Page 23 of Sinful Scars

I don’t removethe blindfold until long after the footsteps disappear down the fire escape, my body still frozen after what just happened.

Ikissedhim. My anonymous captor, or rescuer, depending on how I look at it. I still can’t decide how I want to label him, not that it really matters.

What does matter is how incredible it was.

The way he immediately took control, so desperate to explore my mouth with his tongue, had my eyes rolling back and my pulse racing.

No kiss has ever felt so intense, and I’m desperate for more.

So, so much more.

If I was sane, I would be immediately making my way to my uncle's house to recite to him, in detail, the events of the last forty-eight hours. Everything from the kidnapping down to the mystery man who kept me locked away in his cabin in the middle of the woods.

But I’m not sane. I just proved that from the way I made out with a man who openly admitted to stalking me.

If Massimo were to ever learn the truth,hewould be dead, and for some sick and twisted reason, that is the last thing I want.

A hysterical laugh escapes my lips as I finally remove the blindfold.

I half wish he snuck back inside while I was mentally reliving the entire thing. But when I glance around, I find the space empty and exactly how I left it on Friday morning.

My laundry basket is still overflowing, my makeup still litters my vanity table from when I rushed to get ready for my shift, and the stack of books next to my bed is still waiting to be read.

It’s all so boring and mundane. I could almost pretend like none of it ever happened, and now that I’m back standing in my bedroom, it feels like it never did. It’s like I dreamed the entire thing.

The only evidence I have that it was real is the slight tingling of my lips and the lingering taste ofhimon my tongue.

“I need to get out of these clothes.” I run my hands over my face as I let out a breath.

While the shower warms up, filling the bathroom with steam, I slip out of my blouse and skirt and toss them both straight in the trash.

I don’t want any physical reminders of my time in that motel, except for maybe the memory of being carried inhisarms?—

“Enough, Elle.”

I step into the shower, moaning as the scalding hot water cascades over my back and loosens up the tense muscles in my shoulders. I quickly reach for my body washand use almost half the bottle as I lather up my skin, washing away the nightmare of the kidnapping.

When my hands move over my neck and chest, I pause.

Something’s wrong.

My loofa falls from my hand as my fingers trail over the bare skin of my neck where my necklace usually sits.

“Oh, no, no,no,” I groan as I glance around the floor of the shower, anxiously searching for my necklace and coming up short.

The pendant is too big to have fallen down the drain, which means it could be anywhere, including that very motel room.

“Oh, god,” I sob as I think of it being lost forever. It once belonged to my mother, and I’ve worn it every day since she gave it to me when I turned eight years old. It was the only possession I had on me when I was pulled out of the fire, so it’s all I have left to remember her.

Or was…

With a heavy heart, I turn off the water and climb out of the shower.

My body and mind are so exhausted that I know it would be useless trying to search for my necklace right now. So, as I get ready for bed, I vow to look for it tomorrow and hope that it turns up.

Because the thought of it being lost forever has my heart breaking in two.

Despite the exhaustion,I barely sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I’m hit with a wave of panic that leaves me covered in a cold sweat. As I lay in the darkness, I try toremind myself that I’m back home, that I’m safe, but still my heart races as if I’m right back there in that motel room.

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