Page 65 of Thane's Demon
So I forced myself forward.
I spotted a cab just as it slowed to drop someone off at the curb. I practically lunged for it, yanking the door open and collapsing into the back seat with trembling hands. The driver glanced at me through the mirror, eyebrows raising at the panic etched on my face, but he asked no questions. I gave him my address and sank into the seat, pressing my palm over my heart to try and steady the frantic pounding.
My thoughts spiraled around Thane, replaying the tightness in his voice, the tension in his arm, the stiff way he had positioned himself between me and the mouth of the alleyway. He had been shielding me. Protecting me. And the fear in him had not been fear for himself. It had been fear for me.
I hugged my bag against my chest as the cab sped through the city, my stomach twisting tighter with every passing block. By the time we pulled up outside my building, my nerves had frayed to the point of shaking. I paid quickly, almost fumbling with the money, and hurried toward the entrance while telling myself that once I was inside, once I locked my door, everything would feel normal again.
But the moment I stepped into the building’s quiet hallway, an uneasy sensation crawled across my skin. A prickling awareness that I tried desperately to ignore. I took the elevator up to the apartment, telling myself I was being dramatic, that everything was fine, Thane would protect me. That he wouldn’t have sent me home if he didn’t think it was safe.
I reached my door.
And that was when it happened.
A hand shot out from behind me, clamping over my mouth so hard I tasted blood as I bit the inside of my cheek. A second arm wrapped around my waist, yanking me backward and slammingmy spine into a solid chest. A muffled scream tore through me, my heart exploding into panic so fierce I almost lost my breath.
“Not a sound,”a voice hissed against my ear, low and cold and unlike anything I had ever heard. “Don’t fight, and this will be quick.”
Terror surged through me in a way that made my vision blur. I jerked, twisting blindly, clawing at the hand over my mouth. His grip tightened as his other arm locked like an iron bar across my ribs, soon dragging me away from my door. Away from safety, away from any hope of help.
But fear did something strange to me in that moment.
It made me move.
Made me fight, and it made me desperate.
I sank my teeth into the hand covering my mouth. Hard. Hard enough to draw a choked curse from him. His grip faltered for a second, just enough for me to twist my body violently, throwing all my weight to the side. He stumbled, losing his hold, and I wrenched free, spinning around to shove him with both hands as hard as I could.
It was clumsy and frantic and nothing like what Thane would have done, but it was enough.
He stumbled backward hard enough that he fell and hit his head hard against the wall. As for me, I didn’t wait around to find out what damage I had done. Instead, I bolted. My legs were moving before my mind did. I tore toward the stairwell, ignoring the elevator entirely, knowing he would trap me inside if I tried. I grabbed the railing and launched myself downward, nearly tripping over my own feet in my desperation to flee. My breath tore through my lungs. My pulse thundered like a drum. Sweat stung my eyes as I flew down the steps two at a time.
Then I heard it… his footsteps above me. Fast and getting closer.
I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. Because if I saw him closing in, I would freeze. So I shoved myself through the stairwell door at the bottom and burst into the underground parking before making my way to the street and doing so with the force of a kicking heartbeat, gasping as the cool night air hit my face.
The world outside looked normal. Cars passing. People talking. Neon lights now glowing. All of it so painfully familiar, so cruelly ordinary, while my entire body trembled with terror.
I stood on the sidewalk, chest heaving, adrenaline flooding every nerve. I had no idea where to go or who I could run in to. Of course, only one name filled my mind, cutting through the fear like a blade.
Thane.
But where would I find him? I swallowed hard, fighting tears, trying to decide what to do next. Because I was alone and someone had tried to take me. It felt like danger was closing in from every side and the only person I trusted in this city was out there somewhere, facing a danger of his own.
But I needed him.
I needed him now.
I stumbled down the street, breath ragged, my heartbeat still thrashing wildly in my chest as I looked around frantically for any more threats. People walked past without noticing the terror on my face, without seeing the man who had just tried to drag me away, without hearing the echo of his footsteps somewhere behind me. I spun once, trying to decide which direction was safest, but the city blurred around me in frantic colors, the panic smearing every sound into something unrecognizable.
Just keep moving, I told myself. Do not stop. Do not look back.
I forced my legs forward, weaving between strangers, my eyes darting across the street for any sign of help. But the more I walked, the more isolating the city became, its crowds feelinglike a trap rather than protection. Every shadow felt too thick. Every alley too dark. Every person too close. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him.
The man from the apartment.
He stepped out from between two parked cars, his face half-shrouded by the glow of a streetlamp, his eyes fixed on me with cold, focused intent. A second man appeared behind him, and the sight of a third then made my blood freeze. They were spreading out, blocking the sidewalk and cutting off my escape.
I took a step back, and they took two forward.
