Page 69 of Love Triggered

Outside my door, I hear rustling, causing me to jump and shove the journal back in its spot under the bed as quickly as I can. I jump into bed, cover myself up, and pretend to be sleeping. The door slowly creaks open for a few seconds, then closes. Whoever it was didn’t come in here, allowing me to let out another deep sigh of relief.

I wait for twenty more minutes, until I see all of the lights in the hall are out, signaling that Madame has gone to bed. Harvey only left two guards here instead of the usual three or four. They’ve been staying in the main living room and by the front door, so I think if I can slip past the living room, I’ll be able to go out the back.

He left his two worst men here too; they don’t know their heads from their asses, so this should be pretty easy. I kick off my covers and tiptoe to the door. Cracking it open, I don’t see anyone in the hallway.

Keeping my body against the wall, I make my way to the stairs and pause, listening for any noise. A light is coming from the living room area, but I’d have to look around the corner when I get to the bottom step to actually see in there and I’m not sure if I should risk it.

Instead, when I hit the bottom step, I quickly round the stairs and slip down the hallway toward the kitchen. No lights are on back here, but that doesn’t mean the coast is clear.

My heart is pounding inside my chest. I’m so close.

The back door is connected to the kitchen and I can see it. I carefully tiptoe my way across the tile floors, on the lookout for anyone in there, but it looks empty.

I finally reach the back door and unlock it gently, being as quiet as possible. The moment I open it an inch, it suddenly slams shut and a body presses into my back as a hand reaches around, grabbing hold of my throat.

“Going somewhere, little mouse?”

My entire body goes rigid.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I’m going to die. This is it. He’s going to kill me.

“Umm, I just needed some air. My room is stuffy.” My voice is barely above a whisper. I’m ashamed at how weak I feel right now, but I’m terrified of what’s about to happen to me.

“Your room’s stuffy, you say?”

“Yes sir. It was way too hot in there,” I reply quietly.

“Hmmm, let’s go outside then. Get you some air.”

I’m confused by his suggestion. He’s acting significantly calmer than I would have expected after finding me trying to go outside.

He removes his hand from my throat and latches it onto my elbow, aggressively digging his fingers into my flesh. Okay, maybe he’s not as calm as I thought. I feel the fire flaring beneath his skin as it burns through mine.

As we walk outside, two of his men are standing on the back patio with their arms crossed over their chests. They’re dressed in all black, looking like they just came back from some secret mission.

Ferris, the only guy I know, has a smug grin plastered on his face. He starts to roll his neck and crack his knuckles like he’s preparing for a fight.

An eerie feeling fills the pit of my stomach. Something’s really wrong.

“What’s going on, sir?” I snap my head in his direction, but Harvey says nothing. His face is void of all emotion, so I’m not sure what he’s even thinking. He’s wearing a light blue dress shirt and navy dress pants, so clearly he hasn’t been home long. He looks exhausted, but other than that, I have no idea what’s going through his mind.

As we approach Ferris and the other guy, Harvey forcefully throws me forward so I land directly in front of them. Leaning forward, they both grab my arms and spin me around to face Harvey.

“My little mouse. What kind of man do you take me for?” He begins to roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt, exposing his muscular forearms. “No answer, little mouse? Cat got your tongue?” He steps toward me and grips my jaw tightly with his hand, tilting my face up so my eyes meet his.

“No, sir.” I don’t have anything to say. He’s a dick, a monster, and an asshole, but I can’t say that so I just keep my mouth shut.

“You see, Skye, I got back early this morning from my trip. I came to check on my favorite piece of merchandise only to find that you were still out with a client. It was such a shame.” He tsks, dropping his hand from my jaw and turns away from me, giving me his back. “I wasn’t supposed to be back until tonight, but for once things went the way they were supposed to.” He spins back around to face me, and lands a hard punch to my gut, catching me off guard.

I double over as much as I can with Harvey’s men still holding onto me tightly. I wheeze as all the air suddenly leaves my body from the blow.

“When I went into your room, I figured you’d be back soon so I sat in the chair and waited. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the vent under your bed looked a little loose, like it hadn’t been put on correctly.”

Fuck. Oh no. He must’ve found my journal. No wonder it was out of place earlier...

My body stills at this realization.

He’s going to kill me.

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