Page 19 of Eternally Bound

I snuck through the shadows of the room towards the wall with windows and doors. There was a large French door, and as I neared it, I realized it led to a large balcony. My heart thundered, barely seeing the outline of the dark mountains in the distance lit by the full moon glow. Not a single house light anywhere in the vicinity.

Where in the hell am I?

My hands shook against the doorknob of the balcony door, half expecting it to be locked but to my surprise, the door opened without any effort. I quickly strode onto the balcony, the crisp cold air invading my lungs. Inhaling deeply, the potential for freedom tasted sweet. I took another step onto the marble floor, cold under my bare feet, and before I could even get excited, my heart sank.

I was four stories up, in a large castle. At least, it looked like that from up here. The exterior was generously lit by outside lighting, the property around us a combination of a fort wall for privacy and luxury gardens. The chances of climbing out of it were none, not unless I wanted to kill myself, and I most decidedly did not want to do that. Lingering on the balcony, letting the cool air seep into my bones and chill my feet, there were a million thoughts swirling in my head.

Was this connected to Callen’s gambling? I was almost certain I knew the answer to that, but it still sucked to know he would have leveraged me into his gambling addiction. Along with our son! God, did they try to take Bram too? I needed to know that my son was safe. Who had Callen screwed over?

There were so many questions screaming in my head, making my headache worse by the second. Callen must have messed up big time. Whoever had taken me had money. Lots of money, if this room was anything to go by. And usually, people with money were harder to go against because they were often unscrupulous and merciless.

Surely, those men must know that it was illegal, and they had no leg to stand on. I scoffed at myself. Like those kinds of men ever cared what was legal and what wasn’t! They let Callen bet a person for Christ’s sake!

I had debated about reaching out to a lawyer, but what could he possibly do? There was no paperwork to indicate what Callen had done. Put a restraining order against who? All the bad people of this world?

The sound of the door opening had me turning my head in its direction, forgetting about the open balcony door. I quickly rushed into the room just as a soft light came through, blinding me for a second. I blinked a few times, letting my eyes adjust. And then I saw him.

Daniel Carrington.

He stood in the doorway, like a dark, threatening angel. His ebony dark hair and dark eyes pierced through me, even from a distance. His gaze trained on my face, his lips pressed in a smirky kind of smile. He looked like a dark shadow.Was he the one that I sensed in the alley?It had to be.

My eyes traveled over his familiar features but there was darkness there. Pain, too. He was even more stunning than I remembered. Older, darker, stronger, but utterly terrifying.

I hadn’t seen him nor heard from him in over twelve years. Not a peep. Not to let me know whether he was still alive, whether he was okay… nothing.

“Hello, Ainslee,” he said softly, entering the room. The door softly clicked behind him, and involuntarily, I took a step back.

“Daniel?” I whispered, my voice hoarse. It came out as a question, but my heart recognized him. Yes, he looked older, darker, more dangerous… duh, he kidnapped me so obviously more dangerous, but it was still the same man I fell in love with.

His eyes were dark and cold, nothing but indifference in those dark depths. My hands shook, every fiber of me terrified of the feelings, both good and bad, that I had bottled up and buried so deeply. And now they were bubbling inside me, threatening to explode like a shaken bottle of champagne.

“Long time no see.”Yeah, no shit!

“You never came back to me.” The biting words escaped me before I thought better of them and hung in the silent darkness lingering between us afterwards.

Accusation. Bitterness. Wondering.I thought an emotion crossed his face, but he quickly masked it behind a cold, indifferent gaze.

Who was this cold man, staring at me with his dark eyes? Yes, I knew his name; my body knew him, but my mind didn’t. He didn’t match the man my heart claimed twelve years ago. Though it refused to acknowledge this man, it was still convinced that there was the man I fell in love with somewhere deep within. Daniel had never looked at me like this before. With cold calculation. He always looked at me with affection and warmth.

Staring at this tall, dark stranger, I couldn’t help and wonder where the young man I came to know was. That man was my first love, the one I gave my innocence to. The man who promised he’d come back to me. The man who’d broken my heart a lifetime ago when he didn’t.

Did he ever exist, or was he just a figment of my imagination? The man I fell in love with would have never kidnapped me.

As he met my gaze, those eyes that used to watch me with affection and love now had a look of indifference in them. My young man was gone, in his place was a harsher, older, and colder man. His eyes told of dark, restless secrets that instinctively I knew I wouldn't like.

“Not happy to see me?” he challenged, his eyebrow slightly raised though he didn’t seem perturbed.

I couldn’t move an inch. All the hurt I buried deep inside all those years ago poured out, bleeding through my veins. I waited for him, my trust unwavering in his promise. Then I cried. After the tears ran out, I worried. Until I went looking for him.

While I waited and cried for him, he lived it up.

“I would have been happier to see you years ago,” I fired back, the anger simmering inside me. “You are a bit late for a reunion. And then there is you kidnapping me!”

The audacity of this man to assume I’d be happy to see him after he left me high and dry. Without a single word, not a text, not a note. Nothing. And then after twelve years, he kidnapped me and thought I’d be happy about it. Asshole! “And kidnapping is a felony, you know!”

“Is it?” He didn’t seem worried. Instead, he stood there, watching me intently, his face wiped of all expression and emotions. I searched out those dark brown eyes I used to love so much. The color was familiar but that was about it. There was no semblance of the man I fell in love with.

“Yes, it is,” I replied agitated. “Broken promises should be a felony too.”

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