Page 21 of Seen Knot Heard

The guard stands at attention as Louie glides into the room, infuriatingly unruffled, not a blond strand out of place. The bastard knew I would try to run.

“Honestly, darling.” He takes a seat next to me and brushes loose hair from my flushed cheeks. “I expected a more intricate escape plan from that devious mind of yours. The plots in your books are so complex. I suppose using a bobby pin holds a sense of nostalgia, though.”

I glare at him, ignoring the trembling in my limbs as I push myself upright. “This isn’t one of my romance novels, you psycho. This is my life. You can’t keep me prisoner here!”

He cocks his head to the side. “I disagree.”

My voice rises with hysteria. “Someone will come for me! You won’t get away with this.”

Louie smiles, gentle and amused, like I’m a petulant child he’s indulging. He cups my face with a gentleness that belies the steel beneath, his breath fanning across my lips. “Oh, my sweet darling, no one is coming for you.”

“Gr-Grady will?—”

Louie shakes his head. “Grady is dead.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut.No. It can’t be true.

I shake off his touch. “You’re lying!”

The cold certainty in Louie’s expression tells me otherwise, and a hard ball forms in my throat.

He leans in close, his scent suffocating. “You’re all alone now,” he croons. “No one is looking for you. No one is going to save you.”

A whimper escapes my trembling lips, and tears blur my vision. This can’t be happening. Sobs wrack my body as the horrible truth sinks in. I really am alone.

Grady. My best friend. The first person to ever believe in me. Gone.

Louie pulls me into his arms, enveloping me, and I struggle against him without the strength to push him away. When his fingers wrap in my hair, directing my face into the curve of his neck, my gasping cries fill my lungs with his horrible scent, and I hate how it soothes the ache inside.

“That’s it, let it all out,” he whispers, stroking my back. “You needed to go through this to accept your new reality.”

My body shakes as Grady’s death sinks in like a heavy stone.

“Shh, it’s all right, my lovely little Omega.” A purr vibrates in Louie’s chest, and he shifts me back to wipe the tears from my cheeks. “Let me comfort you.”

Before I can protest, his mouth covers mine, firm and demanding. For a moment, I’m lost, craving a connection amidst the swirling sadness and confusion. His tongue thrusts into the seam of my lips, forcing them apart for his invasion, tasting sticky-sweet like cough syrup.

Wrong.The word pushes through the fog of grief.Everything about this iswrong.

Twisting, he lowers me to the cushions, his body moving to cover me.

Panic snaps me back to reality, and I wrench my face away. “No! Stop!”

Reflexively, my knee jerks up, nailing him hard in the groin. Louie grunts in pain, and I take advantage of his distraction to slam my cast against his head, knocking him to the side.

I scramble out from under him and back away on shaky legs, my heart pounding. “I willneversubmit to you, no matter what you try. You can’t break me.”

Louie glares at me, his handsome face contorting into a snarl. He turns to the guard. “Take her to her room and remove her laptop. Clearly, she doesn’t deserve such privileges.”

As the burly man grabs my arm, Louie leans in close, his breath hot against my ear. “You will submit, and if you continue this defiance, the punishments will only grow harsher.”

He inhales, a wicked smile spreading across his lips. “I’ll visit you again when you’re more…agreeable. Which should be any day now, based on how sweet you smell.”

Panic fills me as I’m dragged away with no further resistance. I need to choose my battles if I hope to make it out of here intact.

Once the laptop and charger are confiscated from the nightstand, the guard leaves me. The bedroom door slams shut, the lock sliding into place without issue this time.

Ignoring the ache in my healing arm, I grab the dresser and drag it in front of the door, barricading myself inside. Then, with nothing but the silence, I wrap my arms around my stomach and slide to the floor.

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