Page 30 of Monster

“Where are we?” I asked.

His thumb brushed away the caked-on blood. “Italy.”

I snickered. “Yeah, I know that. Where exactly are we?”

He shrugged. “The West Coast of the island. I enjoy watching the sunsets at night over the water.”

His voice was so calm and collected, despite the fact that the man was laden with muscle and towered over me like a skyscraper.

My eyes danced along his face. “Why do you have me chained up?”

He swabbed my wound with an alcohol pad as his eyes focused on my wrist.

“Why are you keeping me here when you can just let me go? You know I won’t tell anyone. I just wanted to come here for a nice, quiet, no-tech vacation.”

He nodded slowly as he reached for some sort of clear goop that reminded me of the salve doctors always put on stitches to keep the skin from drying out. There was a care and a tenderness to his actions that was completely disarming. Why hadn’t he dragged me back into the basement? Why hadn’t he beat me into submission yet?

Why hadn’t he taken from me the one thing he purchased me for?

“Why are you helping me?” I whispered.

He finished wrapping up my wrist. “Because no one deserves to bleed if they haven’t earned it. Come on. I’ll take you back downstairs.”

And as I watched him pack up the first-aid kit that seemingly came out of nowhere, a question popped up in my mind.

“How did you find me?” I asked.

He chuckled. “You mean, how did I find the only other person stomping around here in the middle of the day?”

I blinked. “Yes. How did you find me?”

He lifted my wrist for me to see. “You left a blood trail.”

I felt my pride deflate. “Oh.”

He settled my arm back at my side. “Come.”

And instead of feeling frightened or defensive or angry, I felt more confused than ever before. How was a ruthless man like Teo capable of such tenderness? Why hadn’t he taken what he wanted from me, since I was apparently worth ten million dollars?

But, more importantly: what the fuck did he paint in that massive art room?

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