Page 31 of Scary Suitor

A strangled noise trails after a shuddered whimper. The room I imagined is a dream that came true, but I don’t want it like this.

Every detail I remember is laughing in my face, from the white lace curtains to the mini-fridge. The kitchen appliance was a joke between Finny and me; we hate having to get up from the middle of the night for a snack, deeming it too far, so we would go to sleep with growling stomachs.

The machine is out of place, and we laughed at the inside joke for days.

“I wanted to get your opinion on our room,” he says, madness distorting the green hues. “Sleep is important, and if something is wrong, then we have to fix it before we move in.”

Sharp pain squashes the dumbfounded fog in my head. I wiggle my fingers, but he holds on tighter. His bones grind against mine, eyes baring a violent storm of crimson and azure.

I recoil from the sirens.

“It’s just the police, pretty,” he notes nonchalantly, not sparing a glance to the lights. “They’re not here for me.”

There is something about the way he says it. The impression I get is he had run-ins with the police, but his wealthy status gave him loads of leeway. So, even if he committed a crime, they would call his lawyer first after he threatened them with lawsuits.

It’s speculation. Though, the idea unsettles me.

“Is there a basement?” I croak, an odd time for a joke.

“A wine cellar,” he reckons. “I want to show you, but it’s not ready yet.”

There it is again, his voice reaching a daunting note. The massive walls bend and curve like flimsy paper, closing in on me as his voice cements my feet. Woozy whistles sing in my ears, then comes a comforting hand running through my hair.

“It’s overwhelming, I know,” Cassio whispers, kissing my temple. “We’ll come back another day and plan the rest of the rooms to your liking. You can do whatever you want.”

I don’t want this home. It’s tainted, and my private thoughts are plastered in the master bedroom. I feel violated and gross, and it sickens me.

He smiles against my skin, and sheer horror pummels my heart.

Chapter Eight

Cassio

Those who put their hands on my possession will never be forgiven. Not even purgatory will accept them without my approval.

My instinct is to run to my pretty girl and be her knight in shining armor. But I know she’s safe under my men’s supervision.

I wanted to keep my business a secret, make her life a fairy tale, and be my pampered wife.

That plan went to shit.

I woke up to one missed call, picking up the second incoming ring to make them regret calling me so late at night, but I was stopped by the urgent message. The night-shift attendant reported the building being broken into, and Alina’s door was unlocked when he made his thirty-minute interval check-ins, per my order.

She was not in her apartment, her friend was at her boyfriend’s, and the place was ransacked. I was informed it appeared to be more of a struggle than a burglary, obviously, given Alina was gone.

I should have stayed in that small apartment beside hers, but I had to deal with pressing matters and stayed in my home instead.

However, luck has always favored me. Whoever took Alina knew the camera’s location, where my men were stationed whenever I couldn’t be with her, and the assailant was able to carry her away.

Alina wouldn’t go without a fight; she’s stubborn, has good judgment, and believes in stranger danger.

But my men aren’t imbeciles. I chose the best and most trusted to be her protective detail.

They divided into two groups; two went to her apartment for clues, and the other two went to scour the area. The night attendant kept me on the phone and filled me in on the security feeds.

One man found a set of tire tracks, hunted down the nearest cameras, and called it in to be hacked. Fifteen minutes later, I arrived at her apartment building with a tablet handed to me. The bakery’s camera caught the license plate, which was from another stolen car, but I didn’t need it.

The woman driving had identifiable tattoos on the back of her hands. I had the picture circulated to my employees, and one of them got back to me with her name.

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