Page 13 of Silent Night With Luca

As soon as my bare feet hit the cold wooden floor, I regret not grabbing my slippers, but I push forward. The sound comes again, soft but insistent.

I reach for the door, still a little groggy, and turn the handle. “I’ll take the?—”

Before I can even finish the sentence, a black leather glove covers my mouth, silencing me.“What the fuck,” I mumble through the hand pressed against my face.

I don’t even have time to react before I’m pulled through the door, my feet barely skimming the floor as someone drags me out into the hall. The door clicks shut behind me, almost too softly, like this has been planned for a long time. The panic hits me like ice, my body reacting too late. I thrash, trying to scream, but the glove muffles any sound I make.

I can’t breathe. I can’t move.

The sun’s weak light filters through the windows at the end of the hall, and I catch a glimpse of the snow-covered world outside. Everything looks so calm, like even it is oblivious to an intruder pulling me away from what should have been a safe space.

I wake up with a bitter,metallic taste in my mouth. My head throbs, my vision blurs, and for a moment, I don’t know where I am. It feels like my brain is trying to swim through thick mud, everything foggy and disconnected.

I try to move, but my wrists are bound tight behind me. My ankles, too. The ropes bite into my skin with every shift, sending a sharp, stinging pain through me. My feet are freezing, bare against the cold concrete floor, and when I try to scream, nothing but a muffled cry escapes. My mouth is bound, a gag pulled tight against my lips.

What the hell happened?

I force myself to breathe, to calm the rising panic clawing at my chest. I close my eyes, trying to remember. I can still feel the imprint of the hand on my mouth—that leather glove.

And then it hits me. Chloroform. That’s what it must have been. That bitter taste, the way everything went dark in an instant. The last thing I remember is the back door of the lodge opening, and then… nothing. Just darkness.

I rack my brain, trying to pull more memories from the fog, but it’s no use. I was dragged out, and whatever drugthey used knocked me out before I even had a chance to fight.

I open my eyes, blinking against the dim light, and take in my surroundings. The air is cold, biting at my skin. I’m in some kind of warehouse—large, empty, and abandoned. Metal shelves line the walls, rusted and bare, and the floor beneath my feet is wet, slick with puddles that reflect the faint light filtering through broken windows.

The smell of oil and damp concrete fills my nose, making me gag. Everything here feels wrong. The space is vast, but it’s dead silent. I twist in my chair, but the ropes hold firm, digging deeper into my wrists with every movement.

My breath quickens as I try to scream again, but the gag muffles the sound. Where’s Luca? Does he even know I’m gone? My mind spins, but it’s like trying to piece together a puzzle with half the pieces missing. I can’t remember anything after that hand clamped down over my mouth.

I pull harder at the ropes, feeling the burn against my skin, but nothing gives. The panic rises again. My heartbeat thuds in my ears, louder than the eerie silence around me.

The warehouse feels like a tomb. Cold, empty, and forgotten.

What am I going to do?

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to think, to calm down. But all I can feel is the cold creeping into my bones and the fear tightening its grip around my chest.

FIVE

Luca

I wake up to a dull ache in my neck, my body stiff from the awkward position I passed out in. With the fire extinguished, the room is now cold and quiet. The power’s back on apparently, judging by the twinkling colored lights on the tree.

The faint morning glow is creeping through the windows, adding the allure of a winter wonderland to the scene. I rub the back of my neck, grimacing, before I realize something’s off.

The sofa is empty.

Fiamma’s gone.

I curse under my breath, sitting up quickly. Damn it. Of course, she snuck out again. She never listens. Always pulling this shit like it’s a game. After yesterday I though she realized there are real consequences out there, consequences that will befall her if she keeps messing around.

For a moment, I can’t help but remember the way her body felt pressed against mine last night. The heat of her lips, the way she kissed me like she was daring me to lose control. I haven’t felt anything like that in a long time. I haven’t busted a nut like that in even longer.

But I can’t think about that now. I shake off the memory, irritated at myself for even letting it get that far. I’m supposed to be keeping her safe, not getting tangled up in whatever the hell she is trying to bait me into so that I let my guard down.

I stand, stretching out the stiffness in my muscles. Where the hell did she go? I glance at the door, half-expecting her to stroll back in like she just went out for a morning walk as if it were no big deal.

But the knot in my stomach tightens as I realize I didn’t hear anything. No doors, no footsteps. And I’ve never slept that deeply, not even after a rough night.

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