Page 20 of Hollow House
Without thinking, I took off. My pace was slow, my heels preventing me from fully running, but I tried my best.
The halls were confusing, and each turn I committed to had me further lost. I couldn’t turn back, not when he’d ordered me to run.
Something about the way he spoke, the command so confident—I couldn’t ignore it.
I slowed down to look back over my shoulder. The Wraith rounded the corner, and I smiled playfully, but then my heart nearly stopped. The glint of metal in his hands was so small, I thought I missed it. There was no possible way I was correct.
But the longer I stood without moving as he gained on me, the more unmistakable the object became.
In his hands, he twirled and toyed with a knife.
My heart stopped all together, and I choked on a gasp.
Move, I commanded myself.
Fucking move!
I ran faster down the hall, away from the man I was now convinced was trying to murder me. Was this because of my small freak out before?
Is this what took place in this house?
Why no one knew the secrets and inner workings of Hollow House?
The mansion was a labyrinth, endless halls and turns that looped in circles. I kept trying to get away, only to find myself closer and closer to the predator stalking me.
Out of breath, I turned down one last hall with a couple of doors lining it. At the end, a staircase led downstairs. I prayed he would assume I had chosen the stairs. Before he could turn the corner and catch up, I slipped quietly inside the third door. Even if he checked the first room, would he waste time checking the rest?
Inside was a bed that looked unused for years, a small nightstand, and deep maroon curtains covering the single window. To my right, a closet called my attention, and I ran for it. Slipping inside, I closed the door as softly as I could, terrified any tiny noise would give me away.
Was this his whole plan?Get my attention and have me drop my walls so he could kill me? Was this why no one knew what went on inside Hollow House? People didn’t survive long enough to share?
Eventually, I heard the footsteps echoing in the hall, slow and meticulous. I held my breath, waiting for them to move on. Items brushed against the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
The footsteps stopped, and I thought he moved on. I could wait a few more minutes then slip out and run for the gate. If I could at least make it down to the main party, the cover of the crowd and so many witnesses had to be a way to stop his chase.
A creaking noise pulled me from the thought, and I held my breath, terrified it would give me away.
“Did you think you could hide here forever?” he asked just before he tore open the closet door.
“No, please!” I screamed, pulling my arm away, but failing.
He dragged me over to the bed and pushed me onto it. My back slammed into it, and the Wraith from earlier, the man who gracefully wrung pleasure from me, was gone, replaced by a predator who didn’t give a shit about being gentle.
He pinned me to the bed, my arms above my head. I writhed beneath him, but he didn’t budge.
“Please,” I whispered. “Don’t hurt me. I won’t write the article.”
It was the only thing I could think to say. It wouldn’t matter if I was dead. If he killed me, the information I gathered here would remain safe forever. Why was I even bothering? I thought of work and Felix, my family. Would anyone notice I was gone? Would they come looking?
I suspected Hollow House had a way to deal with that too.
The Wraith climbed over me, using his weight to keep me in place. He let go of my wrists, and I clawed at him. My entire body thrashed, but the harder I fought, the more his devilish grin spread.
His hands spread my legs, and pulled my dress up revealing my bare pussy to him, the thong already destroyed earlier in the night by him.
He dipped the knife closer to my leg, and I stilled, afraid any sudden movement would cause him to cut me.
“Don’t move,” he ordered.
