Page 25 of Enforcer's Obsession

No.

One day, my mother’s last laugh had come, but I swore it wouldn’t come for me.

Not here.

Not like this.

Feeling resolved, I moved around the room again, more quietly this time.

I suspected that…goon was listening, but I wouldn’t do anything to draw any more of his attention.

He’d taken my clothes, but I refused to leave myself completely undefended.

But a six-week self-defense course at the local community center would mean less than nothing in the face of a man like that. So taking him on a one-to-one was out of the question, to say nothing of his boss.

It occurred to me that I wasn’t sure how I knew that the man who had brought me here was the boss, but there was no doubt about it.

Just as I have no shot of taking him on either.

Like always, I would have to rely on my brains for my escape.

And my calm as well.

For now, I tried to look for the silver lining.

At least I didn’t have to worry about my mother, knowing that my fear for others so often outweighed my concern for myself.

So maybe that was an upside.

Yay trauma! Coming in strong when I need you.

I didn’t stop my laugh this time, but cut it off as quickly as I could.

Then circled the room for probably the thousandth time.

When I’d started walking, the floor had been cold and felt weird since the only thing that ever touched my feet was my beloved socks.

By now, the floor was warm, the path that I was treading heating up as I moved.

With one exception, this was the most beautiful room I had ever been in.

Absolutely gorgeous.

One of the walls was almost completely covered by a huge window that gave a full view of the sparkling lights of the city. From this vantage, I was high enough to see everything, but not so high that I felt nauseous.

The furniture, two identical dressers and a massive,massivebed were clearly custom and the floors were polished to a high shine and clearly well-maintained.

In addition to being beautiful, this was also the most masculine room I had ever seen. All dark and severe, no touches of softness anywhere.

Well, except for the mattress, which looked fit for a king.

I stopped pacing, suddenly feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.

You’re just crashing, Hope.The adrenaline is wearing off.

I whispered that admonition in my brain, but it didn’t stop the sudden exhaustion that made keeping my eyes open feel impossible.

That bed looked so welcoming, practically beckoned me, but I didn’t give it another look.

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