turning frigid as it skated down my spine. I was in a foreign country with no one around me who gave a damn that I was missed.
As I heard the clanging of the door, I lifted my head, still shaking from being shoved inside what was nothing more than a... dungeon. I’d actually had a fantasy about a dungeon. Had it been a sick premonition? At least Rafael hadn’t lied. I’d caught a glimpse of the area from the light of the hallway seconds before the damn door had been shut.
What the hell did Rafael think he was going to do to me? Shackle me to the stone wall? Whip me senselessly?
I slid along the craggy stone, moving to a standing position. Whatever punishment the asshole believed he was going to give me I would fight.
I didn’t hear the sound of a switch being flipped but as an ugly light flooded the room, I cringed, the flash blinding. I sensed his presence, the scent of his exotic cologne wafting into the room. I moved closer to the corner, horrified at my surroundings. Shackles of iron had been drilled into the walls, chains hanging from various huge I-bolts. There was even a beam overhead, the attached metal cuffs drawing my attention.
The tall cabinet positioned against the corner of the wall was even more terrifying. I could only imagine what he housed inside.
Rafael walked in, his expression one of anticipation more than anything else. I shifted my gaze in his direction, unable to take my eyes off him. He sighed as he glanced around the room, a snarl curling on his upper lip.
“You have fascinating tastes,” I muttered, glaring at him.
“The location has proven helpful.”
I shook my head, trying to calm my nerves. “I bet. I can just imagine the horrors you partake in.”
Sighing, he looked away. “I keep certain implements here, although I’ve only had a few opportunities to use them.”
“You are a sick fuck, a sadist.”
He walked closer, every step deliberate, his boots somehow thudding against the cracked stone floor. If the fucker wanted to terrify me even more, he was doing a damn good job.
“Yes, I am, Savannah. The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be. Now, I would prefer to keep this civil, but if I have to resort to severe punishment, I will.”
I held my breath, trying to control the fear creating goosebumps on almost every inch of skin. How could I have been so wrong about him? I looked away, my head aching. He really thought I’d been at the scene of the... murders for some nefarious reason. I couldn’t get why he thought so. I was nobody, some American chick he just happened to fuck one night.
Wrong place. Wrong time.
And because of that, I was going to lose my life.
“I think you and I need to have a discussion,” he stated calmly, as if I wasn’t standing in the middle of a dungeon.
“I’m not some mole, Rafael. I told you why I was in this country. To take care of my aunt’s art gallery. If you don’t believe me, you can have the location checked. My employee will confirm this.”
He studied me for a solid minute then closed the distance, snapping his hand around my throat. “Sadly, I don’t believe you, at least completely, but I assure you that everything about you is going to be thoroughly checked.”
“If you don’t believe me then why am I still alive?”
He chuckled as he cocked his head. “An excellent question. What do you know about Alviro Calleja?”
I narrowed my eyes, placing one hand on his wrist even as he dug his fingers into my skin. “I don’t have any idea who you are talking about.” I was shocked at his vehemence as he yanked me around, pressing me solidly against the stone.
“Don’t lie to me, little girl. As I told you before, I don’t believe in coincidences. Within two weeks, you ended up in my world not once but three times. I find that disturbing. If you don’t tell me the truth, you won’t like the punishment you receive.”
“Your world?” I huffed, slapping my hands against the wall as I struggled to get out of his powerful hold. “Go ahead and punish me, Rafael. That’s all you seem to understand, forcing people to do what you want. I never lied to you, but you certainly kept who you are a secret from me. You mentioned loyalty and honor. It would seem you have neither. You gunned