Page 19 of Dangerous Temptation
Bang, bang, bang.
More clanging rang up through the walls and her toes curled with the need to move. Where was the staircase? She didn’t try to be quiet as she raced back to the main entrance, though she nearly fell, her socks sliding along the hardwood flooring, when she found an open archway.There. Carpeted steps led downwards to the basement.
She flew down the stairs and immediately turned to her right. The sounds were louder down here. The limestone structure had soaked up most of the noise, containing it. On the lower level, they were booming. Her sense of urgency grew, and she ignored the indoor putting green and wet bar as she honed in on the anguish in the air.
‘Hello?’ she called. ‘Where are you?’
Heart pounding, she found the gym. It was nearly as big as the one she’d used in the city, only the equipment was better and it didn’t smell like sweaty socks. On the balls of her feet, she scoped out the situation.
There. The door off the end. It was shaking on its hinges.
She heard that raw, guttural sound that had stifled her breaths upstairs. Only this time the keening was clear. It wasn’t an animal; it was a person. A man.
‘What’s wrong?’ She raced over to the door, but was afraid to get too near just in case it exploded outwards. ‘Do you need help?’
The person inside didn’t hear her. They were setting up a racket, pounding on the door and scratching at it.
She lifted her hands to protect her face when they started kicking.
‘Hey!’ she yelled.
A roar responded. He’d heard her this time. ‘Out! Get me out!’
Her breath caught in her throat. She recognised that voice.
‘Now!’
She lurched back into action. ‘Stop kicking.’
Again, in his panic, the man didn’t listen. He was going at that door like his life depended on it.
‘Alex!’
The racket fell and the noise level dropped so suddenly, it was jarring. Still, Elena swore she could hear ragged breaths coming through the sturdy wooden door. She approached cautiously and laid her hand over the handle. ‘Alex, is that you?’
‘Elena?’
His voice was thin, and her name sounded plaintive. Urgency clawed at her.
‘Is it the lock? Are you stuck?’ She twisted the handle on the door and pushed, but nothing happened. She tried again, feeling him help from the other side, but something was blocking the door’s natural movement. Her brain began clicking as she sized up the situation.
‘Open it,’ he ordered, his voice brusque. ‘Damn it. Get it open!’
She yelped when he started kicking again. She could see the door bowing as he made contact, but he was kicking out, while the door swung inwards.
‘Wait! Hold on!’ She turned the handle and felt the latch open fine. Putting her shoulder into it, she shoved again. The top corner of the door swung in, but the bottom held tight. She knelt down when she found the source of the problem. ‘The gym mat is lodged under the bottom corner.’
She reeled back when the door starting shaking again.
‘You’re making it worse. Alex! Let me help you.’
He stopped abruptly. She pounced while she had the chance, talking out loud to keep him distracted. ‘It’s wedged in tight. Kicking it will only make it worse, and you aren’t Bruce Lee. You can’t kick through it.’
Although he’d certainly tried.
How long had he been locked in? Trapped like a wild animal?
No matter what she thought of him, the idea of that kind of suffering made her throat hurt. He wasn’t one who was built to be tied down. He could barely stand to be in this gigantic house for a full day. ‘Let me just try something.’
