the power he has. Right now, though… true fear assails me, and I realize what I feel for my father is nothing. Right now, I’m terrified of the man before me.
This man found out who I am, tricked me into believing he was something else, and now he has me.
Why? The answer is simple. My father.
I ran from one monster to the next, and it looks like this one is the worse of them all.
He pushes away from the wall and straightens up. Those eyes of his take me in coolly and calmly. Too cool, too calm. It makes my heart gallop, slamming against the wall of my chest as the fright paralyses me.