Page 21 of Redd

Chapter Three

Bijou

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His hand was warm aroundmine, it was protective, firm, and. . .Safe.

I had given my trust to this man, and I didn't even know his name. But I could see it in his eyes, I could hear it in his voice, I could feel it in his touch—this man,he wasn't one of them.

I believed it the second his finger covered his lips and he hushed me silent. He had been sent to save me.

My toes curled into the floor as I stayed tucked in his shadow, following every step he took. His foot would lift and my heel replaced it, he would inhale and I would do the same. I was a carbon copy of the man in front of me, doing my best to stay invisible.

Flicking his head over his shoulder, he looked down on me, concern and worry flooding his expression. I wasn't sure if that look came from uncertainty of what could happen or if it was just because ofme.

Glancing around his bicep, I could see the doorway of the kitchen. My chest heaved with memories, the feeling of pain and fear washing over me as images of what Diablo had done to me flashed through my brain.

My muscles tensed up, feet dragging behind me as I tried to slow down. I didn't do it on purpose, it was instinct. I felt my heels dig into the floor, toes clutching the ground, anxiously wanting to grab hold of anything I could.

The man whipped his head over his shoulder, brows crinkling into the bridge of his nose, panic and desperation setting into his deep brown eyes. But he didn't stop, he jerked my arm and kept my feet moving for me.

Thank you.I wanted to say the words out loud, but I bit my tongue. It was too dangerous to speak and I knew that.

Dominick wasn't alone, no one was ever truly alone when they came there. But this was the first time Diablo had left me to the mercy of his men. Heneverleft me alone with anyone.

When he told me he was leaving, my breath hitched and I sat wide eyed, expecting him to strike me for my reaction. But he didn't.

Smiling to myself inside my head, I was proud of how strong I had become. For feeling on the inside and hiding it on the outside. He couldn't read my thoughts anymore.

This was my chance, this was what I had been waiting for.

My prayers had finally been answered.

Stopping short at the end of the hall, my body kept moving, bumping into the stranger's back and causing me to sway. His firm arm reached behind, curling around my waist and holding me steady.

I had to fight the urge to crawl into his grasp and wrap myself around his body. Temptation to feel, breathe, and embrace the safety that this man was giving me was all I could think about.

His touch entered me from every direction, it bled into my bones and made me warm. For the first time in months, I felt like everything was going to be alright. My mind twisted with thoughts of how this man was going to fix all of this. He was my guardian angel, that's what they do, they protect you when you need it.

And I had needed it for a really long time.

The man didn't look down as his hand pressed into my lower back, eyes darting back and forth, searching and scanning.

It felt like we stood there, stagnant, as time seemed to slow down and our movements mimicked the seconds passing like molasses being poured.

The muscle in his neck thickened as he leaned forward and twisted his head from left to right. Holding my breath, I hid in the darkness, doing my best to be as small as possible.

One less shadow, one less exhale, one less person.

That was how I had felt since the very beginning of all this. I had been beaten down to nothing, brainwashed into thinking that I was worthless, used as some object of trade. All of who I was had been crushed and stomped into particles that barely resembled a woman anymore.

I had started to doubt if I'd ever get the chance to make an escape. I was drained to the point that I couldn't see the end.

And here it was, holding me snugly in place, leading me out.

His grip strengthened, dragging me into the kitchen, his feet heavy yet delicate in the same step. I was mesmerized by the command this man had in a place that wasn't his own.

He didn't cower, he didn't shed a bead of sweat that was built off fear. This man's presence was more powerful than the whole entity of evil this home encased.

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