Page 45 of Regret

Chapter 14

Scarlet’s heart was no longer beating inside her chest. Instead, it beat in her goddamn throat. While those damn steel elevator doors opened—which seemed like it took an eternity—she stopped breathing. Everything around them faded to nothing, except for the steel doors in front of them. The only sounds she could hear were the beating of her heart and her inner self freaking the fuck out.

Sure, Hunter had a gun aimed at the damn door, but seeing blood and brain matter against the walls of the elevator was not on her bucket list, thank you very much. Unless it belonged to one specific douchebag.

Plus, if there was no one on the elevator—which would be a good thing—that would mean she would have to get into the elevator—which would be a bad thing…for her.

“Hunter,” she whispered while he stood between her and whoever was about to come out of that elevator.

“Shhh.”

She glared at the back of his head. “Did you just shush me?”

“Shut up.”

“Asshole,” she whispered.

When those two steel doors finally opened, Scarlet let out the breath she was holding.

It was empty. Thank God.

Oh fuck.

“Come on, we have to move.” Hunter grabbed her hand and pulled her into the elevator so fast she hardly had any time to object.

Scarlet scampered to the back of the seven feet wide and six feet deep tiny little space of panic. Hunter pushed the button to the ground floor, and then hammered the close button at about ten times per second. Kind of like her heart was beating at that moment.

The doors closed, and Hunter sagged against the wall before pinching the bridge of his nose while Scarlet was silently—yet quickly—starting to hyperventilate.

“What kind of shit are we in here, Scarlet?”

She had no intention of answering that question. The only thought that was like a giant wrecking ball inside her brain was that the damn elevator seemed like it was getting smaller by the second.

“Scarlet?”

She abruptly held up her hand, silencing him, and closed her eyes to concentrate on her breathing—and trying not to vomit.

Tiny space. No air to breathe. No one can hear her. No one can see her…except him, the man of her nightmares. The root of her fear. The fucker who stole everything from her.

She could hear his evil voice echoing through her mind like he was right there with her. She could even smell his god-awful breath tainted with the stench of cigars and malevolence.

“Is my Little Red scared?”

“Don’t worry, Little Red, I’ll take care of you real good.”

Oh God, she couldn’t breathe.

“Scarlet, are you okay?”

“I can’t…I can’t breathe.” Her heart felt like it was on the verge of exploding, her brain about to short circuit from all the thoughts, the fear, and the panic.

“Don’t tell me you’re claustrophobic?”

She opened her eyes and pushed her back flat against the wall behind her. “Not so much claustrophobic as scared shitless of tiny, enclosed spaces where all you can see are four walls that have the potential to smother the life out of you.”

“That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

She didn’t even try to answer him. Her entire body had already gone into full blown panic mode, her chest constricting to the point where she literally could not breathe.

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